Do Bioactive Food Compound with Avena sativa L., Linum usitatissimum L. and Glycine max L. Supplementation with Moringa oleifera Lam. Have a Role against Nutritional Disorders? An Overview of the In Vitro and In Vivo Evidence.

Functional clinical nutrition is an integrative science; it uses dietary strategies, functional foods and medicinal plants, as well as combinations thereof. Both functional foods and medicinal plants, whether associated or not, form nutraceuticals, which can bring benefits to health, in addition to being included in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Some functional food effects from Avena sativa L. (oats), Linum usitatissimum L. (brown flaxseed), Glycine max L. (soya) and Moringa oleifera have been proposed for nutritional disorders through in vitro and in vivo tests. A formulation called a bioactive food compound (BFC) showed efficiency in the association of oats, flaxseed and soy for dyslipidemia and obesity. In this review, we discuss the effects of BFC in other nutritional disorders, as well as the beneficial effects of M. oleifera in obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, metabolic syndrome, intestinal inflammatory diseases/colorectal carcinogenesis and malnutrition. In addition, we hypothesized that a BFC enriched with M. oleifera could present a synergistic effect and play a potential benefit in nutritional disorders. The traditional consumption of M. oleifera preparations can allow associations with other formulations, such as BFC. These nutraceutical formulations can be easily accepted and can be used in sweet preparations (fruit and/or vegetable juices, fruit and/or vegetable vitamins, porridges, yogurt, cream, mousses or fruit salads, cakes and cookies) or savory (vegetable purees, soups, broths and various sauces), cooked or not. These formulations can be low-cost and easy-to-use. The association of bioactive food substances in dietary formulations can facilitate adherence to consumption and, thus, contribute to the planning of future nutritional interventions for the prevention and adjuvant treatment of the clinical conditions presented in this study. This can be extended to the general population. However, an investigation through clinical studies is needed to prove applicability in humans.

Impact of combined long-term fructose and prednisolone intake on glucose and lipid homeostasis in rats: benefits of intake interruption or fish oil administration.

We investigated whether combined long-term fructose and prednisolone intake would be more detrimental to the glucose homeostasis than if ingested separately. We also evaluated whether fish oil administration or interruption of treatments has any positive impact. For this, male adult Wistar rats ingested fructose (20%) (F) or prednisolone (12.5 µg/mL) (P) or both (FP) through drinking water for 12 weeks. A separate group of fructose and prednisolone-treated rats received fish oil treatment (1 g/kg) in the last 6 weeks. In another group, the treatment with fructose and prednisolone was interrupted after 12 weeks, and the animals were followed for more 12 weeks. Control groups ran in parallel (C). The F group had higher plasma TG (+42%) and visceral adiposity (+63%), whereas the P group had lower insulin sensitivity (-33%) and higher insulinemia (+200%). Only the the FP group developed these alterations combined with higher circulating uric acid (+126%), hepatic triacylglycerol content (+16.2-fold), lipid peroxidation (+173%) and lower catalase activity (-32%) that were associated with lower protein kinase B content and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation in the liver, lower AMPK phosphorylation in the adipose tissue and higher beta-cell mass. Fish oil ingestion attenuated the elevation in circulating triacylglycerol and uric acid values, while the interruption of sugar and glucocorticoid intake reverted almost all modified parameters. In conclusion, long-term intake of fructose and prednisolone by male rats are more detrimental to glucose and lipid homeostasis than if ingested separately and the benefits of treatment interruption are broader than fish oil treatment.

Qualidade da prescrição de medicamentos em Unidade de Pronto Atendimento do Sistema Único de Saúde do Brasil / Quality of drug prescription in health care units of the Brazilian Unified Health System

Estudo descritivo transversal unicêntrico com objetivo de identificar possíveis erros relacionados a medicamentos em prescrições médicas de pacientes admitidos em uma Unidade de Pronto Atendimento do Sistema Único de Saúde. Para coleta dos dados, consideraram-se atendimentos realizados no mês de janeiro de 2013 e analisaram-se 20 prescrições por médico plantonista. Os dados obtidos foram organizados em planilhas, e a análise estatística se procedeu com 5% de significância. Apresentou-se significância quanto ao pedido de exames laboratoriais, sendo solicitado em 167 (31%) atendimentos e não solicitado em 381 (69%); também se obteve significância em relação à prescrição por nome de referência (37,4%). Com o presente estudo, pôde-se observar a quantidade de medicamentos por prescrição, bem como as suas associações, aumentando a probabilidade de interações entre eles. Ficou evidente a importância de conscientização da equipe de profissionais envolvidos nos processos de prescrição, dispensação e administração dos medicamentos.

Single-center cross-sectional descriptive study in order to identify possible errors related to drug prescriptions in patients admitted to the Emergency Unit of the Brazilian Unified Health System. For data collection,attendances in the month of January 2013 were considered and 20 prescriptions per physician on dutywere analyzed. The data were organized into spreadsheets, and statistical analysis was carried out on the 5% significance level. There was significance as to laboratory tests, being requested in 167 (31%) calls and not requested in 381 (69%) of the cases; significance was also obtained regarding the prescription by reference name (37.4%). With the present study, we could observe the amount of drugs per prescription and their associations, increasing the probability of interactions between them. It was evident the importance of awareness of professionals involved in the process of prescription, dispensation and administration of drugs.