The potential of secondary metabolites from plants as drugs or leads against protozoan neglected diseases - part I

Infections with protozoan parasites are a major cause of disease and mortality in many tropical countries of the world. Diseases caused by species of the genera Trypanosoma (Human African Trypanosomiasis and Chagas Disease) and Leishmania (various forms of Leishmaniasis) are among the seventeen "Neglected Tropical Diseases" (NTDs) defined as such by WHO due to the neglect of financial investment into research and development of new drugs by a large part of pharmaceutical industry and neglect of public awareness in high income countries. Another major tropical protozoan disease is malaria (caused by various Plasmodium species), which -although not mentioned currently by the WHO as a neglected disease- still represents a major problem, especially to people living under poor circumstances in tropical countries. Malaria causes by far the highest number of deaths of all protozoan infections and is often (as in this review) included in the NTDs. The mentioned diseases threaten many millions of lives world-wide and they are mostly associated with poor socioeconomic and hygienic environment. Existing therapies suffer from various shortcomings, namely, a high degree of toxicity and unwanted effects, lack of availability and/or problematic application under the life conditions of affected populations. Development of new, safe and affordable drugs is therefore an urgent need. Nature has provided an innumerable number of drugs for the treatment of many serious diseases. Among the natural sources for new bioactive chemicals, plants are still predominant. Their secondary metabolism yields an immeasurable wealth of chemical structures which has been and will continue to be a source of new drugs, directly in their native form and after optimization by synthetic medicinal chemistry. The current review, published in two parts, attempts to give an overview on the potential of such plant-derived natural products as antiprotozoal leads and/or drugs in the fight against NTDs.

Propuesta de diseño de sistema de información en Salud Mental. Aplicación y Evaluación de los Subsistemas de Farmacia, Consulta Externa y Hospitalización para el Ministerio de Salud / Information system design proposal in Mental Health. Application and Evaluation of the Subsistemas of Pharmacy, External Consultation and Hospitalization for the Ministerio de Salud

El Ministerio de Salud todavía no cuenta con un Sistema de Información en Salud Mental efectivo. Este sistema deberá ser implementado en fases sucesivas, en esta primera fase tres subsistemas: Consulta Externa, Hospitalización y Farmacia, diseñados con la participación de los usuarios externos, incluyendo los indicadores. Se utilizó el soporte informático existente en cada región. Se aplicó un instrumento diagnóstico a los usuarios del sistema actual y a los seis meses de la implementación de la propuesta. Es un estudio analítico, longitudinal y prospectivo. Se demostró en la fase de aplicación que existen las condiciones para la definición, implementación, sólo dos de las variables correspondientes a las características generales del sistema presentaron un cambio significativo relacionado con la mejora de la percepción del usuario, la oportunidad y la consolidación de la información. En las variables que median la utilidad en el proceso de administraciones presentó un cambio significativo en la efectividad. Esto se asocia a la motivación del usuario. Se debe continuar el uso del sistema propuesto y que los usuarios realicen las adaptaciones pertinentes, utilizando diferentes modelos de evaluación y dando entrenamiento y tutoría a todos los niveles.

A proposal for chemical characterization and quality evaluation of botanical raw materials using glandular trichome microsampling of yacón (Polymnia sonchifolia, Asteraceae), an Andean medicinal plant

A proposal for chemical characterisation and quality evaluation of botanical raw materials by analysing the glandular trichomes from the leaves of two different populations of yacón (Polymnia sonchifolia Poeppig & Endlicher, Asteraceae) is described. This species is an Andean medicinal plant and the tea prepared with their leaves displays hypoglycemic property. The method was based on the glandular trichome microsampling using LC/DAD. Qualitative chromatographic fingerprints of the glands were obtained by isocratic runs and then compared between the two populations, showing the same qualitative profile. The two main metabolites detected in the glands were later isolated from a leaf rinse extract by preparative separation and identified as the melampolides enhydrin and uvedalin. These compounds, subtypes of sesquiterpene lactones, were used as chemical markers. This technique is applicable to other medicinal plants and can be used for the evaluation of the quality of dried material or leaf rinse extracts.

Neste trabalho é descrita uma proposta para a caracterização química e avaliação da qualidade de drogas vegetais através da análise de tricomas glandulares das folhas de duas populações diferentes de yacón (Polymnia sonchifolia Poeppig & Endlicher, Asteraceae). Esta espécie é uma planta medicinal andina e o chá preparado com suas folhas apresenta propriedade hipoglicemiante. O método baseou-se na microamostragem de tricomas glandulares, empregando-se cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência e detecção por arranjo de diodos. As impressões digitais dos cromatogramas das glândulas foram obtidas em sistema isocrático e comparadas entre si, resultado em um mesmo perfil qualitativo para ambas as populações avaliadas. Os dois metabólitos principais encontrados nas glândulas foram isolados através de métodos preparativos a partir de um extrato de lavagem foliar, sendo identificados como enidrina e uvedalina. Estas substâncias, subtipos de lactonas sesquiterpênicas, foram utilizadas como marcadores químicos. Esta técnica é aplicável a outras plantas medicinais e pode ser usada para avaliar a qualidade de materiais secos ou extratos foliares.