Maternal consumption of polyphenol-rich foods in late pregnancy and fetal ductus arteriosus flow dynamics.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that maternal consumption of polyphenol-rich foods during third trimester interferes with fetal ductal dynamics by inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis. STUDY DESIGN: In a prospective analysis, Doppler ductal velocities and right-to-left ventricular dimensions ratio of 102 fetuses exposed to polyphenol-rich foods (daily estimated maternal consumption >75th percentile, or 1089 mg) were compared with 41 unexposed fetuses (flavonoid ingestion <25th percentile, or 127 mg). RESULT: In the exposed fetuses, ductal velocities were higher (systolic: 0.96+/-0.23 m/s; diastolic: 0.17+/-0.05 m/s) and right-to-left ventricular ratio was higher (1.23+/-0.23) than in unexposed fetuses (systolic: 0.61+/-0.18 m/s, P<0.001; diastolic: 0.11+/-0.04 m/s, P=0.011; right-to-left ventricular ratio: 0.94+/-0.14, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: As maternal polyphenol-rich foods intake in late gestation may trigger alterations in fetal ductal dynamics, changes in perinatal dietary orientation are warranted.

Incidence of toxigenic fungi and ochratoxin A in dried fruits sold in Brazil.

A total of 117 dried fruit samples (black sultanas, white sultanas, dates, dried plums, dried figs and apricots) from different origins were analysed both for toxigenic fungi and for the presence of ochratoxin A. Amongst the fungi found, Aspergillus niger was predominant, with 406 isolates, of which 15% were ochratoxin A producers. They were followed by A. ochraceus, with 15 isolates and 87% ochratoxigenics, and A. carbonarius, with only five isolates of which 60% were ochratoxin A producers. The average infection rates for A. niger in black sultanas, plums, figs, dates and white sultanas were 22.0, 8.0, 4.0, 1.5 and 0.5%, respectively. The apricot samples were not contaminated by any fungi or ochratoxin A. Black sultana and dried figs contained the highest contamination with ochratoxin A, with 33 and 26.3% of the samples containing more than 5 microg kg(-1) respectively, while all the white sultanas, dates and plums had no sample that exceeded this limit.

Study of the microencapsulation of camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) juice.

The camu-camu, like many other Amazonian fruits, shows an excellent potential for use due to its high vitamin C content, and the use of these natural resources could result in greater development of the Amazonian region. Few studies have been conducted with this fruit, and such studies are necessary in order to develop the required technology to allow for its utilization, thus avoiding or at least decreasing wastage of such a rich raw material. The principle objective of this study was to develop a process for the microencapsulation of camu-camu juice, optimizing the operational conditions. The processing conditions consisted of blanching at a temperature of 95 +/- 2 degrees C for 2 min, followed by cooling in an ice bath and juice extraction using a brush type depulper. The juice was dried with gum arabic or malt dextrin in a mini-spray dryer using an air entry temperature of between 100-160 degrees C and wall material concentration varying between 5-35%, in accordance with a factorial experimental design. Both the air entry temperature and the amount of wall material, plus the interaction between the two, gave significant positive effects at the level of 5% probability on the yield of juice powder. The optimum conditions for juice yield and vitamin C retention were established as 15% wall material and an air entry temperature of 150 degrees C.

Anti-inflammatory activity of propolis extracts: a review

Since primeval times, the inflammatory process has been described in many different ways. Several anti-inflammatory therapies have been used in different biological models. However, in a recent "back to nature move", modern man is searching for natural products with medicinal properties, particularly those obtained from plants and bees. Propolis has been used in folk medicine for a very long time. The many compounds present in propolis require investigation. Physical-chemical analysis studies have not sufficiently established quality standards of propolis containing products. These standards should depend especially on their different pharmacological activities. There are few studies reporting on the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of propolis containing products. It is necessary to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of commercial products containing propolis.

Fetal myocardial hypertrophy in an experimental model of gestational diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: The frequent occurrence of prenatal hypertrophy of the muscular ventricular septum has been widely reported in fetuses of diabetic mothers. OBJECTIVES: This experimental study was carried out to test the hypothesis that the weight of the heart, the ratio of the cardiac weight to that of the body, the thickness of the muscular ventricular septum, and the myocytic profile within the ventricular septum are all increased in fetuses of diabetic rats in comparison to fetuses of normal rats. METHODS: Diabetes was induced in 5 pregnant Wistar rats, bearing 30 fetuses, on the eighth day after conception, by intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg of streptozotocin. Five normal pregnant Wistar rats, bearing 20 fetuses, made up the control group. Morphometric data were obtained by a computer-assisted method applied to the measurements of the thickness of the ventricular septum, and myocytic nuclear area. Statistical analysis utilized Student's t-test and Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: The mean thickness of the septum was 675.56 microm (+/-159) in the control fetuses, and 904.39 microm (+/-262) in the fetuses carried by diabetic mothers (p < 0.001). The cardiac weight was 0.016 g (+/-0.004) in the control group, and 0.023 g (+/-0.005) in the group of diabetic fetuses (p < 0.001). The ratio of cardiac to body weight was 0.294% (+/-0.079) in the control group, and 0.514% (+/-0.073) in the diabetic group (p < 0.001). The myocytic nuclear area was 14.70 microm2 in the control group, and 21.43 microm2 in the diabetic group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of cellular and morphologic cardiac hypertrophy in fetuses of diabetic rats was demonstrated by the significant difference between the two groups for each analyzed feature.

Evaluation of residual levels of benomyl, methyl parathion, diuron, and vamidothion in pineapple pulp and bagasse (Smooth cayenne).

The objective of this research was to study the residual levels of benomyl, methyl parathion, diuron, and vamidothion in pineapple bagasse and pulp. Benomyl (benlate), methyl parathion (Folidol 600), diuron (Krovar), and Vamidothion (Kilval 300) were applied pre-harvest to pineapples (smooth cayenne). After harvesting, the fruits were washed (100 ppm sodium hypochlorite) and the pulp was separated from the sub-products (peel, core, tops, and tails). The pulp was not submitted to any heat treatment. The sub-products and the juice expressed from them, were submitted to a blanching process (95 degrees C for 1 min). After separating the juice, the bagasse and pulp were analyzed for residues of diuron and benomyl by high performance liquid chromatography, and for residues of vamidothion and methyl parathion by gas chromatography using a TSD detector. No residues of benomyl, diuron, vamidothion, or methyl parathion were detected in the pulp within the quantification limits of the methods (0.1 mg/kg, 0.1 mg/kg, 0.005 mg/kg, and 0.005 mg/kg, respectively). Only methyl parathion (0.052 mg/kg) and vamidothion (0.021 mg/kg) were detected in the bagasse. The presence of these residues in the bagasse was probably due to the action of the wax found in the peel, which prevented the methyl parathion and vamidothion from dissolving in the juice. According to these results, the pulp was fit for human consumption, as far as pesticide residues were concerned, and the bagasse was fit for animal feed and similar applications, because the residual levels found were below the limits established for these compounds.

Carbohydrate content and metabolism as related to maturity and chilling sensitivity of cv. Fortune mandarins.

Fruits of cv. Fortune mandarin were periodically harvested throughout the ripening period to evaluate changes in carbohydrate content and metabolism in flavedo tissue and to determine the potential role of carbohydrates in the tolerance of citrus fruit to chilling injury (CI). Sucrose showed little change in the flavedo during the season, but fructose and glucose increased, in nearly equal amounts, throughout the fall and winter, reaching a maximum in January. Starch levels were less abundant than soluble carbohydrates and rose continuously until March. Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS; EC 4.1.14) activity decreased from December throughout ripening. Changes in sucrose synthase (SS; EC 2.4.1.13) and acid and alkaline invertase (Inv; EC 3.2.1.26) activities correlated with changes in the reducing sugars, but acid invertase was less active than the other sucrose-metabolizing enzymes. Carbohydrate changes in the flavedo of Fortune mandarins with fruit maturity appear not to be related to the chilling tolerance of fruits during cold storage.

Mouse ear edema modulation by different propolis ethanol extracts.

The anti-inflammatory activity of 14 commercial ethanol extracts of propolis were evaluated, using a mouse ear inflammation model induced by arachidonic acid. Indometacin was also assayed as standard anti-inflammatory agent. Different activities were observed and discussed. This model could be used to assess the anti-inflammatory quality of propolis extracts and facilitate their posological usage on skin edema resulting from wounds.

Resistance of Trypanosoma cruzi to blood clearance induced by acute-phase immune mouse serum.

To investigate functional changes in Trypanosoma cruzi parasites induced during their interaction with the vertebrate host, we compared the blood clearance profiles of blood forms isolated from infected normal mice (Reg-Tc) or from infected mice immunodepressed after treatment with cyclophosphamide (Cy-Tc). Parasite blood numbers were measured at various time intervals in animals injected intravenously (i.v.) with 1-2 x 10(6) T. cruzi of either isolate. In the absence of added immune sera (spontaneous clearance), Reg-Tc and Cy-Tc were cleared from blood at similar rates. However, when acute immune mouse serum (Ac-IMS) was injected i.v. 2 min after inoculation of parasites, a significant proportion of Cy-Tc only was cleared from the blood an hour later, whereas Reg-Tc were not, their clearance profile being identical to that observed in mice injected with normal mouse serum. Cy-Tc susceptibility to Ac-IMS was not the result of a toxic effect of cyclophosphamide over T. cruzi as parasites recovered from animals immunodepressed by irradiation before infection were cleared similarly by acute serum. Contrary to Ac-IMS, chronic immune mouse serum induced similar rates of disappearance of Reg-Tc and Cy-Tc from blood. Our results suggest the occurrence of T. cruzi selection or modification during the acute phase, which leads to an increased parasite resistance to the clearance properties of acute-phase antibodies.

Evolution of subpatent parasitaemia in Trypanosoma cruzi chronically infected mice with the help of a cyclophosphamide amplification transfer assay.

We have evaluated the sensitivity of the classical blood subinoculation method, modified through cyclophosphamide treatment of transferred mice, for the detection of occult parasitaemias in Trypanosoma cruzi chronically infected mice. Besides its simplicity, the method was shown to be highly sensitive for both the "chronic" phase parasites (99% of chronic cases were shown to harbour occult parasitaemias) and for the acute phase parasites (T. cruzi could be detected in 53.8% of animals transferred with one Y strain parasite and in 20% of animals transferred with one CL strain parasite). Using acute phase bloodforms, the assay proved to be more sensitive than conventional subinoculation when dealing with the CL, but not the Y strain of the parasite. With the help of this parasite detection tool, we have studied during a one year period, the evolution of subpatent parasitaemias in a group of mice which survived through chemotherapy from lethal acute phase of T. cruzi infection. Cyclophosphamide transfer assay revealed occult parasitaemias in 100% of the chronic animals, nevertheless, continuous and discontinuous patterns of positivity were observed.

Immunological behavior in callithricidae marmosets vaccinated with a live avirulent strain of trypanosoma cruzi

An attempt was made to offer immunological protection against infection with virulent Trypanosoma cruzi strains to 62 marmosets belonging to the species Callithrix jacchus geoffroyi (Humboldt, 1818) and Callithrix jacchus (Linné, 1758). All results were negative, since the challenged animals showed positive parasitemia after two or more vaccinations with the PF strain, that had been shown to be avirulent and immunogenic for other laboratory animals (Menezes, 1972b). Chagas (1909) reported marmosets to be among the most sensitive animals to infection with Trypanosoma cruzi. The A. confirm this observation, but concludes that this high susceptibility of marmosets is certainly due to their immunoincompetence, as demonstrated by Harvey et al. (1974) and Gengozian et al. (1978). This must also have been the reason for the failure of the present experiment

Vaccination of Callithrix jacchus (Linne 1758) marmosets with the PF strain of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Saguis da especie Callithrix jacchus vacinados mais de uma vez, com altas doses de tripanosomas da cepa PF do T. cruzi, apresentam certo grau de parasitemia relacionado com o numero de parasitas injetados. Trinta dias apos a vacinacao todos os animais estavam vivos e sem manifestacoes aparentes da doenca.A relacao entre a dose de tripanosomas injetados e as parasitemias observadas e discutida e analisada bem como a incompetencia imunologica dos animais usados

The effect of an immune RNA (RNAi) against Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice.

Immune ribonucleic acid (RNAi) was extracted with phenol from the spleen of mice immunized with the avirulent PF strain of Trypanosoma cruzi. These preparations were able to induce immunocompetent cells to answer as a secondary response to later challenges with the virulent Y strain of the same parasite. The preparations of RNAi were"immunogenic" and free of proteins. The RNAi preparations were sensitive to pancreatic RNAase and lost their immune effect when pretreated with this enzyme. The injections of normal RNA (RNAn) obtained by the same method showed that this polymer acts as an immuno supressor or competitive agent. The electrophoretic profiles of the RNAi preparations in polyacrylamide gels showed normal and characteristic migration patterns (28S, 18S and 4.5S). These results demonstrate the development of an immune state against T. cruzi infection in mice injected with RNAi, in the absence of living parasites.

The protective effect of the epimastigote forms of the PF strain of Trypanosoma cruzi against a virulent homologous infection.

Epimastigotes are assumed to be non-infective forms of trypanosomes. However, epimastigotes of the PF strain of the Trypanosoma cruzi when injected in mice, in a single low dose, conferred on the animals a very good protection against challenge of a virulent homologous strain.