Evaluation of the medicinal properties of Cyrtocarpa procera Kunth fruit extracts.

BACKGROUND: The fruit of Cyrtocarpa procera is used to treat stomach diseases by people living in San Rafael, Coxcatlan, Puebla. This work investigated the antibacterial, antioxidant, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities of the fruit produced by this species. METHODS: Methanol extract was obtained by maceration. After obtaining the methanol extract (MeOH1), methanol subextract (MeOH2) and hexane (H) were obtained. The antibacterial activities of MeOH1, MeOH2 and H were evaluated through disc-diffusion. The quenching of free radicals was evaluated by decolorizing a methanolic DPPH solution. The cytotoxic activity of MeOH2 was evaluated by in vitro assay system of growth inhibition of human cervical carcinoma cell line (CasKi). The IL-1ß and TNF-α were determined through ELISA in the supernatants of the macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7). The MeOH2 subextract was separated by column chromatography, seventy-three fractions were collected. RESULTS: The Gram-positive and -negative bacteria examined were sensitive to MeOH1 and MeOH2; the MeOH2 was bactericidal toward Staphyloccocus aureus (MIC = 4 mg/mL) and Vibrio cholera (MIC = 4 mg/mL). The MeOH2 inhibited the DPPH radical (SC50 = 69.7 µg/mL), but a cytotoxicity assay revealed that the extract is not toxic according to the National Cancer Institute (LD50 = 22.03 µg/mL). The production of proinflammatory cytokines (IL- 1ß and TNF- α) by LPS- stimulated macrophages was reduced after the treatments. The methanol extract contained various organic acids, such as citric acid, palmitic acid and α- linoleic acid. CONCLUSIONS: The fruits of Cyrtocarpa procera are employed to treat ailments such as diarrhea, in this study were demonstrated some biological activities involved in a bacterial infection. This is the first research about of the medicinal properties of C. procera fruit.

Verbascoside is not genotoxic in the ST and HB crosses of the Drosophila wing spot test, and its constituent, caffeic acid, decreases the spontaneous mutation rate in the ST cross.

Verbascoside (VB) is a phenylpropanoid isolated from Buddleja species, some of which originate in Mexico, and was first described in the sixteenth century in the codices of Mexican traditional medicine. VB is present in alcohol extracts and is widely used in the north of Mexico as a sunscreen. VB absorbs UV-A and UV-B radiation and has high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities. VB and its constituent caffeic acid (CA) were screened to determine their genotoxic activity using the Drosophila wing spot test. Third instar larvae (72±4 h) of the standard (ST) and high bioactivation (HB) crosses, with regulated and high levels of cytochrome P450s (Cyp450s), respectively, were exposed to VB or CA (0, 27, 57, 81, 135, and 173 mM). VB was not genotoxic at any of the concentrations tested in both crosses. The amount of VB residue as determined by HPLC in the adult flies that were fed with VB indicated a low metabolism of this compound, which explains the absence of genotoxicity. CA decreased the spontaneous frequencies of small and total spots and showed putative toxicity in the ST cross.

Cáncer cervicouterino: Factores de riesgo y alteraciones asociadas en mujeres del estado de Guerrero / Uterine cervical cancer: Risk factors and associated alterations in women of the Guerrero state

El cáncer cervicouterino es la primera causa de muerte en la mujer mexicana. El conocimiento sobre su epidemiología es controversial, por lo que se realizó un estudio prospectivo en una comunidad guerrerence entre 1995 y 1996. A 281 mujeres con vida sexual se les interrogó sobre sus antecedentes ginecoobstétricos, nivel educativo y ocupación de su pareja sexual (factor masculino). A todas se les realizó citología cervicovaginal. La frecuencia de alteraciones evidenciadas mediante la citología exfoliativa fue del 7.4 por ciento (21 casos). Este porcentaje lo constituyeron 17 casos con displasias (6.04 por ciento) y cuatro con cáncer epidermoide (1.42 por ciento). La frecuencia de los factores de riesgo fue: Inicio temprano de vida sexual (76.1 por ciento), multigestas (76.1 por ciento), factor masculino (76.1 por ciento), multiparidad (66.6 por ciento), embarazo temprano (61.9 por ciento), tabaquismo (23.8 por ciento), más de tres compañeros sexuales (14.2 por ciento), virus del papiloma humano (9.5 por ciento) y herpes virus (4.7 por ciento)