Maria Aparecida Moraes Marciano

Molecular detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in acai pulp and sugarcane juice

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi affects about 6-8 million people worldwide. Although transmission by triatomine insects has been controlled, other means of transmission maintain the infection. These forms of transmission are responsible for introducing Chagas disease in other non-endemic countries of the world. Thus, Chagas disease, nowadays is a worldwide health problem. In Brazil, acai pulp and sugarcane juice have been associated with Chagas disease outbreaks. The difficulties in isolation of the parasite from foods are hampering source tracking which could allow the confirmation of an implicated food commodity in these outbreak investigations. To address this scientific gap, we evaluated the performance of real-time PCR (qPCR) for detecting T. cruzi in acai pulp and sugarcane juice. All experiments were performed with acai pulp and sugarcane juice samples contaminated with different concentrations of T. cruzi. In assays with qPCR, the results showed that the ideal procedure for T. cruzi identification in acai pulp and sugarcane juice consisted of: i. centrifugation; ii. DNA extraction with a commercial kit for stool matrix; and iii. qPCR using a specific molecular marker for T. cruzi. The seeding in LIT medium of experimentally contaminated foods was effective in detecting the parasitic load by qPCR. The efficacy of qPCR was also verified testing food samples crushed with infected Triatomines. In conclusion, this methodology can be used to perform rapid diagnosis in outbreaks, facilitating measures in disease control.

Monitoramento de matérias estranhas em polpas de tomate, goiaba, manga e morango adquiridas no comércio durante as estações do ano

Fruit-derived products sold in Brazil and for exportation are required to comply with the quality and safety standards. These products and, among them, the fruit pulps may contain extraneous materials due to the inappropriate conditions or practices during their production, storage and distribution, including filth, decomposed material and miscellaneous materials. This study aimed at evaluating the sanitary conditions(regarding to extraneous materials) of fruit pulps sold in the Great Sao Paulo, during the four seasons of 2010. This investigation analyzed 115 tomato pulp, 93 guava pulp, 99 strawberry pulp and 89 mango pulp by means of the techniques described in the AOAC, 18th, 2005, Chapter 16 - Extraneous Materials: Isolation. Insect fragments were the most frequent filth category detected in the pulps (in 93 % of guava and strawberry, 77 % of tomato and 48 % of mango samples), followed by the rodent hair (in 24 % of tomato, in 3 % of guava, in 1 % of strawberry and in 0.5 % of mango samples). The occurrence of miteswas mostly frequent in strawberry samples (33 %). This study indicated that the majority of the analyzed pulps showed satisfactory sanitary conditions, evidencing that the Good Manufacturing Practices was adopted by the productive sector. (AU) Os produtos derivados de frutas comercializados no Brasil e os exportados exigem do setor produtivo oatendimento aos padroes de qualidade e seguranca. Esses produtos, dentre eles, as polpas de frutas podemconter materias estranhas em funcao de condicoes ou praticas inadequadas de producao, armazenamento oudistribuicao, incluindo-se sujidades, material decomposto e materiais diversos. No presente estudo foramavaliadas as condicoes sanitarias (presenca de materias estranhas) de polpas de frutas comercializadas naGrande Sao Paulo, durante as quatro estacoes do ano de 2010. Foram analisadas 115 amostras de polpade tomate, 93 de polpa de goiaba, 99 de polpa de morango e 89 polpas de manga, empregando-se astecnicas descritas na AOAC, 18 ed, 2005, Capitulo 16 - Materias Estranhas: Isolamento. Os fragmentosde insetos foram detectados na maior porcentagem de amostras (em 93 % de goiaba e de morango, em77 % de tomate e 48 % de manga), seguidos de pelos de roedor (24 % em tomate, 3 % em goiaba, 1 %em morango e 0,5 % em manga). Os acaros foram mais frequentes nas amostras de morango (33 %). Nogeral, a maioria das polpas analisadas apresentou condicoes sanitarias satisfatorias, o que indica que asBoas Praticas de Fabricacao foram adotadas pelo setor produtivo.(AU)Fruit-derived products sold in Brazil and for exportation are required to comply with the quality and safety standards. These products and, among them, the fruit pulps may contain extraneous materials due to the inappropriate conditions or practices during their production, storage and distribution, including filth, decomposed material and miscellaneous materials. This study aimed at evaluating the sanitary conditions (regarding to extraneous materials) of fruit pulps sold in the Great Sao Paulo, during the four seasons of 2010. This investigation analyzed 115 tomato pulp, 93 guava pulp, 99 strawberry pulp and 89 mango pulp by means of the techniques described in the AOAC, 18th, 2005, Chapter 16 - Extraneous Materials: Isolation. Insect fragments were the most frequent filth category detected in the pulps (in 93 % of guava and strawberry, 77 % of tomato and 48 % of mango samples), followed by the rodent hair (in 24 % of tomato, in 3 % of guava, in 1 % of strawberry and in 0.5 % of mango samples). The occurrence of mites was mostly frequent in strawberry samples (33 %). This study indicated that the majority of the analyzed pulps showed satisfactory sanitary conditions, evidencing that the Good Manufacturing Practices was adopted by the productive sector.