Potentiation of aminoglycoside antibiotic activity using the body fat from the snake Boa constrictor

Ferreira, Felipe Silva; Silva, Nalba L. G.; Matias, Edinardo Fágner Ferreira; Brito, Samuel V.; Oliveira, Francisco Gilberto; Costa, José G.M.; Coutinho, Henrique Douglas Melo; Almeida, Waltécio de Oliveira; Alves, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega

doi:10.1590/s0102-695x2011005000088

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Na região Nordeste, produtos provenientes dessas espécies são utilizados em comunidades tradicionais e comercializados em mercados públicos em diversas cidades [11,91,92]. Trabalhos recentes investigaram o uso da banha dessas duas espécies, mostrando que para algumas doenças, esses produtos podem ter efeito eficaz [93][94][95].…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Caça, uso e conservação de vertebrados no semiárido Brasileiro

Alves

Gonçalves

Vieira

2012

Tropical Conservation Science

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ResumoA caça e o uso da fauna são práticas antigas e que desempenham um importante papel socioeconômico no semiárido nordestino. De uma perspectiva conservacionista, essas atividades tem evidentes implicações que necessitam ser melhor investigadas visando subsidiar planos de manejo sustentável. Diante disso, a presente pesquisa objetiva caracterizar as práticas cinegéticas direcionadas a vertebrados e seus usos em dois municípios do semiárido do Estado da Paraíba (Brasil), bem como avaliar as implicações dessas práticas para conservação. As informações foram obtidas através de entrevistas com questionários semiestruturados, complementadas com conversas informais. Um total de 37 caçadores ou usuários de produtos de animais silvestres foi entrevistado. A fauna cinegética registrada foi representada por 81 espécies de vertebrados, os quais se enquadram nas seguintes categorias de uso: alimentação (42 espécies), estimação (31), medicinal (15), artesanal (05) e ritualística (03). Um total de 21 espécies é abatida por controle, uma vez que podem representar perigo ou prejuízo. Constatou-se que dentre as espécies de valor utilitário, os grupos taxonômicos com papel mais relevante são aves e mamíferos. Nossos resultados apontam a necessidade urgente de programas educativos junto aos moradores locais procurando ordenar as atividades de caça. Considerando que a caça e uso da fauna silvestre são atividades comuns na região, percebe-se a urgência em controlar melhor essas práticas, já que a legislação não tem sido eficaz nesse sentido. A elaboração de planos de manejo e conservação deve levar em consideração o contexto social e cultural das pessoas envolvidas nessas atividades e devem ser implementados em consonância com populações usuárias dos recursos. Palavras-chave: Etnozoologia, fauna cinegética, Caatinga, conservação AbstractHunting and the use of the fauna are ancient practices and have performed an important social-economic role in the northeastern semi-arid region of Brazil. From a conservationist point of view, these activities have obvious implications that require better investigation, aiming to subsidize sustainable handling plans. This study aims to analyse the hunting practices directed at vertebrates and their use in two cities from the semi-arid region, Paraíba state (Brazil), as well as to evaluate the implications of these practices for conservation. Information has been collated through interviews with semi-structured questionnaires and supplemented by informal interviews. A total of 37 hunters or users of wild animal products have been interviewed. The hunting fauna recorded in this study is represented by 81 vertebrate species, which fit into the following categories of use: food (42 species); pets (31 species); medicinal (15 species); craft (05 species) and religious purposes (03 species). A total of 21 species are slaughtered under control, as they may be dangerous or harmful. It has been noticed that within these species with value of use, the taxonomic groups with a more important role are birds an...

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Section: Discussionunclassified

Caça, uso e conservação de vertebrados no semiárido Brasileiro

Alves

Gonçalves

Vieira

2012

Tropical Conservation Science

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“…Falodun et al (2008) tested the fixed oil of B. constrictor in similar manners but did not report any antimicrobial activity. Ferreira et al (2011) complemented this latter study and did report the modulation of antibiotic activity by the oils extracted from B. constrictor, but only in terms of the action of gentamicin against E. coli. This study demonstrated a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, as observed in the work of Ferreira et al (2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Due this fact, zootherapeutic products can be effective in treating human illnesses directly, or in association with synthetic antibiotics -to amplify their action spectrum and minimize undesirable side effects (Gibbons, 2004;Gurib-Fakim, 2006;Salvat et al, 2001;Shin & Pyun, 2004;Sousa et al, 2010). With this objective, several studies using the body fat of animals, as demonstrated in the work of Dias et al (2013), Cabral et al (2013), Ferreira et al (2011, 2009), and Falodun et al (2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of fixed oil extracted from the body fat of the snakeSpilotes pullatus

Oliveira

Sales

Dias

et al. 2014

Pharmaceutical Biology

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Context: Ethnozoological studies have shown that Spilotes pullatus Linn. (Colubridae: Ophidia), is associated with medicinal and magic-religious uses in Brazil. Objectives: This study was designed to determine the chemical composition of the oil extracted from the body fat of S. pullatus and to test its antimicrobial properties, alone and in association with aminoglycosides, against fungi and bacterial strains in concentrations ranging between 1024 and 0.5 mg/mL. Material and methods: The snakes were collected in the Chapada do Araripe, county of Crato, Ceará State, Brazil. The oil was extracted in a Soxhlet apparatus using hexane. The methyl esters of the fatty acids present in the samples were identified using GC-MS. The antimicrobial and drug modulatory activities of oil were tested by microdilution against fungal and bacterial strains. Results: The chemical composition of the fixed oils of S. pullatus identified 10 constituents representing 94.97% of the total sample. The percentages of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were 33.59 and 61.38%, respectively, with the most abundant components being elaidic (37.26%). The oil did not demonstrate any antimicrobial or antifungal activity when tested alone, presenting MIC values ! 1024 mg/mL. However, when associated with antibiotics, it demonstrated synergistic effects with gentamicin against all the bacterial lineages assayed, and antagonistic effects with amikacin and neomycin against strains of Escherichia coli. Conclusions: Oil extracted from the body fat of S. pullatus did not demonstrate any inhibitory effects on bacterial or fungal activities, but was effective in modulating the effects of certain antibiotics.

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“…This finding is expected to be associated with anti-inflammatory properties of fatty acids acting on healing, which has been experimentally demonstrated to be present in the fat of some reptiles such as Boa constrictor, rattlesnakes Crotalus durissus (Ferreira et al 2013) and tegu lizards Salvator merianae (Ferreira et al 2010). We have no reason to suggest that the therapeutic potential of anaconda fat also includes antibiotic properties, because studies have shown that reptilian fats by themselves lack effective action in immune responses against bacterial infection (Ferreira et al 2009;Ferreira et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zootherapy in the Amazon: green anaconda ( Eunectes murinus ) fat as a natural medicine to treat wounds

et al. 2017

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Zootherapy (the use of the therapeutic potential of animals) is at least 6,000 years old, and has been kept active throughout generations until modern days. Animal fat is commonly used in the zootherapeutic folk medicine from South America, specially the green anaconda's fat, which is widely promoted as a natural medicine to treat wounds, even though there is no scientific evidence showing its efficacy. In this study we compared the total healing time and the proportional daily reduction of dorsal epithelial incisions in adult male Wistar rats treated with nitrofural (a commercial cicatrizing ointment) and with anaconda fat. We applied the treatments every two days and measured the incision diameter daily, during ten consecutive days. Differences among the groups in the total healing time and in the proportional daily reduction of the incision consistently showed that the fat-based treatment resulted in a faster healing process compared to the commercial ointment tested. The literature suggests that the efficacy of animal fat on healing may be primarily related to the presence of fatty acids, which have been widely demonstrated to be important for biochemical reactions involved in healing processes. Our findings are widely socially relevant, considering that traditional Amazonian communities that use anaconda fat in folk medicine do not have easy access to pharmacies and hospitals. KEYWORDS: ethnozoology, folk medicine, snakes, Wistar Zooterapia amazônica: uso de gordura de sucuri (Eunectes murinus) como cicatrizante natural RESUMO Práticas ancestrais de zooterapia (uso das potencialidades terapêuticas da fauna) existem há pelo menos 6000 anos, e têm sido mantidas ao longo de gerações até os tempos modernos. Gordura de animais é comumente utilizada na zooterapia tradicional da América do Sul, e a gordura de serpentes sucuris é amplamente comercializada como cicatrizante natural, embora não existam evidências científicas que mostrem sua eficácia terapêutica. Neste estudo comparamos o tempo de cicatrização epitelial total e a redução proporcional diária de uma incisão dorsal em ratos Wistar machos adultos, entre um grupo controle, um grupo tratado com nitrofural (uma pomada cicatrizante comercial) e um grupo tratado com gordura de sucuri. Nós aplicamos os tratamentos a cada dois dias e medimos o diâmetro da incisão diariamente por dez dias consecutivos. Diferenças entre os grupos no tempo de cicatrização total e na redução proporcional diária da incisão consistentemente mostraram que gordura de sucuri teve ação cicatrizante mais eficiente que a pomada comercial testada. A literatura sugere que a eficácia de gordura animal em processos de cicatrização pode estar principalmente relacionada à presença de ácidos graxos, os quais têm sido amplamente demonstrados como importantes para reações bioquímicas envolvidas em processos de cicatrização. Os resultados têm ampla relevância social, considerando que as comunidades tradicionais amazônicas que utilizam a gordura de sucuris como zooterápico não têm acesso fácil...

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Potentiation of aminoglycoside antibiotic activity using the body fat from the snake Boa constrictor

Cited by 20 publications

References 52 publications

Caça, uso e conservação de vertebrados no semiárido Brasileiro

Caça, uso e conservação de vertebrados no semiárido Brasileiro

Antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of fixed oil extracted from the body fat of the snakeSpilotes pullatus

Zootherapy in the Amazon: green anaconda ( Eunectes murinus ) fat as a natural medicine to treat wounds

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