Highly diluted medication reduces tissue parasitism and inflammation in mice infected by Trypanosoma cruzi.

AIM: To evaluate the effects of Kalium causticum, Conium maculatum, and Lycopodium clavatum 13cH in mice infected by Trypanosoma cruzi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a blind, controlled, randomized study, 102 male Swiss mice, 8 weeks old, were inoculated with 1400 trypomastigotes of the Y strain of T. cruzi and distributed into the following groups: CI (treated with 7% hydroalcoholic solution), Ca (treated with Kalium causticum 13cH), Co (treated with Conium maculatum 13cH), and Ly (treated with Lycopodium clavatum 13cH). The treatments were performed 48 h before and 48, 96, and 144 h after infection. The medication was repertorized and prepared in 13cH, according to Brazilian Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. The following parameters were evaluated: infectivity, prepatent period, parasitemia peak, total parasitemia, tissue tropism, inflammatory infiltrate, and survival. Statistical analysis was conduced considering 5% of significance. RESULTS: The prepatent period was greater in the Ly group than in the CI group (p = 0.02). The number of trypomastigotes on the 8th day after infection was lower in the Ca group than in the CI group (p < 0.05). Total parasitemia was significantly lower in the Ca, Co, and Ly groups than in the CI group. On the 12th day after infection, the Ca, Co, and Ly groups had fewer nests and amastigotes/nest in the heart than the CI group (p < 0.05). Decreases in the number of nests and amastigotes in the intestine were observed in the Ly group compared with the CI group (p < 0.05). In the liver (day 12), Ly significantly prevented the formation of inflammatory foci compared with the other groups. In skeletal muscle, Co and Ly decreased the formation of inflammatory foci compared with CI (p < 0.05). Ly afforded greater animal survival compared with CI, Ca, and Co (p < 0.05). The animals in the Co group died prematurely compared with the CI group (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Ly with 13cH potency had significantly more benefits in the treatment of mice infected with T. cruzi, reducing the number of blood parasites, amastigote nests in tissue, and the number of amastigotes per nest and increasing animal survival.

Qualidade e autenticidade de amostras de chá de camomila (Matricaria recutita L. – Asteraceae) / Quality and authenticity of samples of chamomile tea (Matricaria recutita L. - Asteraceae)

Com o objetivo de avaliar a qualidade dos chás de camomila (Matricaria recutita), comercializadas na cidade de Umuarama-Paraná, essas amostras foram analisadas quanto à autenticidade do produto, características organolépticas, pureza, teor de umidade e cinzas totais, rotulagem e peso médio, em relação aos correspondentes dados indicados no rótulo da embalagem. A presente análise mostrou a presença de taxas de impurezas acima de 5% em 85,7% das amostras de chá em forma de capítulos florais íntegros e em 100% das amostras comercializadas na forma de sachet. O elevado teor de matéria orgânica estranha altera as características organolépticas do chá. Quanto aos descritivos nos rótulos da embalagem dos produtos verificou-se a falta de informações, o qual indica a não conformidade com a legislação vigente. Os dados do presente trabalho mostram que a maioria dos produtos comercializados não se encontrava em concordância com a legislação vigente. Torna-se, portanto, necessária maior assiduidade na ação fiscalizadora dos produtos alimentícios comercializados pela Vigilância Sanitária.