Influence of malnutrition on the development of the central nervous system of malnourished children.

Introduction: Protein-caloric malnutrition is a public health concern in certain areas of the Brazil. It can affect growth, the auditory nervous system development and, consequently, the cognition. This study compared the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential (BAEP) between malnourished and eutrophic children.Methods: A total of 111 children, aged 0-60 months, were examined: 57 were malnourished, according to the World Health Organization criteria, and 54 were normo-nourished. All the subjects underwent otorhinolaryngological evaluations and had acoustic immittance and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions within the normal range. The BAEP responses to click and tone burst stimuli were recorded at intensities of 80, 60, 40, and 30 dBNA.Results: We observed that latencies of I, III, and V waves and interpeaks III-V at 80 dBNA with click stimuli were significantly higher in all malnourished children when compared to those in the eutrophic children, as was the I-V interval in the 0- to 24-month group. The V-wave latencies at those intensities were also significantly higher in malnourished children.Conclusions: Malnourished children presented changes in BAEP characterized by delayed wave latency and interpeak intervals when compared to eutrophic children, suggesting alterations in both peripheral and central auditory pathways development and maturation.

Malnutrition during central nervous system growth and development impairs permanently the subcortical auditory pathway.

The brain that grows and develops under the continued influence of malnutrition presents permanent impairment on functioning and neurotransmitter release. The aim of this study was to investigate the chronic effects of neonatal food restriction on neurochemical and neurodynamical aspects within the primary auditory sensory pathway. Our working hypothesis is that neonatal malnutrition may affect the flow of primary sensory information both at a neurochemical and neurodynamical level. To test this hypothesis, three groups of rats were assigned, from birth to 370 days of life, to the following dietary scheme: a well-nourished (WN) group fed ad libitum lab chow diet; an undernourished (UN) group fed 60% of diet consumed by WN group; and a rehabilitated group, undergoing same dietary restriction as undernourished until 42 days of age and thereafter fed ad libitum until the end of the experiment. At 370 days of age, the animals were submitted to brainstem auditory-evoked potentials (BAEPs) recordings and sacrificed for neurochemical evaluation of glutamate release. Undernutrition decreased glutamate release in the cortex, hippocampus, midbrain and brainstem, and significantly increased the latency of BAEP wave V. In addition; the re-establishment of the dietary conditions was not sufficient to reverse the neurochemical and electrophysiological alterations observed in the UN group. Taken altogether, our results suggest that malnutrition imposed at a critical development period caused an irreversible effect within the auditory primary sensory pathway.

Medicinal Plants from Northeastern Brazil against Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been linked with oxidative stress, acetylcholine deficiency in the brain, and inflammatory processes. In the northeast region of Brazil, various plants are used to treat several diseases associated with these processes; then an antioxidant test was performed with those plants in a previous work and twelve species with higher antioxidant activity were selected for AChE inhibition evaluation. The phenolic compounds content was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu test and flavonoid content with AlCl3 reagent using UV-visible spectrophotometry. The antioxidant activity was assessed analyzing the inhibitory activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS) and by the ß-carotene/linoleic acid system and acetylcholinesterase inhibition using qualitative and quantitative tests. The combination of better acetylcholinesterase inhibitory and antioxidant activities pointed out six species, in descending order, as the best potential sources of therapeutic agents against AD: Hancornia speciosa > Myracrodruon urundeuva > Copaifera langsdorffii > Stryphnodendron coriaceum > Psidium guajava > Mangifera indica. Besides, the phenolic compounds in the species probably contribute to these activities. However, further pharmacological studies to assess the specific applications of these plants against AD are required to confirm these results.

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Imperatriz, State of Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil / Estudo etnobotânico de plantas medicinais em Imperatriz, Estado do Maranhão, Nordeste do Brasil

The study of medicinal plants reveals locally important plant species often useful for the discovery of new drugs. The objective of this research was to conduct an ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by the population of the Imperatriz city, State of Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil. Two hundred and five interviews were conducted, resulting in the collection of 60 plant species from 31 plant families. The highest number of species belongs to Fabaceae, followed by Lamiaceae, Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae. The most reported species were Chenopodium ambrosioides, Myracrodruon urundeuva, Lippia alba, and Plectranthus barbatus. The main plant parts used were leaves (63.3%), bark (16.7%), fruits (6.7%), roots (6.7%), seeds (3.3), stems (1.7%) and latex (1.7%). Major administration routes were by oral (81.7%) or nasal via (1.6%) and topical application (16.7%) The plants were used to mitigate various health problems including pain, asthma, hypertension, gastritis, inflammation, influenza, and tuberculosis. The collected data shows that local population uses medicinal plants for treatment of several diseases and this study can serve as a basis for future chemical and pharmacological investigation, which can lead to the discovery of new therapeutic agents.

O estudo de plantas medicinais são em geral significativos em revelar espécies de plantas localmente importantes, principalmente para a descoberta de fármacos. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar um levantamento etnobotânico das plantas medicinais utilizadas pela população da cidade de Imperatriz no estado do Maranhão, Nordeste do Brasil. 205 entrevistas foram realizadas resultando na coleção de 60 espécies de 31 famílias de plantas. Fabaceae teve o maior número de espécies, seguido por Lamiaceae, Asteraceae e Euphorbiaceae. As espécies mais utilizadas foram Chenopodium ambrosioides, Myracrodruon urundeuva, Lippia alba e Plectranthus barbatus. As principais partes foram as folhas (63,3%), cascas (16,7%), frutos (6,7%), raízes (6,7%), sementes (3,3%), caule (1,7%) e látex (1,7%). As vias de administração mais frequentes foram oral (81,7%), tópica (16,7%) e nasal (1,6%). As plantas são utilizadas para diversos problemas de saúde como dores em geral, asma, hipertensão, gastrite, inflamação, gripe e tuberculose. Os dados mostram que população local utiliza plantas medicinais para tratamento de várias doenças e este estudo pode servir de base para estudos químicos e farmacológicos futuros que levem ao descobrimento de novos agentes terapêuticos.