How pesticides affect neonates? - Exposure, health implications and determination of metabolites.

This review covers key information related to the effects of pesticides on fetal and child health. All humans are exposed to environmental toxicants, however child's health, due to their high vulnerability, should be of special concern. They are continuously exposed to environmental xenobiotics including a wide variety of pesticides, and other pollutants. These compounds can enter the child's body through various routes, both during fetal life, in the first days of life with breast milk, as well as during environmental exposure in later years of life. Consequently, in the body, some of them are metabolized and excreted with urine or faces, while others accumulate in tissues causing toxic effects. This review will provide information on the types of pesticides, their pathways of uptake and metabolism in children's bodies. Determination of the impact of them on children's organism performance is possible through effective identification of these compounds and their metabolites in children's tissues and biofluids. Therefore, the main procedures for the determination of pesticides are reviewed and future trends in this field are indicated. We believe that this comprehensive review can be a good starting place for the future readers interested in the impact of environmental xenobiotics on the health of children as well as the aspects relates with the analytical methods that can be used for analysis and monitoring of these pollutants in children's tissues and biofluids.

Valorization of biowastes from sustainable viticulture with bioactive potential: application in functional yogurt.

Seed and peel flours of organic Bordeaux grapes (Vitis labrusca L.), containing phenolics and antioxidant capacity, influenced both the composition and properties of a yogurt. The total phenolic content (TPC) of the yogurts containing 3% of grape seed flour (GSFY) and 3% of the mixture of flours (MFY, containing 50% of seed and 50% of peel grape flours, w/w) were 18.800 ± 1.060 and 19.509 ± 1.216 mg/g of gallic acid equivalents (GAE), respectively, significantly higher than the content of the control formulation (CY, 3.199 ± 0.326 mg GAE/g). The GSFY, MFY and CY exhibited an antioxidant capacity (mean values), respectively, of 0.6100, 0.7833 and zero µmol TEAC/g by the FRAP method; and 3.6658, 2.9217 and 0.2468 µmol TEAC/g by the ABTS method. The yogurts presented typical coloration of each flour and the texture of the yogurts did not vary significantly compared to the CY. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) results distinguished the yogurts containing the grape flours and the control sample, regarding their composition and properties. The grape bioresidues were valorized by obtaining a functional and clean label yogurt.

Aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediments collected from mangroves with different levels of urbanization in southern Brazil.

Three mangroves located in southern Brazil, Carijós (CA), Rio Tavares (RT) and Itacorubi (ITA), with distinct anthropogenic influences, were assessed with regard to the presence of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In this study, the n-alkane concentrations ranged from 1.9µg g-1 (CA) to 55.6µg g-1 (ITA) (dry weight). The carbon preference index (CPI) ranged from 2.1 to 7.9 and values for the terrestrial/aquatic ratio (TAR) were >1. Thus, both indexes indicated the predominance of sediment of terrestrial origin, mainly comprised of higher plants. Concentrations of total PAH ranged from 6.8ng g-1 (RT) to 437.3ng g-1 (ITA). The PAH isomeric ratios indicated that these compounds originated mainly from pyrogenic sources. Nevertheless, levels of n-alkanes in the three mangroves were relatively low and they are considered typical of uncontaminated surface sediments, while the level of contamination with PAH was classified as low to moderate.

Solvent-free method for the determination of lignin-derived phenols in sediments.

A solvent-free method that uses headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection is proposed for the determination of lignin-derived phenols in sediments. The extraction and derivatization conditions for the simultaneous analysis of acetosyringone, acetovanillone, syringaldehyde, vanillin, ferulic acid, syringic acid, vanillic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and p-coumaric acid were optimized using a central composite design. After optimization, the best results were obtained with the following conditions: exposure of the polyacrylate fiber to the headspace with 60 µL of N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide as a derivatizing agent for 15 min and then extraction in the headspace of 100 mg of sediment (previously spiked with lignin-derived phenols) for 35 min. The accuracy of the method was estimated based on recovery tests at two concentration levels and by comparison with a high-performance liquid chromatography method reported in the literature. Based on the t-test with a confidence level of 95%, no statistical differences were observed. The detection and quantification limits for the target compounds varied according to their characteristics: values at the microgram per gram level for nonacid compounds and milligram per gram level for phenolic acids, due to the lower volatility of the derivatives.

Assessment and sources of nonaromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediments of three harbors in Santa Catarina State, Brazil.

Nonaromatic hydrocarbons and geochemical parameters from 17 sediment-water interface samples were used to assess sources of organic matter in three harbors, located in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil. The evaluation was based on the molar C/N/P ratios, abundance of resolved nonaromatic hydrocarbons (3.0-25.9 µg g(-1)), unresolved complex mixture, and two indexes: the carbon preference index (CPI) and the low molecular weight to high molecular weight ratio. The results indicate that the organic matter is predominantly of terrestrial origin (C/N>10 and CPI>2). Variations in the total organic carbon from 0.43 to 2.98 mmol g(-1) and total phosphorus from 82.4 to 464.3 µg g(-1) showed no clear correlation with the silt and clay fractions of the sediments possibly due to anthropogenic input. In contrast to the low level of contamination based on the acyclic hydrocarbon distribution, the results obtained from a series of geologically stable hopanes and steranes reveal the presence of less degradable petroleum derivatives.