María Isabel Ramírez

Ecuador is a biodiverse country where ancestral traditions are still maintained. One such tradition is practiced by the Saraguros population in southern Ecuador, who continue to use plants for therapeutic purposes, recognizing nature as a source of therapeutic compounds. In the present work, we studied six plant species used in traditional medicine, some of which lack scientific evidence supporting their use. The selected species were Alternanthera porrigens , Lepidium chichicara , Iresine herbstii , Indigofera suffruticosa , Schinus molle , and Vernonanthura patens . We evaluated their antiproliferative, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. From each species, we obtained three microextracts (hydroalcoholic, methanolic, and dichloromethane–methanolic) through consecutive maceration. Antiproliferative activity was evaluated using the SRB assay in five cell lines (A549, HBL‐100, HeLa, SW1573, and T‐47D). The minimum inhibitory concentration and antimicrobial potential were determined using the broth microdilution technique against a set of 10 strains, and antioxidant capacity was determined using the ABTS and DPPH assays. The results show that microextracts of the Schinus molle species exhibited the greatest antiproliferative activity. Regarding antimicrobial activity, the aqueous and methanolic extracts of Lepidium chichicara were the most active. Finally, concerning antioxidant activity, the aqueous extracts of Schinus molle and Vernonanthura patens demonstrated the highest activity. These findings provide scientific evidence for the medicinal use of plants by the Saraguro people, highlighting Schinus molle , Lepidium chichicara , and Vernonanthura patens as promising sources of natural antiproliferative, antimicrobial, and antioxidant agents.

Fuchsia standishii J.Harrison is a species widely used in traditional medicine in southern Ecuador for treating various ailments, including high blood pressure, as an antacid and a relaxant. The pharmacological basis for these traditional uses is unknown. Given the reported anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties of the Onagraceae family, we investigated the plant’s potential for addressing chronic conditions. This study explored the bioactive potential of polar extracts from the aerial parts of F. standishii, focusing on antiproliferative activity against a panel of human tumor cell lines (A549, HBL-100, HeLa, SW1573, T-47D). The plant material was sequentially extracted and partitioned into nine fractions. All fractions were screened for antiproliferative activity, and the most active fractions were further evaluated for their mechanism of cell death (apoptosis/necrosis), genotoxicity, and induction of oxidative stress. Specialized metabolites in the fractions were characterized using UHPLC-DAD-MS³ analysis. F. standishii extracts showed potent antiproliferative activity. The dichloromethane fraction (MW_D) was the most active (GI₅₀ range: 8.5–39 µg/mL), demonstrating the ability to induce apoptosis in tumor cells and cause genotoxic damage linked to oxidative stress. The UHPLC-DAD-MS³ analysis successfully characterized the specialized metabolites present in the active fractions. The initial aqueous extract yielded a total of 47 secondary metabolites, 15 of which remained unassigned. F. standishii possesses a promising pharmacological profile that extends beyond its documented traditional uses. The MW_D fraction represents a plausible source of novel anti-cancer agents due to its ability to induce apoptosis, supporting further bioguided investigation of this ethnobotanically relevant species.

Background: contamination of aquatic ecosystems by oil spills associated with petroleum exploitation represents a serious problem of environmental contamination that can affect human health. We developed a spatial model of contamination risk in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and evaluated the model using independent datasets on environmental contamination and clinical indicators of human health risk factors. Methods: the spatial risk of contamination for the Napo River basin was based on the calculation of a friction surface and the accessibility of possible oil contamination. Human health was evaluated using peripheral blood samples from 256 individuals. We used monitoring data on contamination to validate the spatial model of contamination risk and analyzed whether the estimated risk explained the incidence of human health risk factors. Results: our risk model showed a significant association with actual contamination detected in the study area. According to our risk model, around 30% of the territory has some level of contamination. Risk of contamination was associated with an increasing mean incidence in risk factors for human health in resident populations, but elevated contamination risk was not a significant predictor of the incidence of selected health indicators; only the incidence of inflammation was significantly increased. Conclusions: a large proportion of the populations in the Napo River basin has high vulnerability to contamination from petroleum exploitation, and this contamination risk may be traced in some indicators of health risk. Closer examination of health risk factors is warranted, and our spatial model of contamination risk can inform the design and analysis of such studies, as well as risk mitigation and management. Our approach to building the model of contamination risk could be applied in other catchments where petroleum exploitation is contemplated.

Pulverized immature fruits of Annona montana M. are commonly used for biomedical applications, especially in the treatment of dysentery. The aim of this study was to investigate whether hexane, ethyl acetate or methanol extracts of A. montana M. can be cytotoxic to human tumor cells or exhibit genotoxic effects on normal human cells. The organic extracts were shown to inhibit survival of tumor cells originating from human astrocytoma, breast, colon, lung and prostate cancers. Furthermore, they were found to induce DNA damage in normal human lymphocytes, as shown by comet assay. The genotoxic effects observed suggest that traditional folk medicines prepared from extracts of the immature fruit of A. montana should be used with caution.