Alane Cabral Menezes de Oliveira

Fontes vegetais naturais de antioxidantes

Growing knowledge on the health-promoting impact of antioxidants in everyday foods, combined with the assumption that a number of common synthetic preservatives may have hazardous side effects has led to increased investigations in the field of natural antioxidants, principally those found in plants. Food industries normally discard plant residues that could benefit the human health and diminish undesirable environmental impact. Once estimated the content of antioxidants in these residues, advantageous economical and social alternatives to the discard are possible, for example, their use for preparation of nutraceuticals to be offered to low-income populations. We present here a broad, although not complete, account of the continuously growing knowledge on the antioxidant capacity of whole fruits, seeds and peels, cereals, vegetal oils and aromatic plants, at several physical forms, as well as a description of the usual methods for evaluating their antioxidant capacity and examples of agroindustrial processes that could be harnessed for the production of antioxidant supplement food, along with research perspectives in the area.

Biological evaluation of twenty-eight ferrocenyl tetrasubstituted olefins: Cancer cell growth inhibition, ROS production and hemolytic activity

The antiproliferative effects of twenty-eight tetrasubstituted olefins bearing a ferrocenyl group, including six never-reported compounds, were evaluated against SF-295 (human glioblastoma), HCT-8 (human colon cancer), MDA-MB-435 (human melanoma) and HL-60 (human promyelocytic leukemia) using the MTT test. IC(50) values were determined for twenty-three active compounds and of these, ten compounds had IC(50) values lower than 2 μM on one or more cell lines. Of all the compounds, only two produced significant amounts of ROS on HL-60 cells, and ROS production and growth inhibition could not be correlated. The ten most antiproliferative compounds were tested for their hemolytic activity on mouse erythrocytes. Five compounds showing high antiproliferative activity and low hemolytic activity were thus identified for further study.

Molecular mechanism of action of 2-ferrocenyl-1,1-diphenylbut-1-ene on HL-60 leukemia cells.

The aim of this work was to investigate the mechanism of action of 2‐ferrocenyl‐1,1‐diphenylbut‐1‐ene (1) on HL‐60 human leukemia cells. While inactive against noncancerous cells, 1 provoked a concentration‐dependent decrease in viable tumor cells, primarily via apoptosis, as evidenced by analysis of cell morphology, activation of caspases 3 and 7, increased DNA fragmentation, and externalization of phosphatidylserine. Necrosis was observed only at the highest tested concentration (4 μM). Compound 1 interfered with the cell cycle, causing an accumulation of cells in the G1/G0 phase. Interaction of 1 with dsDNA and ssDNA was observed by differential pulse voltammetry and confirmed by hyperchromicity in the UV/Vis spectra of dsDNA, with an interaction constant of 2×104 M−1. Both the organic analogue 1,1,2‐triphenylbut‐1‐ene (2) and ferrocene were inactive against cancer and noncancer cell lines and did not react with DNA. These results reinforce the idea that the hybrid strategy of conjugating ferrocene to the structure of tamoxifen derivatives is advantageous in finding new substances with antineoplastic activity.

Antiplasmodial activity of iron(II) and ruthenium(II) organometallic complexes against Plasmodium falciparum blood parasites.

This work reports the in vitro activity against Plasmodium falciparumblood forms (W2 clone, chloroquine-resistant) of tamoxifen-based compounds and their ferrocenyl (ferrocifens) and ruthenocenyl (ruthenocifens) derivatives, as well as their cytotoxicity against HepG2 human hepatoma cells. Surprisingly with these series, results indicate that the biological activity of ruthenocifens is better than that of ferrocifens and other tamoxifen-like compounds. The synthesis of a new metal-based compound is also described. It was shown, for the first time, that ruthenocifens are good antiplasmodial prototypes. Further studies will be conducted aiming at a better understanding of their mechanism of action and at obtaining new compounds with better therapeutic profile.

Ingestão e coeficiente de variabilidade de nutrientes antioxidantes por gestantes com pré‐eclâmpsia

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE Oxidative stress appears to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Evidence suggests that adequate intake of antioxidants can modulate this condition. The objective of this study was to assess the intake of antioxidant nutrients and coefficients of variation in pregnant women with preeclampsia. METHODS In a cross-sectional study in the public health network of the city of Maceió, Brazil, a dietary survey was performed consisting of 24-hour food recalls, with subsequent adjustment of nutrients using the estimated average requirement as the cutoff point, and a questionnaire on frequency of consumption of antioxidants. RESULTS We studied 90 pregnant women with preeclampsia (PWP) and 90 pregnant women without preeclampsia (PWoP) with mean ages of 25.8±6.7 years and 24.1±6.2 years (p=0.519), respectively. A low mean intake of antioxidants (vitamin A, selenium, zinc and copper) was observed in both PWP and PWoP, although intakes of vitamin A (p=0.045) and selenium (p=0.008) were higher in PWoP. In addition, we observed high coefficients of variation in nutrient intakes in both groups, which were higher for vitamin C (p<0.001), vitamin A (p=0.006) and copper (p=0.005) in PWP. CONCLUSIONS Consumption of antioxidant nutrients by pregnant women with preeclampsia is inadequate, with considerable daily variations in intake, which points to a need for nutrition education strategies aimed at improving intakes, because diet is without doubt a key factor in the modulation of oxidative stress caused by preeclampsia.

Cardiovascular risk assessment according to the Framingham score and abdominal obesity in individuals seen by a clinical school of nutrition

OBJECTIVE To analyze the relation of abdominal obesity on cardiovascular risk in individuals seen by a clinic school of nutrition, classifying them based on Framingham score. METHODS Cross-sectional study, conducted at the nutrition clinic of a private college in the city of Maceió, Alagoas. We included randomly selected adults and elderly individuals with abdominal obesity, of both sexes, treated from August to December of 2009, with no history of cardiomyopathy or cardiovascular events. To determine the cardiovascular risk, the Framingham score was calculated. All analyzes were performed with SPSS software version 20.0, with p <0.05 as significative. RESULTS We studied 54 subjects, 83% female, the mean age was 48 years old, ranging from 31 to 73 years. No correlation was observed between measurements of waist circumference and cardiovascular risk in the subjects studied (r=0.065, p=0.048), and there was no relationship between these parameters. CONCLUSION Abdominal fat distribution was weakly related to cardiovascular risk in patients seen by a clinical school of nutrition.

Maternal Factors and Adverse Perinatal Outcomes in Women with Preeclampsia in Maceió, Alagoas

Background Preeclampsia has been associated with several risk factors and events. However, it still deserves further investigation, considering the multitude of related factors that affect different populations. Objective To evaluate the maternal factors and adverse perinatal outcomes in a cohort of pregnant women with preeclampsia receiving care in the public health network of the city of Maceió. Methods Prospective cohort study carried out in 2014 in the public health network of the city with a sample of pregnant women calculated based on a prevalence of preeclampsia of 17%, confidence level of 90%, power of 80%, and ratio of 1:1. We applied a questionnaire to collect socioeconomic, personal, and anthropometric data, and retrieved perinatal variables from medical records and certificates of live birth. The analysis was performed with Poisson regression and chi-square test considering p values < 0.05 as significant. Results We evaluated 90 pregnant women with preeclampsia (PWP) and 90 pregnant women without preeclampsia (PWoP). A previous history of preeclampsia (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.57, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.47 - 1.67, p = 0.000) and black skin color (PR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.00 - 1.33, p = 0.040) were associated with the occurrence of preeclampsia. Among the newborns of PWP and PWoP, respectively, 12.5% and 13.1% (p = 0.907) were small for gestational age and 25.0% and 23.2% (p = 0.994) were large for gestational age. There was a predominance of cesarean delivery. Conclusion Personal history of preeclampsia and black skin color were associated with the occurrence of preeclampsia. There was a high frequency of birth weight deviations and cesarean deliveries.

Risk factors associated among anemia in pregnancy women of network public health of a capital of Brazil Northeastern

PURPOSE To evaluate the factors associated with anemia among pregnant women receiving public health care in a capital city in Northeastern Brazil. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 428 patients obtained on the basis of the estimated prevalence of anemia during pregnancy (50%), a 95% confidence interval (95%CI), an error of 5% and a sample loss of 20%. Pregnant women who lived in the city and were served by the municipal public health network were considered to be eligible for the study. Socioeconomic, lifestyle, clinical and anthropometric data and dietary iron intake were obtained, and capillary hemoglobin was determined. Anemia was identified as a hemoglobin level <11 g/dL, and its association with risk factors was tested using multivariate Poisson regression analysis, with the results expressed as the Prevalence Ratio (PR) and 95%CI. RESULTS The prevalence of anemia was 28.3% and was higher among women with more members in the household (PR=1.49; 95%CI 1.01-2.22; p=0.046) and those living with food insecurity (PR=1.43; 95%CI 1.00-2.04; p=0.047). CONCLUSION The prevalence of anemia among pregnant women receiving care from the public health system of the city is a moderate public health problem, requiring the planning of effective measures for its control.

Interferência da disfagia orofaríngea no consumo alimentar de indivíduos com mucopolissacaridose II

PURPOSE: this study aimed to relate the degree of dysphagia and food consumption of individuals with mucopolysaccharidosis II (MPS II). METHOD: it was included individuals with MPS II of the genetics department at the State University of Alagoas and excluded those with other types of mucopolysaccharidosis and in use of alternative way of supply. There were performed anthropometric, dietetic, speech therapy for dysphagia,clinical evaluation and otorrinolarigologic videoendoscopy swallowing. RESULTS: there were studied 07 individuals, male, between 5 and 14 years old: from them, more than 50% were taking anti-hypertensive and 42.8% had the severe form of disease. Six had serious deficit height / age and over 70% were obese according to Body Mass Index (BMI). Dysphagia was observed in five subjects, with daily average caloric intake 920.15 ± 244.09 calories, against 1264.94 ± 106.85 calories for those without such changes, with significantly greater intraindividual variation in the group of patients with dysphagia (p <0.05). In addition, individuals without dysphagia had higher food intake of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. As for micronutrients, except average daily intake of iron and vitamin E, all other assessed had higher average daily consumption in the group without dysphagia (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: it was observed a high frequency of dysphagia in the studied patients with MPS II, and this was associated with low caloric food consumption and imbalance in the proportion and amount of macronutrients and part of micronutrients.

Prevalence of small for gestational age newborns and associated factors in a Brazilian Northeast capital

Objectives: to analyze the factors associated with the birth of small for gestational age (SGA)infants, in a Northeastern Brazilian capital. Methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out with 331 pregnant women and their newborns attending the public health network in the city of Maceió, in 2014. Maternal antenatal data were collected (socioeconomic, lifestyle, clinical and nutritional) as well as data of the newborns (gestational age, mode of delivery, sex, birth weight and length), after delivery. Birth weight was classified according to the INTERGROWTH-21st curves, being considered SGA those below the 10th percentile according to gestational age and gender. The results were analyzed by Poisson regression using a hierarchical model and were expressed as prevalence ratios (PR) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (CI95%). Results: it was verified that 5.1% of the newborns were SGA. Regarding the associated factors, after adjustment of the hierarchical model, the variable working outside the home was associated with the endpoint studied [PR = 0.14; (CI95% = 0.02-0.75); p=0.022]. Conclusions: it was verified a low frequency of SGA infants in the evaluated population. The fact that the mother works outside the home proved to be a protective factor for this