RESUMO
Merida is the largest urban center in the Mexican State of Yucatan. Here domestic sewage is deposited in poorly built septic tanks and is not adequately treated. Because of contamination from such waste, water from the top 20 m of the aquifer is unsuitable for human consumption. Given this situation and because children are highly vulnerable to environmental pollution, including exposure to toxic trace elements, this study focused on evaluating the exposure of children to arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), and mercury (Hg) in water. It also evaluated the relationship between the levels of these elements in water and their concentrations in urine and blood. Among the 33 children monitored in the study, arsenic surpassed WHO limits for blood in 37% of the cases, which could result from the ingestion of poultry contaminated with organoarsenic compounds. In the case of WHO limits for Mercury, 65% of the water samples analyzed, 28% of urine samples, and 12% of blood samples exceeded them. Mercury exposure was correlated with biological sex, some lifestyle factors, and the zone in Merida in which children live. These data suggest that the levels of some toxic metals in children may be affected by water source, socioeconomic factors, and individual behavior.
Assuntos
Exposição Ambiental/estatística & dados numéricos , Poluentes Ambientais/metabolismo , Oligoelementos/metabolismo , Animais , Arsênio/análise , Arsênio/sangue , Arsênio/metabolismo , Arsênio/urina , Criança , Cromo/análise , Cromo/metabolismo , Exposição Ambiental/análise , Monitoramento Ambiental , Poluentes Ambientais/análise , Água Subterrânea/química , Humanos , Mercúrio/análise , Mercúrio/sangue , Mercúrio/metabolismo , México , Esgotos , Suínos , Oligoelementos/análise , Poluentes Químicos da Água/análiseRESUMO
Studies investigating the correlation between metal content in water and metal levels in children are scarce worldwide, but especially in developing nations. Therefore, this study investigates the correlation between arsenic, chromium, and mercury concentrations in drinking and cooking water and in blood and urine samples collected from healthy and supposedly non-exposed children from a rural area in Yucatan, Mexico. Mercury in water shows concentrations above the recommended World Health Organization (WHO) value for drinking and cooking water. Also, 25% of the children show mercury in urine above the WHO recommended value. Multivariate analyses show a significant role for drinking and cooking water as a vector of exposure in children. Also, the factor analysis shows chronic exposure in the case of arsenic, as well as an ongoing detoxification process through urine in the case of mercury. Further studies should be done in order to determine other potential metal exposure pathways among children.
Assuntos
Arsênio , Cromo , Ingestão de Líquidos , Exposição Ambiental/análise , Mercúrio , Poluentes Químicos da Água , Arsênio/sangue , Arsênio/urina , Criança , Cromo/sangue , Cromo/urina , Água Potável/análise , Água Potável/normas , Humanos , Mercúrio/sangue , Mercúrio/urina , México , População Rural , Poluentes Químicos da Água/sangue , Poluentes Químicos da Água/urinaRESUMO
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Plants have been used in folk medicine by Mayan ancient people from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, to treat some diseases considered as cancer diseases such as chronic wounds or tumors. AIM OF THE STUDY: We collected a selection of nine plants in order to investigate their cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Methanolic extracts were tested for their cytotoxicity using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay on four cancer cell lines; nasopharynx carcinoma (KB), laryngeal carcinoma (Hep-2), cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa), and cervix squamous carcinoma cells (SiHa) and one normal cell line; canine kidney (MDCK). RESULTS: All species exhibited some degree of cytotoxic activity. The root bark extract of Hamelia patens exhibited the highest cytotoxic activity on HeLa cells with a CC50 of 13 microg/mL and selectivity index of 13.3, higher than docetaxel. Gossypium schottii and Dioon spinulosum showed similar good cytotoxic activity and selectivity index on HeLa and Hep-2 cells, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Hamelia patens, Dioon spinulosum and Gossypium schottii demonstrated promising cytotoxic activity and have been selected for future bio-guided fractionation and isolation of active cytotoxic compounds.
Assuntos
Citotoxinas/uso terapêutico , Magnoliopsida , Neoplasias/tratamento farmacológico , Fitoterapia , Extratos Vegetais/uso terapêutico , Animais , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Citotoxinas/efeitos adversos , Citotoxinas/farmacologia , Cães , Feminino , Humanos , Indígenas Norte-Americanos , Medicina Tradicional , México , Extratos Vegetais/efeitos adversos , Extratos Vegetais/farmacologia , Plantas MedicinaisRESUMO
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Human parasitic infections are a serious problem in tropical and sub-tropical developing countries. Trichomoniasis, responsible for the annual infection of 180 million people, is a common sexually transmitted disease caused by the protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis. Traditionally seaweeds have been used in folk medicine by coastal people in Asia and the Caribbean to treat parasitic infections and are a valuable source of novel anti-trichomonals. AIM OF THE STUDY: In our search for therapeutical alternatives to anti-protozoal chemotherapy, we collected a selection of 25 tropical seaweeds (12 Rhodophyta, 5 Phaeophyta and 8 Chlorophyta) from the coast of Yucatan (Mexico) in order to undertake ethnopharmacological and chemotaxonomic investigations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Organic algal extracts were tested for their anti-trichomonal properties on the growth inhibition of Trichomonas vaginalis. The cytotoxicity of seaweed extracts on mammal cell lines was also assessed. RESULTS: The results indicated that 44% of the seaweeds studied had high to moderate anti-trichomonal activity. Lobophora variegata and Udotea conglutinata showed the maximal anti-trichomonal activity with IC(50) values of 1.39 and 1.66microg/ml, respectively, with good selectivity. CONCLUSIONS: Lobophora variegata and Udotea conglutinata demonstrated promising anti-trichomonal potential and have been selected for further bio-guided fractionation and isolation of active anti-trichomonal compounds.