Characterization of metformin by-products under photolysis, photocatalysis, ozonation and chlorination by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry.

RATIONALE: Metformin (MTF) is the most widely prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes. Studies involving the removal of MTF from aqueous solutions and detailed information regarding the overall degradation process are scarce. METHODS: The degradation of MTF in aqueous solution induced by direct photolysis, photocatalysis, ozonation and chlorination was evaluated. The process was continuously monitored focusing on the identification and monitoring of the by-products formed by applying high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry in positive ion mode. The cytotoxicity of metformin by-products was evaluated with an MTT assay. RESULTS: The results from the chlorination and ozonation tests indicate metformin removal efficiencies of 60% after 30 min of exposure. On the other hand, direct photolysis (UV-C) and heterogeneous photocatalysis (TiO2 /UV-C) led to a lower degree of metformin degradation, with removal efficiencies of 9.2% and 31%, respectively, after 30 min of exposure. The mineralization rates varied from 20% for ozonation to 0.72% for photolysis, thereby indicating there was accumulation of degradation by-products in all experiments. Mass spectrometric analysis indicated the presence of five metformin by-products. It was not possible to identify any by-product generated in the photolysis, and, in all oxidative assays, the treated samples were nontoxic to HepG2 cells. CONCLUSIONS: It is also observed that all systems exhibited low mineralization rates, with the chlorination process being slightly more efficient in promoting the degradation, whereas the ozonation was more efficient in promoting the mineralization of metformin. Based on these results a route for the chlorination, photodegradation and ozonation of MTF, which comprised of its successive oxidation in the aqueous medium, could be proposed. It could also be concluded that the treated samples were not cytotoxic to HepG2 cells in a MTT assay. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Strategies to select yeast starters cultures for production of flavor compounds in cachaça fermentations.

In this work, we have used classical genetics techniques to find improved starter strains to produce cachaça with superior sensorial quality. Our strategy included the selection of yeast strains resistant to 5,5',5″-trifluor-D: ,L: -leucine (TLF) and cerulenin, since these strains produce higher levels of higher alcohols and esters than parental strains. However, no clear relationship was observed when levels of flavoring compounds were compared with the levels expression of the genes (BAT1, BAT2, ATF2, EEB1 genes) involved with the biosynthesis of flavoring compounds. Furthermore, we determined the stability of phenotypes considered as the best indicators of the quality of the cachaça for a parental strain and its segregants. By applying the principal component analysis, a cluster of segregants, showing a high number of characteristics similar to the parental strain, was recognized. One segregant, that was resistant to TLF and cerulenin, also showed growth stability after six consecutive replications on plates containing high concentrations of sugar and ethanol. "Cachaça" produced at laboratory scale using a parental strain and this segregant showed a higher level of flavoring compounds. Both strains predominated in an open fermentative process through seven cycles, as was shown by mitochondrial restriction fragment length polymorphisms analysis. Based on the physical chemical composition of the obtained products, the results demonstrate the usefulness of the developed strategies for the selection of yeast strains to be used as starters in "cachaça" production.

Removal of cephalexin and erythromycin antibiotics, and their resistance genes, by microalgae-bacteria consortium from wastewater treatment plant secondary effluents.

Antibiotics have become a concern in the aquatic environments owing to the potential development of bacterial resistances. Thus, this study evaluated the removal of cephalexin (CEP) and erythromycin (ERY) from a local wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, mediated by microalgae-bacteria consortium. Likewise, the removal of correlated antibiotics resistance genes blaTEM and ermB was also assessed. The incubation results showed that the added concentrations of selected antibiotics did not restrain the consortium growth. Moreover, CEP and ERY were almost completely removed after the cultivation period, reaching total removals of 96.54% and 92.38%, respectively. The symbiotic interaction between microalgae and bacteria plays a role in the kinetics removal of CEP and ERY. The abundance of blaTEM and ermB was reduced by 0.56 and 1.75 logs, respectively. Lastly, our results suggest that technology based on natural microalgae-bacteria consortium could be a potential alternative to improve the quality of WWTP effluents.

Antibiotic consumption in developing countries defies global commitments: an overview on Brazilian growth in consumption.

Faster spread of epidemics has turned local concerns into global crises; antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is being considered a major threat to public health in the twenty-first century. Antibiotic misuse plays a great role in accelerated AMR; thus, understanding and discussing consumption patterns has been a trend topic over the past years. Developing countries, such as Brazil, have high growth rates in antibiotic consumption, potentially impacting global environmental safety. This study presents the compiled information from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) on antibiotic dispensation across the country and maps the consumption trends between the years of 2013 and 2016. The most consumed substances were beta-lactams (amoxicillin and cephalexin) and macrolides (azithromycin). National relative growth consumption in the mentioned period was 18%. At the local level, growth of consumption ranged from 4 to 85%, with rampage growth concentrated in the North and Northeast regions. Brazilian laws, such as restriction of over-the-counter sales and mandatory report on dispensation, seem to have little effect on the national antibiotic consumption growth. This phenomenon growth is still elevated if compared with developed countries, demonstrating the need for further surveillance as well as coordinated efforts aiming at antibiotic use and AMR prevention.

Biodegradation of sulfamethoxazole by microalgae-bacteria consortium in wastewater treatment plant effluents.

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) has been commonly detected in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. SMX and other antibiotics can be considered as environmental contaminants of emerging concern. Due to their toxicity effects and their potential for the development of bacterial resistance their presence in aquatic compartment becomes a threat to human health. This study evaluated the bioremediation of SMX in WWTP effluents using a tertiary treatment composed by microalgae-bacteria consortium under low intensity artificial LED illumination, and also the assessment of sulfonamide resistance gene (sul1). The removal of SMX from WWTP effluents were 54.34 ± 2.35%, in which the microalgae-bacteria consortium improves the removal performance of SMX. The main process of SMX removal can be attributed to the symbiotic biodegradation by bacteria due to the increase of oxygen released by the microalgae photosynthetic process. Therefore, the microalgae-bacteria consortium used in this study, demonstrated to be a promising alternative for bioremediation of SMX, with potential for removal others contaminants from wastewater effluent. However, the residual SMX and the relative abundance of antibiotics resistance genes (ARG) found in this study suggest that SMX contributes to selective pressure for ARG maintenance and proliferation in WWTP effluent. Thus, further studies to removal ARG from WWTP effluent are needed.