Felix Guillermo Reyes

Effect of organic synthetic food colours on mitochondrial respiration

Eleven organic synthetic dyes, currently or formerly used as food colours in Brazil, were tested to determine their effect on mitochondrial respiration in mitochondria isolated from rat liver and kidney. The compounds tested were: Erythrosine, Ponceau 4R, Allura Red, Sunset yellow, Tartrazine, Amaranth, Brilliant Blue, Blue, Fast Red E, Orange GGN and Scarlet GN. All food colours tested inhibited mitochondrial respiration (State III respiration, uncoupled) supported either by alpha-ketoglutarate or succinate. This inhibition varied largely, e.g. from 100% to 16% for Erythrosine and Tartrazine respectively, at a concentration of 0.1 mg food colour per mitochondrial protein. Both rat liver and kidney mitochondria showed similar patterns of inhibition among the food colours tested. This effect was dose related and the concentration to give 50% inhibition was determined for some of the dyes. The xanthene dye Erythrosine, which showed the strongest effect, was selected for further investigation on mitochondria in vivo.

Polarographic determination of nitrate in vegetables.

A polarographic method for the determination of nitrate in vegetables is presented. The method is based on the reduction of nitrate to nitric oxide which reacts in solution with colbalt (II) and thiocyanate ions forming an electroactive complex that is reduced at the dropping mercury electrode at -0.5 V (vs. SCE). The nitric oxide is generated outside the polarographic cell by addition of ferrous ammonium sulfate and ammonium molybdate in hydrochloric acid to the previously triturated vegetable matrices. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 2-12x10(-6) mol nitrate. The recovery of nitrate in vegetable matrices (broccoli, kale, lettuce, radish, red beet, spinach, turnip and watercress) varied from 85.4 to 107.4 % and the nitrate content, expressed as sodium nitrate, varied from 751 to 10 806 mg kg(-1) of fresh vegetable. The relative standard deviation for the proposed method is lower than 7% and considering a sample of 5.0 g, the determination limit was 39 mg of nitrate per kg fresh vegetable weight. The precision and accuracy of the polarographic method were comparable to those of the reference spectrophotometric method (official AOAC reference method for the determination of nitrate in foodstuffs).

International safety assessment of pesticides: Dithiocarbamate pesticides, ETU, and PTU—A review and update

For the last 30 years the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) has carried out toxicological evaluations and safety assessments of dithiocarbamate pesticides, continuously adjusting previous appraisals in the light of new data and advances in the understanding of the principles and mechanisms of toxic action of these compounds. The historical narrative of the evaluative process is followed by an account of the present international safety assessment status of the dithiocarbamate pesticides so far examined by the JMPR. They are ferbam, mancozeb, maneb, metiram, nabam, propineb, thiram, zineb, ziram, and the associated substances, ethylenethiourea (ETU) and propylenethiourea (PTU).

Evaluation of the nitrate content in leaf vegetables produced through different agricultural systems

The nitrate content of leafy vegetables (watercress, lettuce and arugula) produced by different agricultural systems (conventional, organic and hydroponic) was determined. The daily nitrate intake from the consumption of these crop species by the average Brazilian consumer was also estimated. Sampling was carried out between June 2001 to February 2003 in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil. Nitrate was extracted from the samples using the procedure recommended by the AOAC. Flow injection analysis with spectrophotometric detection at 460 nm was used for nitrate determination through the ternary complex FeSCNNO+. For lettuce and arugula, the average nitrate content varied (p < 0.05) between the three agricultural systems with the nitrate level in the crops produced by the organic system being lower than in the conventional system that, in turn, was lower than in the hydroponic system. For watercress, no difference (p < 0.05) was found between the organic and hydroponic samples, both having higher nitrate contents (p < 0.05) than conventionally cultivated samples. The nitrate content for each crop species varied among producers, between different parts of the plant and in relation to the season. The estimated daily nitrate intake, calculated from the consumption of the crops produced by the hydroponic system, represented 29% of the acceptable daily intake established for this ion.

A flow-injection spectrophotometric method for nitrate and nitrite determination through nitric oxide generation

Abstract A flow injection method with novel spectrophotometric detection for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in foodstuffs is presented. The method is based on the reduction of nitrite and nitrate to nitric oxide, with subsequent reaction with iron (II) and thiocyanate in an acid medium, forming FeSCNNO + . The absorbance of the complex, with a maximum at 460 nm, is proportional to the nitrite and nitrate concentrations. The NO is generated in two stages: (1) reduction of nitrate to nitrite in a cadmium copper reductor column and (2) reduction of the nitrite to NO in a sulfuric acid medium. The influence of reagent concentrations and manifold parameters were evaluated. Nitrite and nitrate can be determined in the range of 0.30–3.00 and 1.00–10.00 mg l −1 , respectively. The sampling rate of analyses was 30–40 h −1 and, considering a sample of 5.0 g, the determination limit of the method was 20 and 13 mg kg −1 of nitrate and nitrite, respectively. Nitrite and nitrate were determined in vegetables and meat products by the proposed method. The precision and accuracy of the proposed method were comparable to those of the reference spectrophotometric method (official AOAC reference method for the determination of nitrate in foodstuffs).

Thermal stability of polyethylene terephthalate (PET): Oligomer distribution and formation of volatiles

Two ovenable PET (polyethylene terephthalate) samples were investigated under severe heating conditions and oligomers and volatile substances were analysed as potential migrants into foods. The samples were tested for migration into water, 3% acetic acid and 15% ethanol solution for 1 hour at 95°C. Overall migration and the specific migration of terephthalic acid, ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol were all very low. The plastics were heated at 150°C, 260°C and 270°C, for 5 minutes 30 minutes and 60 minutes. Oligomer analysis by LC/MS (liquid chromatography-MS) showed that the concentration of the second series alicyclic oligomers increased up to 15-fold on heating whereas the major oligomer fraction, the cyclic trimer, tetramer, pentamer and hexamer showed only minor concentration changes with heating. Volatiles evolved by the samples were trapped on a Tenax trap and identified by GC/MS (gas chromatography-MS). They were few in number and low in concentration and none merited migration tests. It is concluded that even when tested up to melting point, PET plastics of this type have good temperature stability and are well suited for high-temperature food contact applications. Copyright

Decolorization and biodegradation of reactive sulfonated azo dyes by a newly isolated Brevibacterium sp. strain VN-15.

Azo dyes constitute the largest and most versatile class of synthetic dyes used in the textile, pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries and represent major components in wastewater from these industrial dying processes. Biological decolorization of azo dyes occurs efficiently under low oxygen to anaerobic conditions. However, this process results in the formation of toxic and carcinogenic amines that are resistant to further detoxification under low oxygen conditions. Moreover, the ability to detoxify these amines under aerobic conditions is not a wide spread metabolic activity. In this study we describe the use of Brevibacterium sp. strain VN-15, isolated from an activated sludge process of a textile company, for the sequential decolorization and detoxification of the azo dyes Reactive Yellow 107 (RY107), Reactive Black 5 (RB5), Reactive Red 198 (RR198) and Direct Blue 71 (DB71). Tyrosinase activity was observed during the biotreatment process suggesting the role of this enzyme in the decolorization and degradation process, but no-activity was observed for laccase and peroxidase. Toxicity, measured using Daphnia magna, was completely eliminated.

Interação fármaco-nutriente: uma revisão

Diet influences the whole life cycle, supplying nutrients required to maintain the human body. Functional and/or structural alterations, caused by diseases and acute or chronic infections, lead to the use of drugs in order to restore the health. The oral route is preferred for drug administration, owing to safety and convenience, among other reasons. The drug-nutrient interaction phenomenon can occur before or during gastrointestinal absorption, during distribution and storage in the tissues, in the biotransformation process, or even during excretion. Thus, to know the drugs whose rate of absorption and/or absorbed amount can be affected in the presence of food, as well as those that are not affected, is of fundamental importance. On the other hand, a number of commonly used drugs, including antibiotics, antacids and laxatives, can cause malabsorption of nutrients. Therefore, the objective of this article is to present a review of the several aspects involved in the drug-nutrient interaction.A dieta influencia todos os estagios do ciclo da vida, fornecendo nutrientes necessarios ao sustento do corpo humano. Alteracoes de ordem funcional e/ou estrutural, provocadas por doencas e infeccoes agudas ou cronicas, levam a utilizacao de medicamentos, cujo objetivo e restaurar a saude. A via preferencial escolhida para a sua administracao e a oral, entre outras razoes, por sua comodidade e seguranca. O fenomeno de interacao farmaco-nutriente pode surgir antes ou durante a absorcao gastrintestinal, durante a distribuicao e armazenamento nos tecidos, no processo de biotransformacao ou mesmo durante a excrecao. Assim, e de importância fundamental conhecer os farmacos cuja velocidade de absorcao e/ou quantidade absorvida podem ser afetadas na presenca de alimentos, bem como aqueles que nao sao afetados. Por outro lado, muitos deles, incluindo antibioticos, antiacidos e laxativos podem causar ma absorcao de nutrientes. Portanto, o objetivo do presente artigo e apresentar uma revisao dos diversos aspectos envolvidos na interacao farmaco-nutriente.

Simultaneous determination of tetracyclines in pharmaceuticals by CZE using experimental design

An optimized capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for the analysis of tetracycline (TC), chlortetracycline (CTC), oxytetracycline (OTC) and doxycycline (DXC) is described. Using fused-silica capillaries, the influence of the electrolyte composition, pH and concentration, as well as temperature and applied voltage were investigated. A factorial and central composite design was performed to optimize the method in a simple way. The optimal separation conditions were 50mmolL(-1) sodium carbonate+1mmolL(-1) EDTA, pH 10; voltage 13kV and temperature 23 degrees C. The method was validated for TC determination in pharmaceuticals through the following performance criteria: linearity and linear range, sensitivity, selectivity, intra-assay and inter-assay precision, detectability, accuracy and ruggedness. In comparison with the recommended HPLC method in the United States Pharmacopeia, this CZE-method exhibited the same performance as the official method, with the advantage that the same method could be used for the simultaneous determination of the different tetracyclines in pharmaceutical formulations.

Considerations on the Aquaculture Development and on the Use of Veterinary Drugs: Special Issue for Fluoroquinolones—A Review

Aquaculture has become an important source of fish available for human consumption. In order to achieve greater productivity, intensive fish cultivation systems are employed, which can cause greater susceptibility to diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Antimicrobial substances are compounds used in livestock production with the objectives of inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and treatment or prevention of diseases. It is well recognized that the issues of antimicrobial use in food animals are of global concern about its impact on food safety. This paper present an overview of the aquaculture production in the whole world, raising the particularities in Brazil, highlighting the importance of the use of veterinary drugs in this system of animal food production, and address the potential risks arising from their indiscriminate use and their impacts on aquaculture production as they affect human health and the environment. The manuscript also discusses the analytical methods commonly used in the determination of veterinary drug residues in fish, with special issue for fluroquinolones residues and with emphasis on employment of LC-MS/MS analytical technique.