ABSTRACT
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Cathartes aura is a bird used in the Mexican traditional medicine for the empirical treatment of cancer, injuries, infections and burns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The in vitro immunomodulatory effects of Cathartes aura extract (CAE) were evaluated estimating its effects on proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and murine splenocytes. The effects of CAE (1-200 µg/ml) on NO production, pinocytosis and lysosomal enzyme activity were assayed in murine macrophages RAW 264.7. The cytotoxic effects of CAE (1-500 µg/ml) on tumorigenic and non tumorigenic cells were evaluated using the MTT assay. RESULTS: In the absence of LPS, CAE induced the proliferation of murine splenocytes (119%), enhanced the pinocytosis (113%) and lysosomal enzyme activity (141%) in murine macrophages with a similar potency than lypopolisaccharides 1 µg/ml. In addition, CAE exerted cytotoxic effects mainly on human cervical cancer cells (IC(50)=117 µg/ml) but lacked toxic effects on non tumorigenic cells (IC(50)>500 µg/ml). CONCLUSION: Cathartes aura exerts immunostimulatory and cytotoxic activities.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Birds , Complex Mixtures/pharmacology , Immunologic Factors/pharmacology , Animals , Cell Line , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Cells, Cultured , Humans , Leukocytes, Mononuclear/drug effects , Macrophages/drug effects , Macrophages/metabolism , Male , Meat , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , NIH 3T3 Cells , Nitric Oxide/metabolism , Pinocytosis/drug effects , Spleen/cytologyABSTRACT
The antimicrobial effects of the Mexican medicinal plants Guazuma ulmifolia, Justicia spicigera, Opuntia joconostle, O. leucotricha, Parkinsonia aculeata, Phoradendron longifolium, P. serotinum, Psittacanthus calyculatus, Tecoma stans and Teucrium cubense were tested against several human multi-drug resistant pathogens, including three Gram (+) and five Gram (-) bacterial species and three fungal species using the disk-diffusion assay. The cytotoxicity of plant extracts on human cancer cell lines and human normal non-cancerous cells was also evaluated using the MTT assay. Phoradendron longifolium, Teucrium cubense, Opuntia joconostle, Tecoma stans and Guazuma ulmifolia showed potent antimicrobial effects against at least one multidrug-resistant microorganism (inhibition zone > 15 mm). Only Justicia spicigera and Phoradendron serotinum extracts exerted active cytotoxic effects on human breast cancer cells (IC50 < or = 30 microg/mL). The results showed that Guazuma ulmifolia produced potent antimicrobial effects against Candida albicans and Acinetobacter lwoffii, whereas Justicia spicigera and Phoradendron serotinum exerted the highest toxic effects on MCF-7 and HeLa, respectively, which are human cancer cell lines. These three plant species may be important sources of antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents.
