Beneficial effects of mate-herb, Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil. against potassium dichromate-induced oxidative stress and nephrotoxicity.

Chimarrão is a typical beverage made from the infusion of dried and ground leaves and stems of Ilex paraguariensis (popularly known as Yerba mate or mate herb) which is widely consumed in parts of South America. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the chimarrão against nephrotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by the potassium dichromate (PD) salt in male Wistar rats. The experiment lasted 17 days, and in the first 15 days animals ingested a chimarrão infusion or control drinking water and then submitted to an intraperitoneal injection (15 mg/kg) of PD (or saline solution) and euthanized after 48 hr at which time animals still received infusion or drinking water. Blood plasma and 24 hr-urine samples were collected to measure creatinine levels as an estimate of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Concomitantly oxidative stress was determined in the kidneys as evidenced by levels of carbonyl groups, malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals. Potassium dichromate induced oxidative stress in the kidneys and reduced GFR. Treatment with chimarrão during the 15 days prior to PD injection reduced PD salt-mediated oxidative stress. Further, treatment with post-injection chimarrão to PD-administered rats improved the GFR. Our findings support that the use of the chimarrão beverage may be considered as an important nephroprotective substance.

Genetic damage in coal and uranium miners.

Mining has a direct impact on the environment and on the health of miners and is considered one of the most hazardous occupations worldwide. Miners are exposed to several occupational health risks, including genotoxic substances, which may cause adverse health effects, such as cancer. This review summarizes the relation between DNA damage and mining activities, focusing on coal and uranium miners. The search was performed using electronic databases, including original surveys reporting genetic damage in miners. Additionally, a temporal bibliometric analysis was performed using an electronic database to create a map of cooccurrence terms. The majority of studies were performed with regard to occupational exposure to coal, whereas genetic damage was assessed mainly through chromosomal aberrations (CAs), micronuclei (MNs) and comet assays. The bibliometric analysis demonstrated associations of coal exposure with silicosis and pneumoconiosis, uranium miners with lung cancer and tumors and some associated factors, such as age, smoking, working time and exposure to radiation. Significantly higher DNA damage in miners compared to nonexposed groups was observed in most of the studies. The timeline reveals that classic biomarkers (comet assay, micronucleus test and chromosomal aberrations) are still important tools to assess genotoxic/mutagenic damage in occupationally exposed miners; however, newer studies concerning genetic polymorphisms and epigenetic changes in miners are being conducted. A major challenge is to investigate further associations between miners and DNA damage and to encourage further studies with miners of other types of ores.

Multimarker approach to assess the exposure of the wild rodent Calomys laucha to a simulated crude oil spill.

A mysterious oil spill occurred in the ocean near Brazil in 2019, which affected coastal areas in northeastern Brazil. When oil pollution occurs in coastal zones, organisms such as small mammals can suffer deleterious effects to their health. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of exposure to contaminated sandy soil with different crude oil concentrations in males of the species Calomys laucha. The exposure to crude oil resulted in multiple health issues for the subjects in the very first days of exposure. Furthermore, the exposure resulted in mutagenic damage to bone marrow blood cells and behavioral and morphological alterations, which were almost always in a dose-dependent form. The present study demonstrates the sensibility of the biomarkers used and highlights that small wild mammals such as C. laucha are useful for predicting environmental damage caused by the exposure to crude oil.