Medicinal potions used against infectious bowel diseases in Mayan traditional medicine.
OBJECTIVE
Since one of the main health problems of the indigenous population are infectious bowel diseases, we decided to test Mayan medicinal potions used to treat these conditions against some of the causal agents.


METHODS
Thirty-one herbal formulations used for the treatment of infectious bowel diseases were prepared according to the collected ethnobotanical data. Their activities were tested against some of the causal agents of diarrheic symptoms, such as Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi and Shigella flexneri.


RESULTS
Nine formulations were active against bacteria (MIC=0.5 mg/ml), four on Entamoeba histolytica, and seven on Giardia lamblia (IC(50)≤20 μg/ml).


CONCLUSIONS
This work supports the use of the traditional Mayan formulations against some infectious bowel diseases, and it is the first step towards their study.
Vera-Ku
Marina
M
Unidad de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Calle 43 No. 130, Col. Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida 97200, Yucatán, Mexico.
Méndez-González
Martha
M
Moo-Puc
Rosa
R
Rosado-Vallado
Miguel
M
Simá-Polanco
Paulino
P
Cedillo-Rivera
Roberto
R
Peraza-Sánchez
Sergio R
SR
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004403:Dysentery / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D019448:Ethnobotany; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008800:Mexico; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D028321:Plant Preparations