Chili powder is an important condiment around the world. However, according to various reports, the presence of pathogenic microorganisms could present a public health risk factor during its consumption. Therefore, microbiological quality assessment is required to understand key microbial functional traits, such as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and bioinformatics analysis were used to characterize the comprehensive profiles of the bacterial community and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in 15 chili powder samples from different regions of Mexico. The initial bacterial load showed aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) ranging between 6 × 103 and 7 × 108 CFU/g, sporulated mesophilic bacteria (SMB) from 4.3 × 103 to 2 × 109 CFU/g, and enterobacteria (En) from <100 to 2.3 × 106 CFU/g. The most representative families in the samples were Bacillaceae and Enterobacteriaceae, in which 18 potential pathogen-associated species were detected. In total, the resistome profile in the chili powder contained 68 unique genes, which conferred antibiotic resistance distributed in 13 different classes. Among the main classes of antibiotic resistance genes with a high abundance in almost all the samples were those related to multidrug, tetracycline, beta-lactam, aminoglycoside, and phenicol resistance. Our findings reveal the utility of mNGS in elucidating microbiological quality in chili powder to reduce the public health risks and the spread of potential pathogens with antibiotic resistance mechanisms.
Previous studies, based on limited data, found elevated levels of mercury in carp in Lake Chapala, Mexico. The extent of mercury contamination in carp throughout the Lake has not been determined. In order to obtain reliable information about total mercury concentration in carp (Cyprinus carpio), 262 fish from 27 sites (approximately 10 fish per site) throughout the lake were analyzed. Results were expressed as the mean and median of the results at each site. Only one of the samples exceeded Mexican National Standard (1.0 ppm) for mercury in fish flesh. We discuss these results in comparison to World Health Organization (WHO), US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) criteria; many of our samples exceed these criteria based on Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) or Reference Dose (RfD). ANOVA of four groups of mercury results clustered by distance from the Lerma showed statistically significant differences (P = 0.0071) between the group closest to, versus farthest from, the Lerma River.
Carps/metabolism , Environmental Exposure , Food Contamination/analysis , Mercury/metabolism , Water Pollutants, Chemical/metabolism , Animals , Environmental Monitoring , Female , Humans , Lakes , Male , Mexico , Spectrophotometry, Atomic
Objetivo. Determinar prevalencia y factores de riesgo de la diabetes mellitus (DM) e hiperlipidemias en un grupo de indígenas otomíes de Querétaro. Material y métodos. Entre 1996 y 1997, en muestreo de conveniencia se trabajó con 91 indígenas, de 15 a 77 años de edad, de las comunidades de Yosphí y El Rincón, del estado de Querétaro, México. Se tomaron muestras sanguíneas en ayuno y se determinó la concentración de glucosa, colesterol y triglicéridos. Se realizó análisis estadístico para comparación entre sexos y grupos de edad. Resultados. La prevalencia de DM fue 4.4 por ciento, la de hipercolesterolemia 7.2 por ciento, y la de hipertrigliceridemia (HTG) 26 por ciento. Las concentracio-nes promedio de glucosa (81.0ñ24.4 mg/dl) y triglicéridos (157.4ñ88.9 mg/dl) se incrementaron significativamente con la edad (p=0.0279 y p<0.0001 respectivamente), de igual manera para la prevalencia de HTG (p<0.0001). Conclusiones. Los resultados sugieren que cambios drásticos en los patrones tradicionales de alimentación que conservan los indígenas otomíes pueden originar problemas de salud asociados a la elevación de lípidos en sangre. El texto completo en inglés de este artículo está disponible en: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Glucose Intolerance , Diabetes Mellitus , Hypercholesterolemia , Ethnicity/statistics & numerical data , Risk Factors , Mexico
