Microorganisms living under stress conditions, such as acidophilic environments, usually respond by synthesizing compounds with important biological activities. The cytotoxic and antibacterial activities against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) of ten strains of Streptomyces isolated from mineral ores of Peru were evaluated. Streptomyces variabilis F and S. variabilis X were more active than vancomycin against MSRA (MIC= 0.5, 0.5 and 1.0 µg/mL, respectively). Streptomyces sp. 6c, S. albidoflavus Ya4, S. champavatii Frep13 and Streptomyces sp. F1 showed selective cytotoxic activity against human adenocarcinoma of the duodenum (HuTu80) and human lung large cell carcinoma (H460). The extracts of Streptomyces sp. F1 and S. champavatii Frep13 also showed good cytotoxic activities (IC50= 2.51 and 0.36 µg/mL, respectively) against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7). Interes...

152-2006-CONCYTEC-OAJ

The present work was financed by the project 152-2006-CONCYTEC-OAJ granted by the National Council of Science and Technology to B.L. A.N. thank the H. McCracken doctoral scholarship at the New York University. The authors would also like to thank the Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy of the Cayetano Heredia University, the Section of Chemistry of the Department of Sciences of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and Norma Cuizano, Todd Kelly, Richard Buran and Paul Henkel for their contributions and critical comments concerning this research.

Kañihua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen, Chenopodiaceae) is a native plant from the highlands of Peru and Bolivia that is characterized by its high nutritional value. It is considered a species of great genetic diversity and in this study we evaluated the nutritional characteristics, fatty acids profile, antioxidant compounds and antioxidant activities of three kañihua ecotypes from Peru named “Chilliwa” (light grey seeds), “Planta púrpura” (light orange seeds) and “Red kañiwa Condorsaya” (red seeds).