Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026
Analysis of Iophenoxic Acid Analogues in Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes Auropunctatus) Sera for Use as an Oral Rabies Vaccination Biological Marker
Published on: May 31, 2019
Biological effects of aqueous extract from Turkey vulture Cathartes aura (Cathartidae) meat
Maria del Rosario Jacobo-Salcedo1, Maria del Carmen Juárez-Vázquez, Luis Ángel González-Espíndola
1Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Avenida Articulo 123, Fraccionamiento Filadelfia, Gómez Palacio, Durango 35010, México.
Ethnopharmacological Relevance:
Cathartes aura is a bird used in the Mexican traditional medicine for the empirical treatment of cancer, injuries, infections and burns.
Materials And Methods:
The in vitro immunomodulatory effects of Cathartes aura extract (CAE) were evaluated estimating its effects on proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and murine splenocytes. The effects of CAE (1-200 μg/ml) on NO production, pinocytosis and lysosomal enzyme activity were assayed in murine macrophages RAW 264.7. The cytotoxic effects of CAE (1-500 μg/ml) on tumorigenic and non tumorigenic cells were evaluated using the MTT assay.
Results:
In the absence of LPS, CAE induced the proliferation of murine splenocytes (119%), enhanced the pinocytosis (113%) and lysosomal enzyme activity (141%) in murine macrophages with a similar potency than lypopolisaccharides 1 μg/ml. In addition, CAE exerted cytotoxic effects mainly on human cervical cancer cells (IC(50)=117 μg/ml) but lacked toxic effects on non tumorigenic cells (IC(50)>500 μg/ml).
Conclusion:
Cathartes aura exerts immunostimulatory and cytotoxic activities.
