Antimycobacterial evaluation of Peruvian plants

We present the results of an antimycobacterial screening of 270 Peruvian plant samples representing 216 species from 171 genera in 63 families. Dichloromethane extracts were tested at a concentration of 50 microg/ml for inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in radiometric culture. Slightly more than half of the samples tested showed inhibition of M. tuberculosis at this concentration.

Macharistol, a new cytotoxic cinnamylphenol from the stems of Machaerium aristulatum

A new cinnamylphenol, macharistol (1), along with a known pterocarpan, (+)-medicarpin (2), were isolated as cytotoxic constituents from the stems of Machaerium aristulatum. In addition, a known pterocarpan, (+)-maackiain (3), and a known isoflavone, formononetin (4), were identified as inactive constituents. Compound 1 was evaluated in the in vivo hollow fiber assay with KB, Col-2, and hTERT-RPE1 cells and found to be inactive at the highest dose (25 mg/kg body weight) tested.

A novel cyclooxygenase-inhibitory stilbenolignan from the seeds of Aiphanes aculeata

[structure: see text] Aiphanol (1), a novel stilbenolignan, along with isorhapontigenin (2), piceatannol (3), and luteolin, were isolated by bioassay-guided fractionation from the seeds of Aiphanes aculeata Willd. (Arecaceae). The structure of compound 1 was elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Compound 1 is based on an unprecedented stilbenolignan skeleton in which a stilbene moiety is linked with a phenylpropane unit through a dioxane bridge. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited significant inhibitory activities against cyclooxygenases-1 and -2.

Prehistoric trephination of the frontal sinus

Two examples of prehistoric trephination of the frontal sinus are presented. Both specimens were collected in Peru during the second decade of this century and are currently preserved at the Museum of Man in San Diego. One of the skulls represents trephining by incision and the other by scraping. Both show signs of healing indicating that the operated individuals survived the procedure. No definite clues as to the indications for surgery were found in one of the specimens. Trauma involving the frontal sinus appears to have been the reason for trephination in the other.

Fibrous dysplasia: findings in a pre-Columbian skull

An ancient Peruvian specimen (600 to 800 years old) with fibrous dysplasia involving the left frontoethmoidal region is discussed. The skull is that of a woman aged 20 to 30 years exhibiting marked deformity of the left frontal bone, ethmoids, orbit, and nasal wall. Plane radiographs and tomographic views demonstrate a heavily calcified, expanding process in the frontal region and replacement of the ethmoids by less dense osseous tissue. This specimen represents the second reported instance of fibrous dysplasia occurring in the Americas, further documenting the antiquity of the disease on this continent. The lesion is probably monostotic and has characteristics similar to the process as it is known today.