Quantificação de fluoreto ingerido pela dieta utilizando questionário de frequência alimentar e concentração de fluoreto nas unhas em crianças de 1 a 3 anos de idade / Quantification of fluoride ingested by diet using a food frequency questionnaire and fluoride concentration in the nails in children aged 1 to 3 years

Objetivo: Avaliar a ingestão de fluoreto (F) por crianças de 1 a 3 anos de idade pela dieta e a concentração de F nas unhas. Método: Crianças (n=202) de 12 meses de idade, participantes de um programa preventivo para bebês, tiveram a ingestão de F monitorada por meio da aplicação de um Questionário de Frequência Alimentar semiquantitativo (QFA), composto por 70 itens, divididos em 9 grupos de alimentos frequentemente encontrados na dieta de crianças nesta faixa etária. O QFA foi aplicado durante 2 anos, a cada 3 meses, juntamente com a coleta das unhas e de água usada para beber ou preparar comida. A concentração de F da dieta, nas unhas e na água foi determinada com eletrodo íon-específico, após microdifusão facilitada por hexametildisiloxano ou pelo método direto. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à análise de variância a dois critérios, seguida pelo teste de comparação múltipla de StudentNewman-Keuls , bem como coeficiente de correlação de Sperman (p<0,05). Resultados: A média da ingestão de F pela dieta e água aumentou significativamente dos 12 aos 24 meses (0,015 mg F/Kg/dia e 0,09 mg F/Kg/dia) (p<0,05) declinando após 27 meses (0,011 mg F/Kg/dia e 0,05 mg F/Kg/dia) (p<0,05). Aos 36 meses um pico foi observado na ingestão de F pela dieta (0,013mg F /Kg/dia) (p<0,05). Houve crescente aumento nos níveis de F nas unhas dos pés e mãos, com diferença significativa em alguns períodos de estudo (18 à 27 meses, p<0,05), sendo que maiores concentrações de F foram vistas nas unhas das mãos em relação aos pés (3,7 µg F/g; 3,4 µg F/g, respectivamente p<0,05). Entre a estimativa de ingestão de fluoreto em função do peso da criança (mg F/kg/dia) e o fluoreto nas unhas da mão (Sperman?s r = -0,024; p=0,396) ou unhas do pé (Sperman?s r = -0,002; p=0,957), nenhuma correlação foi observada. Conclusão: A ingestão de fluoreto por meio da dieta em crianças de 1 a 3 anos de idade ficou dentro de limites considerados como seguros e o QFA parece ser uma boa ferramenta para estimar a ingestão de fluoreto de crianças.. Pequenas variações na ingestão diária de F pela dieta foram detectadas nas unhas ao longo dos períodos de estudo (após 30 a 60 dias)(AU)

Objective: To evaluate fluoride (F) intake by 1-3 year-old children from the diet, as well as F concentrations in fingernails and toenails. Methods: Children (n=202) 12 months old, participants in a preventive program for infants, had their F ingestion monitored by means of the application of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), composed of 70 items, divided into 9 groups of foodstuff. The FFQ was applied during 2 years, every 3 months, along with the collection of nails and water samples used for drinking and food preparation. The concentration of F in the diet, nails, and water was determined with an ion-specific electrode, after hexamethyldisiloxane-facilitated microdiffusion or by the direct method. The data obtained were submitted to the 2-way analysis of variance criteria followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls, and by Spearman correlation coeficiente (p<0.05). Results: The average ingestion of F by diet and water was significantly higher from 12 to 24 months (0.015 mg F/Kg/day and 0.09 mg F/Kg/day) (p<0.05), decreasing after 27 months (0.011 mg F/Kg/day and 0.05 mg F/Kg/day) (p<0.05). At 36 months, a peak of F ingestion from the diet (0.013mg F /Kg/day) (p<0.05) was observed. There was a continuous increase in F levels in finger- and toenails, with a significant difference in some periods of the study (18 to 27 months, p<0.05); higher F concentrations were observed for fingernails over toenails (3.7 µg F/g; 3.4 µg F/g, respectively, p<0.05). No significant correlation was observed between the estimate of ingestion of fluoride related to the weight of the child (mg F/kg/day) and the fluoride in fingernails (Spearman?s r = -0.024; p=0.396) or toenails (Spearman?s r = -0.002; p=0.957). Conclusion: The ingestion of fluoride from the diet in 1-3 year-old children was shown to fall within safe limits, and the FFQ appears to be a satisfactory tool to estimate the ingestion of fluoride. Small variations of daily ingestion of F by diet were detected in the nails through the periods in the study (after 30 to 60 days)(AU)

Evaluation of Boldine Activity against Intracellular Amastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected and endemic disease that affects poorest population mainly in developing countries. A lack of adequate and definitive chemotherapeutic agents to fight against this infection has led to the investigation of numerous compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro activity of boldine against Leishmania amazonensis murine cell infection. Boldine ((S)-2,9-dihydroxy-1,10-dimethoxy-aporphine) is an aporphine alkaloid found abundantly in the leaves/bark of boldo (Peumus boldus Molina), a widely distributed tree native to Chile. The in vitro system consisted of murine macrophage infection with amastigotes of L. amazonensis treated with different concentrations from 50 to 600 µg/ml of boldine for 24 hr. Intracellular parasite destruction was assessed by morphological examination and boldine cytotoxicity to macrophages was tested by the MTT viability assay. When cells were treated with 100 µg/ml of boldine the reduction of parasite infection was 81% compared with untreated cultures cells. Interestingly, boldine-treatment caused a concentration-dependent decrease of macrophage infection that culminated with 96% of reduction when cells were submitted to 600 µg/ml of boldine. Cell cultures exposed to 100 µg/ml of boldine and 300 µg/ml of Glucantime® during 24 hr showed a significant reduction of 50% in parasitized cells compared with cell cultures exposed just to Glucantime®. The study showed that treatment with boldine produces a better effect than treatment with the reference antimonial drug, glucantime, in L. amazonensis infected macrophage. Our results suggest that boldine is a potentially useful agent for the treatment of leishmaniasis.