RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Natural organic compounds with biologic activity have extensive use in the treatment of many diseases, and are of great interest both as natural products and as precursors for synthetic strategies. Thermal muds ("peloids") are a typical example of natural products that contain organic compounds with biologic activity, which allows their use in the treatment of different pathologies. More recently, these thermal muds have found an increasing use in relaxation therapies in health spas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed to characterize the organic composition of San Diego de los Baños peloid (Pinar del Río, Cuba). For this purpose, a procedure for the extraction and chromatographic analysis has been developed, taking into account sample preparation, elimination of interferences, chromatographic separation of the organic compounds, and identification by mass spectrometry. RESULTS: More than 50 compounds were identified in the San Diego de los Baños peloid, mainly of natural origin. Among them were found alkanes, the 4 phenyl valeric acid, 5 isopentyl picolinic acid, 3 hydroxylauric acid, (5α, 3ß) 3-hydroxy-11-androstanone, the 5α-2-en-11 androstenone, squalene, terpinol (α terpineol), menthol derivatives (1 butyn 3 one 1 yl menthol), the palmitic, oleic, and eicosanoic acids, and the isoprenoid phytane. These compounds have reportedly shown biologic activity in their isolated form as antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immune stimulant, antineoplastic, detoxicant, membrane regulator, and hormones. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide strong evidence for medical interpretation of the well-known therapeutic action of San Diego de los Baños peloid in the treatment of inflammatory and dermatological diseases, as analgesic, in male and female infertility therapies, and with cosmetic purposes. Furthermore, this systematic work contributes to the fundamental understanding of pelotherapy, giving some scientific basis for its future development.
