RESUMO
In our search for therapeutical alternatives for antiprotozoal chemotherapy, we collected a selection of 44 plants from western Colombia upon ethnopharmacological and chemotaxonomic considerations. Polar and apolar extracts of these species were examined for antimalarial activity using in vitro tests with two clones of Plasmodium falciparum. Leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activity were determined in vitro using promastigote and amastigote forms of several strains of Leishmania sp. and epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi. Among the selected plants, the 15 following species showed good or very good antiprotozoal activity in vitro: Aspidosperma megalocarpon, Campnosperma panamense, Conobea scoparioides, Guarea polymera, Guarea guidonia, Guatteria amplifolia, Huberodendron patinoi, Hygrophila guianensis, Jacaranda caucana, Marila laxiflora, Otoba novogranatensis, Otoba parviflora, Protium amplium, Swinglea glutinosa and Tabernaemontana obliqua. Cytotoxicity was assessed in U-937 cells and the ratio of cytotoxicity to antiprotozoal activity was determined for the active extracts. Ten extracts from eight species showed selectivity indexes > or = 10. Among the extracts that showed leishmanicidal activity, the methylene chloride extract of leaves from C. scoparioides showed a selectivity index in the same range that the one of the Glucantime control. Several of the active leishmanicidal plants are traditionally used against leishmaniasis by the population of the concerned area.
Assuntos
Antimaláricos/farmacologia , Etnofarmacologia , Leishmania/efeitos dos fármacos , Extratos Vegetais/farmacologia , Plasmodium falciparum/efeitos dos fármacos , Tripanossomicidas/farmacologia , Trypanosoma cruzi/efeitos dos fármacos , Animais , Antimaláricos/isolamento & purificação , Colômbia , Tripanossomicidas/isolamento & purificaçãoRESUMO
Two new 27-nor-triterpenoid saponins, pyrocincholic acid 3 beta-O-beta-D-quinovopyranosyl-28-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl] ester (1) and pyrocincholic acid 3 beta-O-beta-D-quinovopyranosyl(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-28-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl] ester (2) were isolated from the stem bark of Isertia pittieri, together with two known bidesmosidic quinovic acid glycosides. The structures of 1 and 2 were determined on the basis of spectroscopic studies.
Assuntos
Plantas Medicinais/química , Rubiaceae/química , Saponinas/isolamento & purificação , Triterpenos/isolamento & purificação , Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Pressão , Colômbia , Estrutura Molecular , Ressonância Magnética Nuclear Biomolecular , Casca de Planta/química , Caules de Planta/química , Saponinas/química , Espectrofotometria Infravermelho , Triterpenos/químicaRESUMO
The authors investigated pesticide poisoning in 200 seasonal farm workers employed in a small area in northwest Mexico. Of these workers, 45% were migrants from southern Mexico, and 70% were men. Most were about 20 years old; 59% could read at the third-grade level. Few had received information about pesticides; 30% did not wear personal protective gear; and 20% had experienced acute pesticide poisoning at least once during the season investigated.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Trabalhadores Agrícolas/induzido quimicamente , Praguicidas/intoxicação , Estações do Ano , Migrantes/estatística & dados numéricos , Adulto , Doenças dos Trabalhadores Agrícolas/epidemiologia , Feminino , Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Humanos , Masculino , México/epidemiologia , Saúde Ocupacional , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
Two examples of prehistoric trephination of the frontal sinus are presented. Both specimens were collected in Peru during the second decade of this century and are currently preserved at the Museum of Man in San Diego. One of the skulls represents trephining by incision and the other by scraping. Both show signs of healing indicating that the operated individuals survived the procedure. No definite clues as to the indications for surgery were found in one of the specimens. Trauma involving the frontal sinus appears to have been the reason for trephination in the other.
Assuntos
Seio Frontal/cirurgia , Trepanação/história , Adulto , História Medieval , Humanos , Masculino , Peru , Crânio/anatomia & histologiaRESUMO
An ancient Peruvian specimen (600 to 800 years old) with fibrous dysplasia involving the left frontoethmoidal region is discussed. The skull is that of a woman aged 20 to 30 years exhibiting marked deformity of the left frontal bone, ethmoids, orbit, and nasal wall. Plane radiographs and tomographic views demonstrate a heavily calcified, expanding process in the frontal region and replacement of the ethmoids by less dense osseous tissue. This specimen represents the second reported instance of fibrous dysplasia occurring in the Americas, further documenting the antiquity of the disease on this continent. The lesion is probably monostotic and has characteristics similar to the process as it is known today.