SUMMARY:It is important and necessary to know the morphometric characteristics of the proximal femur in order to reduce the risk of complications associated with surgical procedures performed in the area due to vascular, metabolic or trauma causes, and to achieve an alignment of prosthesis to be implanted. The morphometric analysis has proved possible to be used, and can be a valid help to obtain certain parameters that may contribute to scientific research in several areas. For this, a good understanding of evaluation techniques and principles that can be applied to obtain reliable and valid results is needed. To measure the proximal femoral epiphysis by manual morphometry, with the aid of the caliper, and digital morphometry, with the aid of software and compare them. Twenty nine femurs were used to measure the following parameters: diameter of the femoral head in the cranio caudal axis (DFH-CC) and sagittal axis (DFH-S), diameter of the femoral neck cranio caudal axis (DFN-CC) and sagittal axis (DFN-S), length of the femoral neck (LFN) and length of the intertrochanteric line (LIL). After the measurements, the mean values were compared between the two morphometric techniques. The manual morphometry obtained the following average values: DFH-CC 4.42±0.44, DFH-S 4.38±0.47; DFN-CC 3.10±0.35; DFN-S 2.50±0.37; LFN 2.55±0.42; LIL 4.79±0.62. While the values obtained by digital morphometry were: DFH-CC 3.09±0.41, DFH-S 3.35±0.40; DFN-CC 1.79±0.26; DFN-S 2.26±0.23; LFN 1.42±0.33; LIL 3.33±0.54. All parameters measured from the manual technique showed values significantly higher (p<0.05) than values obtained by digital morphometry. This study showed that there is no morphometry gold standard. Different morphometric methods can effectively reproduce, the values of morphometric anatomical structures, depending on the purpose of the study, the anatomical structures and experience of the researcher.

Ethnopharmacobotanical information reports that Parkinsonia aculeata infusion is used to control diabetes-related complications and dyslipidemia. However, few studies are reported on the safe use of this species. The aim of this study is to evaluate the acute toxicity, embryotoxicity and cytotoxicity of a polar fraction obtained from hydroethanolic extract of P. aculeata (PfrHEPA). For the acute toxicity test, we considered the Up and Down method which the guidelines are described by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD N°425). The animals were treated with PfrHEPA (2000 mg/kg) or with distilled water (10 ml/kg) by gavage and observed from Day 1 to14. For embryotoxicity assay, zebrafish embryos were exposed to PfrHEPA (100 mg/L) and toxicity parameters were observed during four consecutive days. The cytotoxicity of PfrHEPA (5, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 μg/ml, respectively) was performed on normal cell lines (mesenchymal stem cells, African green monkey renal cells and mouse pre-adipocytes 3 T3-L1 using the MTT salt reduction assay. In the acute toxicity test, no mortality was observed in mice treated with PfrHEPA (2000 mg/kg), as well as behavioral changes, histopathological abnormalities and hematological and biochemical variables. In the embryotoxicity test, no abnormal changes related to the toxicological parameters were observed in the period of 96 h. Regarding the cytotoxicity assay, PfrHEPA showed no cytotoxic effect on the normal cell lines tested, with an IC50 value &gt; 100 μg/ml. These results suggest the safe use of P. aculeata, however, more trials are needed for PfrHEPA to be presented as new safe therapeutic proposal for the control of metabolic disorders.

This study was aimed to evaluate toxicity in repeated doses for 28 days, reproductive toxicity and cytotoxicity of a polar fraction obtained from the hydroethanolic extract of Parkinsonia aculeata (PfrHEPA) in experimental models. To perform the toxicity test in repeated doses for 28 days, male and female Wistar rats were treated via orogastric for 28 days with PfrHEPA (35, 70 or 140 mg/kg) according to the guidelines established by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) number 407 (1995). For assessment, the impact of PfrHEPA on the reproductive output various parameters were measured, including maternal weight, no. of pregnant females, female fertility index (%), gestation lengthtime, implantation sites, litter size and placental index of test animals. The cytotoxicity of PfrHEPA was performed on the tumor lines NCI-H292 (human lung carcinoma), HL-60 (human promyelocytic leukemia) and HCT-116 (colorectal cancer). In the repeated dose toxicity test for 28 days, no mortality was observed in the male and female rats treated with PfrHEPA as well as morphological changes and biochemical and hematological parameters. In the reproductive toxicity test, no abnormalities were observed related to the toxicological parameters in both mothers and offspring. Regarding the cytotoxicity assay, the PfrHEPA fraction did not demonstrate significant cytotoxic effect on the cell lines analyzed. The present results suggest the use of PfrHEPA is safe and well tolerated in rats. Further studies are planned to identify and purify the active compounds for subsequent in vivo evaluation.

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