Neiva Maria de Almeida

Fatty acid composition of total lipids, neutral lipids and phospholipids in wild and farmed matrinxã (Brycon cephalus) in the Brazilian Amazon area

BACKGROUND The chemical composition of Amazonian fish is extremely variable, being influenced by the season and the type and amount of food. A special interest in the fish oil composition has been developed owing to the presence of essential fatty acids, since this is directly related to human health. This study aimed to investigate the fatty acid composition (FAC) of the total lipid (TL), neutral lipid (NL) and phospholipid (PL) fractions of the dorsal muscle and orbital cavity of farmed and wild matrinxã in the Amazon area captured in different seasons. RESULTS Fatty acids (FA) were analysed by high-resolution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Sixty-five FA were detected in the TL, 66 in the NL and 55 in the PL. The main FA found in farmed and wild fish were oleic, palmitic, stearic and linoleic acids. No distinctions in the quality or quantity of these fractions between dorsal muscle and orbital cavity were found. CONCLUSION The season had a significant influence on the TL and FAC. Fish captured during the dry season showed lower levels of lipid and a higher percentage of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Matrinxã farmed in a semi-intensive system showed a nutritional quality comparable to that of wild matrinxã captured in the wet season. Copyright

Lunasin and Bowman-Birk Protease Inhibitor Concentrations of Protein Extracts from Enzyme-Assisted Aqueous Extraction of Soybeans

Lunasin and Bowman-Birk protease inhibitor (BBI) are two soybean peptides to which health-promoting properties have been attributed. Concentrations of these peptides were determined in skim fractions produced by enzyme-assisted aqueous extraction processing (EAEP) of extruded full-fat soybean flakes (an alternative to extracting oil from soybeans with hexane) and compared with similar extracts from hexane-defatted soybean meal. Oil and protein were extracted by using countercurrent two-stage EAEP of soybeans at 1:6 solids-to-liquid ratio, 50 °C, pH 9.0, and 120 rpm for 1 h. Protein-rich skim fractions were produced from extruded full-fat soybean flakes using different enzyme strategies in EAEP: 0.5% protease (wt/g extruded flakes) used in both extraction stages; 0.5% protease used only in the second extraction stage; no enzyme used in either extraction stage. Countercurrent two-stage protein extraction of air-desolventized, hexane-defatted soybean flakes was used as a control. Protein extraction yields increased from 66% to 89-96% when using countercurrent two-stage EAEP with extruded full-fat flakes compared to 85% when using countercurrent two-stage protein extraction of air-desolventized, hexane-defatted soybean flakes. Extruding full-fat soybean flakes reduced BBI activity. Enzymatic hydrolysis reduced BBI contents of EAEP skims. Lunasin, however, was more resistant to both enzymatic hydrolysis and heat denaturation. Although using enzymes in both EAEP extraction stages yielded the highest protein and oil extractions, reducing enzyme use to only the second stage preserved much of the BBI and Lunasin.

Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) and epilepsy: A flourishing of fish form

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the most frequent cause of epilepsy-related death [1–3]. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy is responsible for 7.5% to 17% of all deaths in people with epilepsy with incidence rates among adults between 1:500 and 1:1000 patientyears [4,5]. The main risk factors related to SUDEP include the presence or number of generalized tonic–clonic seizures (GTCS) and nocturnal seizures, young age at epilepsy onset, longer duration of epilepsy, dementia, absence of cerebrovascular disease, asthma, male gender, symptomatic etiology of epilepsy, and alcohol abuse [6]. It is very likely that SUDEP is a seizure-related event due to fatal respiratory arrest or cardiac arrhythmia [3,6–9]. Regarding to cardiac involvement in SUDEP, the relevant putative mechanisms involved are cardiac arrhythmias due to myocardial ischemia, electrolyte disturbances, arrhythmogenic drugs, or transmission of the epileptic activity via the autonomic nervous system to the heart [7,10–12]. SUDEP is predominantly a problem for people with chronic uncontrolled epilepsy [9], and although the availability of pharmacological treatment of this neurological condition has expanded, the antiepileptic drugs are still limited in clinical efficacy. Consequently, one of the goals of neuroscientists in SUDEP is to develop new strategies for its prevention [13] and actions other than medical and surgical therapies that could be very useful [14]. In this context, nutritional aspects, i.e., omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3 FAs), could have a prominent place in this scenario, since promising research and evolving clinical experience support the idea that the omega-3 FAs have antiseizure properties as well as a possible effect on the prevention of cardiovascular abnormalities and on the reduction of SUDEP occurrence [15–17]. Looking through the prism of cardiology, the beneficial effects of omega-3 FAs on the heart have gradually been elucidated. Nowadays, it is well established that omega-3 FAs have protective effects in preventing coronary heart disease, reducing arrhythmias and thrombosis, lowering plasma triglyceride levels, and reducing blood-clotting tendency [18]. Furthermore, substantial evidence from epidemiological and case–control studies indicates that omega-3 FAs are able to reduce the risk of cardiovascular mortality, with an especially potent effect on sudden cardiac death [19]. Following the same reasoning, several noncardiovascular actions of omega-3 FAs (from fatty fish in the human diet) have also been demonstrated, suggesting that a regular diet of fish may be a good way to improve the development of the brain and, undeniably, is relevant to the treatment and prevention of many neuropsychiatric diseases including epilepsy [15,16,20–23]. After these practical and encouraging results, national and international guidelines have converged on consistent recommendations for the general population to consume at least 250 mg/day of long-chain omega-3

Tocoferois do músculo dorsal e cavidade ocular do matrinxã (Brycon cephalus) proveniente da Bacia Amazônica em diferentes épocas sazonais

This research aimed to determine the content of different tocopherol levels in muscle and ocular cavity of matrinxa fishes captured in the Central Amazon Region - Brazil. For the antioxidants determination, three batches, each consisting of 5 fish, during two different seasons. The analyses were performed according to the AOCS Ce 8-89 (1993) methodology in chromatography HPLC PERKIN ELMER - Isocratic LC 250 pump couple to fluorescence detector (SHIMADZU - RF - 10AxL). The a-tocopherol was predominant in the different seasons. The tocopherol content ranged from 0.43 to 0.04mg 100-1 and from 8.2 to 0.06mg 100g-1 in the muscle of matrinxa captured in the flood ad dry season, respectively. The tocopherol content in the adipose tissue of the orbital cavity of matrinxa captured in the flood ad dry season showed ranged from 0.09 a 0.02mg 100g-1 and from 0.42 to 0.03mg 100g-1, respectively.