ABSTRACT
Objetivos: aislar e identificar los componentes principales presentes en el extracto metanólico de la resina de la especie Calophyllum pinetorum Bisse.Métodos: la cromatografía líquida de alta resolución se utilizó para la separación de los compuestos. Para la caracterización estructural se emplearon las técnicas de resonancia magnética nuclear y la espectrometría de masas.Resultados: el proceso de separación permitió el aislamiento de 3 compuestos que fueron reconocidos como derivados de cromonas. Los compuestos 1-3 fueron identificados como: ácido calolóngico, ácido apetálico y ácido isoapetálico.Conclusiones: la presencia de cromonas se corresponde con los estudios realizados con otras especies de este género, pero es la primera vez que estos compuestos se aíslan e identifican desde una misma especie. Por otra parte, es la primera vez que se informa la presencia de cromonas en la resina de este género.
Objectives: to isolate and identify the main components in the methanolic extract of the resin of the species Calophyllum pinetorum Bisse.Methods: high resolution liquid chromatography was used for the separation of the compounds. Magnetic resonance imaging and mass spectrometry were used for the structural characterization.Results: the separation process allowed the isolation of 3 compounds that were recognized as derivatives of chromans. The compounds 1-3 were identified as calolongic acid, apetalic acid and isoapetalic acid.Conclusions: the presence of chromans corresponds with the studies conducted with other species of this genus, but it is the first time that these compounds are isolated and identified from the same species. On the other hand, it is reported for the first time, too, the presence of chromans in the resin of this genus.
Subject(s)
Calophyllum/chemistryABSTRACT
The effect of aqueous extract of Echinacea purpurea roots on the murine antibody response to Bothrops asper snake venom in vivo was studied. Three groups were used. Group #1, baseline control, was treated with snake venom plus PBS. Group #2 was treated with snake venom plus sodium alginate as adjuvant (routine method used at Instituto Clodomiro Picado), and group #3 or experimental group, was treated with snake venom plus aqueous extract ofE. purpurea root as adjuvant. In all groups, the first inoculation was done with Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA). By the time of the second bleeding, mice in group #3 showed a remarkable increment in the level of anti-venom antibodies compared with those in groups #1 or #2. In vitro immune cell proliferation as a response to aqueous extract of E. purpurea root was studied using human lymphocytes activated with different lectins (Con A, PHA and PWM). In all cases, increase in percentage of lymphoproliferation was greater when E. purpurea root extract was used in addition to individual lectins.
Subject(s)
Humans , Animals , Mice , Adjuvants, Immunologic , Bothrops , Echinacea/chemistry , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Antibody Formation , Crotalid Venoms/immunology , Antibody Formation/immunology , Immunity, Cellular , Immunity, Cellular/immunologyABSTRACT
Triatoma dimidiata has been found in several cities and towns of those countries where the insect is a domestic or peridomestic pest. In Central America, urban infestations occur in the capitals of at least five countries. During 2001 and 2002 a survey was carried out in the county of San Rafael, Heredia province, located 15 km northwest of San José, capital of Costa Rica, in order to determine the degree of infestation by T. dimidiata in an entire city block. Six peridomestic colonies of the insect were detected in the backyards of eight households. The ecotopes occupied by the insects consisted of store rooms with old objects, wood piles or firewood, and chicken coops. A total of 1917 insects were found in the six foci, during two sampling periods, and a mean infection rate by Trypanosoma cruzi of 28.4 percent was found in 1718 insects examined. The largest colony found in one of the households yielded 872 insects that were thriving mainly at the expenses of two dogs. Opossums and adult insects were common visitors of the houses and it became evident that this marsupial is closely related to the peridomestic cycle of the Chagas disease agent. Lack of colonization of the insect inside the human dwellings is explained by the type of construction and good sanitary conditions of the houses, in contrast to the situation in most peridomiciliary areas. Stomach blood samples from the insects showed that the main hosts were, in order of decreasing frequency: rodents, dogs, fowl, humans, opossums, and cats. The fact that no indication of infection with Chagas disease could be detected in the human occupants of the infested houses, vis a vis the high infection rate in dogs, is discussed.