Risk assessment of coffees of different qualities and degrees of roasting.

During the coffee beans roasting process, occurs the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are associated with the incidence of cancer in humans. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of coffee bean quality and roasting degree regarding mutagenicity, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. Six samples of coffee drink made with roasted and ground Coffea arabica beans from different qualities and roast degrees were used after freeze-drying. Both commercial and special quality grains suffered light, medium and dark roasting. According to the Salmonella/microsome assay, the highest concentration of commercial grain sample (dark roast) significantly increased the number of revertants of the TA98 strain in the absence of metabolization. All the samples induced cytotoxicity to HepG2 cells. These effects can be ranked in the following order from most to least toxic: medium roast - special grain > light roast - special grain > dark roast - commercial grain > dark roast - special grain > light roast - commercial grain > medium roast - commercial grain. None of the samples induced genotoxicity in HepG2 cells. Our findings show that the harmful effects of coffee depend not only on the degree of roasting but also on the grain quality.

Immunocytochemistry Analysis of HepG2 Cell 3D Culture Encapsulated as Spheroids in Alginate Beads.

3D Cell culture is an alternative to animal use in many drug development and toxicity studies. The 3D cell culture can mimic and reproduce the original tissue microenvironment, morphology, and mechanical and physiological characteristics, to provide a more realistic and reliable response as compared to two-dimensional cultures. 3D cell culture encapsulated in alginate beads is a very simple and relatively inexpensive tool that is easy to handle and to maintain. The alginate beads function as a scaffold that imprisons cells and allows 3D cell growth, to generate spheroids that can have greater genic expression and cell-cell communication as a nano or microtissue. The HepG2 cell line is a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell derivative. HepG2 cells preserve several of the characteristics of hepatocytes and are therefore often used in toxicity studies. Here, we describe HepG2 cell encapsulation in alginate beads and analyze the resulting spheroids formed within the alginate beads by immunocytochemistry, by staining a certain structure with a specific antibody coupled with a fluorophore. This method preserves the beads and enables cell analysis by confocal microscopy.

Toxicological evaluation of nail polish waste discarded in the environment.

Nail polish has been widely used around the world. However, the hazards of nail polishes discarded in the environment are still poorly investigated. Thus, the toxicogenetic effects of solubilized (SE) and leached (LE) extracts from nail polishes were investigated, simulating their disposal on water and landfill, respectively, and identifying their physicochemical properties and chemical constituents. Organic compounds and metals were detected in both extracts. SE and LE only induced mutagenic effects in TA98 Salmonella strain in the presence and absence of exogenous metabolic activation. Although both extracts did not significantly increase the frequency of micronucleated HepG2 cells, the cell viability was affected by 24-h exposure. No DNA damage was observed in gonad fish cells (RTG-2) exposed to both extracts; however, the highest SE and LE concentrations induced significant lethal and sublethal effects on zebrafish early-life stages during 96-h exposure. Based on our findings, it can be concluded that if nail polishes enter aquatic systems, it may cause negative impacts to the environment.

The impact of aromatic amines on the environment: risks and damages.

Aromatic amines are a group of chemicals whose ubiquitous presence in the environment is a result of the multitude of sources from which they originate. These compounds are widely used as raw materials or at intermediate stages in the manufacturing of industrial chemicals such as pesticides, medicines, dyestuffs, polymers, surfactants, cosmetics and corrosion inhibitors, especially in dyestuff factories. As with most chemical carcinogens, aromatic amines need to be metabolized into reactive electrophiles in order to exert their carcinogenic effects. This activation typically involves N-oxidation of arylamines to yield N-hydroxyarylamines. Since these amines are potential carcinogenic agents and are discharged into the atmosphere, water and soil, they constitute an important class of environmental pollutants of enormous concern due to the potential for human exposure.

Elderly and drugs: risks and necessity of rational use

In recent decades, the world has undergone a demographic transformation with a rapid growth of the elderly population, resulting in an increased demand for funds to maintain their health and drug consumption. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes occurring in the elderly can interfere directly in the adverse effects of drugs and increase the risk of intoxication. In addition, there are external factors interfering with the pharmacotherapy of the elderly, such as inappropriate use and the lack of access to information. Many therapeutic classes of drugs should be used with caution or avoided in the elderly population, such as anti-inflammatory and some anti-hypertensive drugs, diuretics and digitalis. If not managed carefully, these medicines can affect the safety and quality of life in the elderly. Thus, the aim of this review was to identify drugs that should be used with caution in elderly patients in order to avoid intoxication and/or adverse drug events.

Durante as últimas décadas, o mundo passou por uma transformação demográfica, com um rápido crescimento da população idosa e, portanto, tanto a demanda para a manutenção da saúde deste grupo populacional, quanto o consumo de medicamentos estão aumentando. Ainda, as mudanças farmacocinéticas e farmacodinâmicas que ocorrem em idosos podem interferir diretamente nos efeitos adversos dos medicamentos e aumentar o risco de intoxicação. Além disso, há fatores externos que interferem na farmacoterapia dos idosos, tais como o uso inadequado e a falta de acesso à informação. Existem várias classes terapêuticas de medicamentos que devem ser utilizados com cautela ou evitados na população idosa, tais como antiinflamatórios, alguns anti-hipertensivos, diuréticos, digitálicos entre outros. Estes medicamentos, se não forem utilizados com cuidado, podem afetar a qualidade de vida e a segurança desta população. Assim, este trabalho visa identificar medicamentos que devem ser utilizados com cuidado em pacientes idosos para evitar intoxicações e/ou eventos adversos aos medicamentos.

Evaluation of extracts from Coccoloba mollis using the Salmonella/microsome system and in vivo tests

The common everyday use of medicinal plants is an ancient, and still very widespread practice, whereby the need for studies on their possible toxicity and mutagenic properties. The species Coccoloba mollis has been much used in phytotherapy, mainly in cases involving loss of memory and stress. In order to investigate its genotoxic and mutagenic potential, ethanolic extracts from the leaves and roots underwent Salmonella/microsome assaying (TA98 and TA100 strains, with and without exogenous metabolism - S9), besides comet and micronucleus tests in vivo.There was no significant increase in the number of revertants/plate of Salmonella strains in any of the analyzed root-extract concentrations, although the extract itself was extremely toxic to the Salmonella TA98 strain in the tests carried out with S9 (doses varying from 0.005 to 0.5 µg/plate). On the other hand, the leaf-extract induced mutations in the TA98 strain in the absence of S9 in the highest concentration evaluated, although at very low mutagenic potency (0.004 rev/µg). Furthermore, there was no statistically significant increase in the number of comets and micronuclei, in treatments involving Swiss mice. It was obvious that extracts of Coccoloba mollis, under the described experimental conditions, are not mutagenic.

The azo dyes Disperse Red 1 and Disperse Orange 1 increase the micronuclei frequencies in human lymphocytes and in HepG2 cells.

The use of azo dyes by different industries can cause direct and/or indirect effects on human and environmental health due to the discharge of industrial effluents that contain these toxic compounds. Several studies have demonstrated the genotoxic effects of various azo dyes, but information on the DNA damage caused by Disperse Red 1 and Disperse Orange 1 is unavailable, although these dyes are used in dyeing processes in many countries. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the mutagenic activity of Disperse Red 1 and Disperse Orange 1 using the micronucleus (MN) assay in human lymphocytes and in HepG2 cells. In the lymphocyte assay, it was found that the number of MN induced by the lowest concentration of each dye (0.2 microg/mL) was similar to that of the negative control. At the other concentrations, a dose response MN formation was observed up to 1.0 microg/mL. At higher dose levels, the number of MN decreased. For the HepG2 cells the results were similar. With both dyes a dose dependent increase in the frequency of MN was detected. However for the HepG2, the threshold for this increase was 2.0 microg/mL, while at higher doses a reduction in the MN number was observed. The proliferation index was also calculated in order to evaluate acute toxicity during the test. No differences were detected between the different concentrations tested and the negative control.