Abraham Vaisberg

Evaluation of the wound-healing activity of selected traditional medicinal plants from Perú

Folk medicine practitioners in Perú employ plant preparations as wound-healing agents on superficial and internal wounds (gastric ulcers). The results of a scientific evaluation of the wound-healing activity of nine plants found in the Amazon jungle near Iquitos and in the Andes mountains is presented. The species studied were: Peperomia galioides, Mentzelia cordifolia, Mutisia acuminata, Himatanthus sucuuba, Spondias mombin, Eleutherine bulbosa, Muehlenbeckia tamnifolia, Anredera diffusa and Jatropha curcas. These plants have also been examined for their toxicological properties, their effect on blood pressure, smooth muscle and capillary permeability. Significant wound-healing activity was detected in Peperomia galioides, Anredera diffusa and Jatropha curcas. Extracts from Peperomia galioides and Anredera diffusa had no effect on cell proliferation and did not exhibit mutagenic activity.

Cellular immune responses during complicated and uncomplicated measles virus infections of man

Lymphocytes from patients with measles showed profound and prolonged suppression of proliferative responses to mitogens. The degree of suppression was similar in patients with uncomplicated measles virus infection and in those with pneumonia or postinfectious encephalitis. Despite this suppression, lymphocyte responses to measles antigen and PPD were demonstrated in patients with encephalitis and uncomplicated disease, even early in infection. Most patients with pneumonia did not have demonstrable antigen-specific responses. The proportions of T helper (OKT 4) and T suppressor (OKT 8) cells and functional tests of Con A suppressor cell activity showed no significant difference between control and measles patients but, in contrast to controls, cells from measles patients cultured in the absence of any stimulant significantly suppressed the proliferation of allogeneic responder cells. Nine of 20 supernatant fluids from these cultures possessed a soluble suppressor factor. These studies indicate varied disruptions of immune reactivity during measles.

Indigenous people incorporated? Culture as politics, culture as property in pharmaceutical bioprospecting. Commentaries. Author's reply

The ongoing debate over indigenous claims to intellectual and cultural property reveals a series of indigenous strategies of mobilization that both appropriate from and work against the logic of the market. Of particular significance in this regard are the various indigenous strategies used in contemporary pharmaceutical bioprospecting activities to address claims to traditional medical knowledge as cultural property. This article presents field data on a controversial ethnopharmaceutical project among the Aguaruna of Perus high forest and offers a comparative analysis of the outcomes with attention to several other cases in and beyond South America. In particular, questions are raised about the forms of legitimating authority in the burgeoning international indigenous movement, the role of NGOs, researchers, bureaucracies, and corporations in this process, and the dilemmas that emerge from the politicization and privatization of indigenous culture and identity.The ongoing debate over indigenous claims to intellectual and cultural property reveals a series of indigenous strategies of mobilization that both appropriate from and work against the logic of the market. Of particular significance in this regard are the various indigenous strategies used in contemporary pharmaceutical bioprospecting activities to address claims to traditional medical knowledge as cultural property. This article presents field data on a controversial ethnopharmaceutical project among the Aguaruna of Perus high forest and offers a comparative analysis of the outcomes with attention to several other cases in and beyond South America. In particular, questions are raised about the forms of legitimating authority in the burgeoning international indigenous movement, the role of NGOs, researchers, bureaucracies, and corporations in this process, and the dilemmas that emerge from the politicization and privatization of indigenous culture and identity.

A survey of traditional medicinal plants from the Callejón de Huaylas, Department of Ancash, Perú

The medicinal uses of local flora from the Callejón de Huaylas, Department of Ancash, northeastern Perú, are reported. This geographical area has an old tradition of herbal healing. A total of 33 species have been documented through interactions with village elders, traditional doctors and herbalists. Of the 33 medicinal plant species surveyed in the Callejón de Huaylas, six have not been previously reported, seven have received only minor phytochemical coverage in the literature, and the medicinal uses of seven other plants have not been corroborated with traditional medicinal reports from around the world. The traditional medicinal uses of six medicinal plants have been corroborated with previously published reports but their biological activities have yet to be confirmed in the laboratory. The medicinal uses of four other plants have been corroborated with previously published reports and their biological activities have been confirmed in the laboratory. The purported medicinal use of three plant species could not be confirmed in the laboratory.

Natural killer cell activity during measles.

Natural killer cells are postulated to play an important role in host anti‐viral defences. We measured natural killer cell activity in 30 individuals with acute measles (73 ± 21 lytic units (LU)/107 cells) and 16 individuals with other infectious diseases (149 ± 95 LU) and found it reduced compared with values for adults (375 ± 70 LU; P<0.001) or children (300 ± 73 LU, P<0.01) without infection. Reduced natural killer cell activity was found in measles patients with (84 ± 30 LU) and without (55 ± 18 LU) complications and was present for at least 3 weeks after the onset of the rash. Activity was increased by in vitro exposure of cells to interleukin‐2. Depressed natural killer cell activity parallels in time the suppression of other parameters of cell‐mediated immunity that occurs during measles.

Spontaneous proliferation of peripheral mononuclear cells in natural measles virus infection: Identification of dividing cells and correlation with mitogen responsiveness

Spontaneous proliferation of peripheral mononuclear cells is pronounced following measles virus infection at a time when patients mount effective humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and manifest a range of poorly understood immunologic abnormalities. We found spontaneous activity (measles 8000 +/- 1200 cpm vs control 1900 +/- 350 cpm; P less than 0.05) to wax and wane abruptly during the first week after the rash in parallel with expression of the lymphocyte activation marker OKT10. At peak activity, approximately 10% of circulating mononuclear cells were actively synthesizing DNA. Double labeling of individual mononuclear cells with autoradiography and immunoperoxidase demonstrated that B and T lymphocytes as well as monocytes participate in the spontaneous activity. Proliferative activity was increased 3- to 20-fold over control levels in all PBMC subsets such that close to one-third of circulating B cells and monocytes and 5-10% of CD4- and CD8-positive T cells were preparing to divide. Mitogen responsiveness was generally decreased in measles patients (58,800 +/- 4600 cpm vs control 97,700 +/- 15,500 cpm; P less than 0.002). Neither spontaneous proliferation nor mitogen responsiveness was correlated with age, sex, or the presence of complications. Patients with the lowest mitogen responses, however, had the greatest increases in B cell (P less than 0.03) and CD8-positive T cell (P less than 0.05) proliferation. These data demonstrate that all major immunologic cell types proliferate in response to measles virus infection. Mechanisms by which spontaneous proliferative activity in individual mononuclear subsets could contribute to depressed mitogen responsiveness are discussed.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells during natural measles virus infection: Cell surface phenotypes and evidence for activation

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 25 patients with measles and 13 patients with other diseases from Lima, Peru, were studied by immunocytochemical staining for cell surface antigens indicating the type of cell (Leu 4, Leu 3, T8, B1, M1, or esterase) and the state of cell activation (T10 and IL-2 receptor). Measles patients were studied during the first 2 weeks of disease and had no alteration in the proportion of cells which were positive for any subset marker or in the ratio of helper/inducer to cytotoxic/suppressor T cells compared to controls. Measles patients, however, had a greater number of cells expressing the activation antigens T10 and IL-2 receptor than controls. Incorporation of [3H]thymidine was also higher in measles patients when exogenous natural or recombinant IL-2 was added to unstimulated cultured cells. We conclude that the peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes of patients with measles have normal proportions of helper/inducer and cytotoxic/suppressor T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and monocytes but that an increased number of these cells are in an activated state.

Antibacterial activity of some Peruvian medicinal plants from the Callejon de Huaylas.

Extracts of eight medicinal plants from the Callejon de Huaylas in Peru were screened for antibacterial activity in eighteen bacterial strains by the agar-diffusion method; six of these were active against a variety of bacteria.

In vitro studies of the role of monocytes in the immunosuppression associated with natural measles virus infections

Measles is associated with suppression of mitogen-induced proliferative responses. The role of monocytes in depressed responses to phytohemagglutinin during measles was assessed. Depleting peripheral blood mononuclear cells of adherent cells decreased, increased, and did not change proliferative responses in essentially equal numbers of individuals. Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis by indomethacin significantly increased proliferation (P = 0.009) but often not to normal values. Addition of supplemental interleukin 1 had little effect. Addition of supplemental natural interleukin 2 significantly increased proliferation (P = 0.002) even in patients with very low responses. These data suggest that monocyte function is abnormal in some individuals with measles, that the abnormality is variable, and that lymphocyte response to monocyte signals is probably suboptimal as well.

Trypanoside, anti-tuberculosis, leishmanicidal, and cytotoxic activities of tetrahydrobenzothienopyrimidines.

The synthesis of 2-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro[1]benzothieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)hydrazone-derivatives (BTPs) and their in vitro evaluation against Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Leishmania amazonensis axenic amastigotes, and six human cancer cell lines is described. The in vivo activity of the most active and least toxic compounds against T. cruzi and L. amazonensis was also studied. BTPs constitute a new family of drug leads with potential activity against infectious diseases. Due to their drug-like properties, this series of compounds can potentially serve as templates for future drug-optimization and drug-development efforts for use as therapeutic agents in developing countries.