Alethia Muñiz-Ramirez

Publications (2)7.36 Total impact

• Article: Compounds derived from endophytes: a review of phytochemistry and pharmacology.

  R M P Gutierrez, A M N Gonzalez, A M Ramirez
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  ABSTRACT: Endophytes, microorganisms that reside in the tissues of living plants, are a promising source of novel compounds with biological activity, or an alternative source of compounds originally isolated from higher plants. The intent of this review is to provide insights into their occurrence in nature, the products that they make, and how some of these organisms are beginning to show some potential for human use. Information for analysis of endophytic microorganisms was obtained from libraries and Internet scientific databases such as Scirus, Google Scholar, CAB-Abstracts, MedlinePlus, PubMed, SciFinder, Scopus and Web of Science. Many of the compounds reported here were isolated exclusively from endophytes in culture, while other compounds had been previously reported as chemical constituents of higher plants. A survey of the literature shows endophytic microorganisms are mainly known for their alkaloids with cytotoxic, chemopreventive, anti-metastatic and antitumor properties used in the treatment of several types of cancer. The studies of these alkaloids highlight the existence of various potential leads for the development of novel anti-cancer agents. Modern pharmacology studies demonstrated that their crude extracts and active compounds possess wide pharmacological actions, especially for anti-microbial drug discovery, with neuroprotective, antioxidant, nematicidal, antiplasmodium, anti-inflammatory activities. This review summarizes the up-to-date and comprehensive information on compounds from endophytes fungi from 1995 to 2011 that relates to 313 compounds isolated from endophytic microorganisms, together with the botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology, and discusses possible trends and the scope for future research of endophytes.
  Current Medicinal Chemistry 04/2012; 19(18):2992-3030. · 4.86 Impact Factor
• Article: Antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic and antiglycation effects of Byrsonima crassifolia fruit and seed in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

  Rosa Martha Perez-Gutierrez, Alethia Muñiz-Ramirez, Yolanda Gomez Gomez, Esther Bautista Ramírez
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  ABSTRACT: The hypoglycemic effects of hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts from fruits and seeds of Byrsonima crassifolia were evaluated by oral administration to normoglycemic and streptozotocin-induced severe diabetic rats (SD). The anti-diabetic effect was examined by blood glucose, triglycerides, lipid peroxidation, total cholesterol levels in the serum, glycogen content of liver and skeletal muscles, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels. The most active extracts were obtained with hexane. Hexane and chloroform extracts from fruits and seeds of Byrsonima crassifolia increased the levels of SOD, GSH, GSSG and CAT, hepatic glycogen content, glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) and the plasma insulin levels. They also decreased glucokinase (GK) and TBAR (thiobarbituric acid assay). In conclusion, Byrsonima crassifolia possesses significant antihyperglycemic properties after 4 h of a single oral dose. It can also improve hyperlipidemia and hyperinsulinemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Both extracts exhibited significant inhibitory activity against AGEs (advanced glycation end products) formation with IC(50) values ranging from 94.3 to 138.7 μg/ml. Therefore, B. crassifolia can be considered as a potential safe anti-diabetic agent.
  Materiae Vegetabiles 12/2010; 65(4):350-7. · 2.51 Impact Factor