Jesús Enrique Jiménez-Ferrer

Double-Blind Clinical Trial for Evaluating the Effectiveness and Tolerability of Ageratina pichinchensis Extract on Patients with Mild to Moderate Onychomycosis. A Comparative Study with Ciclopirox

Aerial parts of AGERATINA PICHINCHENSIS have been used, in Mexican traditional medicine, as a remedy for the treatment of skin mycosis. Onychomycosis, also known as tinea of the nails or tinea unguium, constitutes an infection of the nails produced by dermatophytes. Clinically, onychomycosis is manifested by changes on the color, texture and thickness of the nail. The agent most frequently found in this disease is TRICOPHYTON RUBRUM. The present study evaluated the therapeutic effectiveness and tolerability of topical administration of A. PICHINCHENSIS extract on the nails of patients with the clinical and mycological diagnosis of onychomycosis. A phytopharmaceutical formulation was developed in a lacquer solution containing the standardized (encecalin) extract of A. PICHINCHENSIS. A similar lacquer solution containing 8 % ciclopirox was used as control. Treatments were assigned randomly and administered topically for 6 months. Ninety six patients concluded the study (49 in the experimental group and 47 in the control); 71.1 % of patients from the experimental and 80.9 % from the control group showed therapeutic effectiveness, while 59.1 % and 63.8 % from the experimental and control group, respectively, achieved mycological effectiveness. Therapeutic success was observed in 55.1 and 63.8 %, respectively. No patient exhibited intense side effects. Statistical analysis demonstrated no differences between treatments.

Clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of two concentrations of the Ageratina pichinchensis extract in the topical treatment of onychomycosis.

UNLABELLED The plant species Ageratina pichinchensis has been used, for many years, in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of superficial mycosis. AIM OF THE STUDY This study compared the therapeutic effectiveness and tolerability of two concentrations of the standardized extract from Ageratina pichinchensis (12.6 and 16.8%) on patients with clinical and mycological diagnosis of mild and moderate onychomycosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two identical phytopharmaceuticals (containing the standardized extract from Ageratina pichinchensis) in nail lacquer solution for topical administration were evaluated in a double-blind clinical trial. Treatments were administered for 6 months to patients distributed in two groups. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Of 122 patients who agreed to participate in the study, 103 (84.4%) concluded the treatment. The therapeutic effectiveness exhibited by the 12.6% Ageratina pichinchensis extract was 67.2%, while that of the 16.8% Ageratina pichinchensis extract was 79.1%. Regarding clinical evolution, analysis of results at the end of treatment evidenced that the 16.8% concentration possesses higher therapeutic effectiveness with a significant statistical difference (p=0.010). No treatment produced side effects. CONCLUSION Both concentrations of phytopharmaceuticals possess high rates of effectiveness on patients with mild and moderate onychomycosis, and the formulation with a 16.8% concentration possesses higher effectiveness.

Effect on the Wound Healing Process and In Vitro Cell Proliferation by the Medicinal Mexican Plant Ageratina pichinchensis

The species Ageratina pichinchensis (Asteraceae) has been used for a long time in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of different skin conditions and injuries. In this study, the healing capacity of the plant extracts obtained was evaluated and, in order to understand the mechanism of healing, we also analyzed its effect on cell proliferation IN VITRO, cytotoxicity, and skin irritation. Different extracts obtained from the aerial parts of A. pichinchensis, topically administrated, were evaluated in a healing model by scalpel-blade incision on the rat. The extracts, at 10 % concentrations, were administrated daily during an eight-day period. A control group, to which the vehicle was administered, was used; while fibrinolysin (Fibrase SA®) was administered for positive control purposes. Reduction in wound size and the histological characteristics of the skin at the end of the treatment were evaluated. Cytotoxicity was evaluated in cell lines KB (nasopharyngeal carcinoma), UISO (squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix), OVCAR (ovarian carcinoma), and HCT-15 (colon carcinoma). In addition, the effect on cell proliferation of cell line MRC-5 (normal cells from human fetal lung) was measured, and skin irritation was evaluated. The results showed an important healing capacity of A. pichinchensis extract in noninfected wounds; the aqueous extract was found to be the most efficient. The extracts exhibited no cytotoxic effect; however, there was an effect that promoted cell proliferation in cell line MRC-5. The products tested demonstrated no skin irritant effects.

Acetone fraction from Sechium edule (Jacq.) S.w. edible roots exhibits anti-endothelial dysfunction activity

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE A recent ethnomedical survey on medicinal plants grown in Mexico revealed that Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw. (Cucurbitaceae) is one of the most valued plant species to treat cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. Fruits, young leaves, buds, stems, and tuberous roots of the plant are edible. Considering that endothelial dysfunction induced by Angiotensin II plays an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension and is accompanied by a prooxidative condition, which in turn induces an inflammatory state, vascular remodeling, and tissue damage, and that S. edule has been reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive activity, its capability to control endothelial dysfunction was also assessed. AIM OF THE STUDY To assess in vivo the anti-endothelial dysfunction activity of the acetone fraction (rSe-ACE) of the hydroalcoholic extract from S. edule roots. MATERIALS AND METHODS Endothelial dysfunction was induced in female C57BL/6 J mice by a daily intraperitoneal injection of angiotensin II for 10 weeks. Either rSe-ACE or losartan (as a control) were co-administered with angiotensin II for the same period. Blood pressure was measured at weeks 0, 5, and 10. Kidney extracts were prepared to determine IL1β, IL4, IL6, IL10, IL17, IFNγ, TNFα, and TGFβ levels by ELISA, along with the prooxidative status as assessed by the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The expression of ICAM-1 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in kidney histological sections. Kidney and hepatic damage, as well as vascular tissue remodeling, were studied. RESULTS The rSe-ACE fraction administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg was able to control hypertension, as well as the prooxidative and proinflammatory status in kidney as efficiently as losartan, returning mice to normotensive levels. Additionally, the fraction was more efficient than losartan to prevent liver and kidney damage. Phytochemical characterization identified cinnamic acid as a major compound, and linoleic, palmitic, and myristic acids as the most abundant non-polar components in the mixture, previously reported to aid in the control of hypertension, inflammation, and oxidative stress, three important components of endothelial dysfunction. IN CONCLUSION this study demonstrated that rSe-ACE has anti-endothelial dysfunction activity in an experimental model and highlights the role of cinnamic acid and fatty acids in the observed effects.

Data of the effects of acetone fraction from Sechium edule (Jacq.) S.w. edible roots in the kidney of endothelial dysfunction induced mice

Endothelial dysfunction induced by Angiotensin II (AG II) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension and is accompanied by a prooxidative condition, which in turn induces an inflammatory state, vascular remodeling, and tissue damage including the kidney (Schmitt and Dirsch, 2009) [1]. New drugs that can control several of these pathologies are required. Sechium edule has been reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive activity (Ibarra-Alvarado et al., 2010) [2]. This paper contains data complementary to those published in Journal of Ethnopharmacology (Moreno et al., 2018) [3], evaluating the effect in kidney of hypertensive mice of the acetone fraction from S. edule to control de pro-oxidative state, reduction of the inflammatory adhesion molecule (ICAM) and recruitment of inflammatory cells.