Weekend ethanol consumption and high-sucrose diet: resveratrol effects on energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, lipid profile, oxidative stress and hepatic energy metabolism

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Energy Expenditure and Oxygen Consumption as Novel Biomarkers of Obesity-induced Cardiac Disease in Rats

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effects of olive oil and its minor phenolic constituents on obesity-induced cardiac metabolic changes

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Monosodium glutamate in standard and high-fiber diets: Metabolic syndrome and oxidative stress in rats

Objective: This study determined the effects of adding monosodium glutamate (MSG) to a standard diet and a fiber-enriched diet on glucose metabolism, lipid profile, and oxidative stress in rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats (65 ± 5 g, n = 8) were fed a standard diet (control), a standard diet supplemented with 100 g of MSG per kilogram of rat body weight, a diet rich in fiber, or a diet rich in fiber supplemented with 100 g of MSG per kilogram of body weight. After 45 d of treatment, sera were analyzed for concentrations of insulin, leptin, glucose, triacylglycerol, lipid hydroperoxide, and total antioxidant substances. A homeostasis model assessment index was estimated to characterize insulin resistance. Results: Voluntary food intake was higher and feed efficiency was lower in animals fed the standard diet supplemented with MSG than in those fed the control, fiber-enriched, or fiber- and MSG-enriched diet. The MSG group had metabolic dysfunction characterized by increased levels of glucose, triacylglycerol, insulin, leptin, and homeostasis model assessment index. The adverse effects of MSG were related to an imbalance between the oxidant and antioxidant systems. The MSG group had increased levels of lipid hydroperoxide and decreased levels of total antioxidant substances. Levels of triacylglycerol and lipid hydroperoxide were decreased in rats fed the fiber-enriched and fiber- and MSG-enriched diets, whereas levels of total antioxidant substances were increased in these animals. Conclusions: MSG added to a standard diet increased food intake. Overfeeding induced metabolic disorders associated with oxidative stress in the absence of obesity. The fiber-enriched diet prevented changes in glucose, insulin, leptin, and triacylglycerol levels that were seen in the MSG group. Because the deleterious effects of MSG, i.e., induced overfeeding, were not seen in the animals fed the fiber-enriched diets, it can be concluded that fiber supplementation is beneficial by discouraging overfeeding and improving oxidative stress that is induced by an MSG diet. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modelagem molecular aplicada ao desenvolvimento de moléculas com atividade antioxidante visando ao uso cosmético

Some hypotheses and constants studies are made with intention to elucidate the aging process. To prevent and to attenuate the cutaneous aging it becomes necessary to strengthen our endogenous antioxidant natural defenses. Diverse exogenous antioxidant substances, as vitamins, vegetal extracts and others, have been used by the Cosmetology in antiaging products. The objective of this paper is to show how the Molecular Modeling can be an useful tool in the research for new antioxidant cosmetic substances to face the cutaneous aging.

Reproductive technology in domestic carnivorous

Background: The delay in development of artificial reproduction techniques on carnivorous could be due to countless reasons, but the lack of commercial interest is probably the most important one. The majority of canines are small structures, canidae are extremely fertile and a great number of species are adapted to domestication or captivity. Finally, the canine gamete physiology presents a difficult adaptation of technology knowledge obtained from other species. Furthermore, domestic felines are animals of company and there is no interest in reproducing them in a large scale, as it has been observed in other domestic animals, however, besides of being a valuable model for the development of in vitro techniques, the domestic cat is also used as an embryo receptor for different species of small wild felines due to physiological similarities among them, in vitro embrionary development, Review: It was reviewed the main insights about the reproductive physiology in female dogs, in vitro oocytary maturation (IVM), pregnancy and conception rate with dogs' frozen/unfrozen semen and PIV in domestic cats. The majority of mammal oocytes restart meiosis spontaneously after ovulation and reaches MII in artificial environment; in an in vitro maturation system in bovines, around 90% of oocytes complete their maturation, although its development capacity can be reduced subsequently. The success of IVM in canidae have been limited, with maturation rate varying from 0 to 58%, usually around 20%. The greatest difficulties include oocyte quality, hormonal environment, protein supplementation, cumulus / oocyte cell interaction, donor breed and age, culture systems, oxygen tension, amino acids, growth factor and sequential means. The freezing process reduces the quality of the semen, firstly because it reduces the number of living sperms and secondly because freezing produces cell modifications that could alter the sperm motility, longevity, integrity of membranes and its fertilizing capacity. Conclusion: Nowadays, several researches are being performed with the aim of increasing viability after dogs' and cats' semen is unfrozen, using extenders, cryoprotectors, freezing and unfreezing curves, addition of antioxidant substances. The aim of this text is to inform about the improvements obtained on the artificial reproduction techniques, emphasizing the oocytary maturation in female dogs, semen cryopreservation and artificial insemination in domestic dogs and cats.

Combined effects of age and diet-induced obesity on biochemical parameters and cardiac energy metabolism in rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Uso de antioxidantes naturais em hambúrgueres preparados com carne mecanicamente sepada de tilápia

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Constituintes químicos e atividades antioxidante e alelopática de Bauhinia holophylla (Bong.) Steud

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Botânica) - IBB

Efeito citotóxico do sistema HRP/Indóis em células McCoy in vitro

Pós-graduação em Biociências e Biotecnologia Aplicadas à Farmácia - FCFAR

Desenvolvimento de produto cárneo de tilápia com antioxidantes naturais

Pós-graduação em Alimentos e Nutrição - FCFAR

Oxidative Stress in Maternal Blood and Placenta From Mild Diabetic Rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Influencia de la radiación solar y del amonio sobre la acumulación de sustancias antioxidantes en macroalgas marinas cultivadas en un sistema de biofiltración

Programa de doctorado de Gestión de recursos vivos marinos y medioambiente

Nutritional strategies to control mycotoxin damages in swine

Mycotoxins are contaminants of agricultural products both in the field and during storage and can enter the food chain through contaminated cereals and foods (milk, meat, and eggs) obtained from animals fed mycotoxin contaminated feeds. Mycotoxins are genotoxic carcinogens that cause health and economic problems. Ochratoxin A and fumonisin B1 have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 1993, as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (class 2B). To control mycotoxins induced damages, different strategies have been developed to reduce the growth of mycotoxigenic fungi as well as to decontaminate and/or detoxify mycotoxin contaminated foods and animal feeds. Critical points, target for these strategies, are: prevention of mycotoxin contamination, detoxification of mycotoxins already present in food and feed, inhibition of mycotoxin absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, reduce mycotoxin induced damages when absorption occurs. Decontamination processes, as indicate by FAO, needs the following requisites to reduce toxic and economic impact of mycotoxins: it must destroy, inactivate, or remove mycotoxins; it must not produce or leave toxic and/or carcinogenic/mutagenic residues in the final products or in food products obtained from animals fed decontaminated feed; it must be capable of destroying fungal spores and mycelium in order to avoiding mycotoxin formation under favorable conditions; it should not adversely affect desirable physical and sensory properties of the feedstuff; it has to be technically and economically feasible. One important approach to the prevention of mycotoxicosis in livestock is the addition in the diets of the non-nutritionally adsorbents that bind mycotoxins preventing the absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Activated carbons, hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS), zeolites, bentonites, and certain clays, are the most studied adsorbent and they possess a high affinity for mycotoxins. In recent years, there has been increasing interest on the hypothesis that the absorption in consumed food can be inhibited by microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract. Numerous investigators showed that some dairy strains of LAB and bifidobacteria were able to bind aflatoxins effectively. There is a strong need for prevention of the mycotoxin-induced damages once the toxin is ingested. Nutritional approaches, such as supplementation of nutrients, food components, or additives with protective effects against mycotoxin toxicity are assuming increasing interest. Since mycotoxins have been known to produce damages by increasing oxidative stress, the protective properties of antioxidant substances have been extensively investigated. Purpose of the present study was to investigate in vitro and in vivo, strategies to counteract mycotoxin threat particularly in swine husbandry. The Ussing chambers technique was applied in the present study that for the first time to investigate in vitro the permeability of OTA and FB1 through rat intestinal mucosa. Results showed that OTA and FB1 were not absorbed from rat small intestine mucosa. Since in vivo absorption of both mycotoxins normally occurs, it is evident that in these experimental conditions Ussing diffusion chambers were not able to assess the intestinal permeability of OTA and FB1. A large number of LAB strains isolated from feces and different gastrointestinal tract regions of pigs and poultry were screened for their ability to remove OTA, FB1, and DON from bacterial medium. Results of this in vitro study showed low efficacy of isolated LAB strains to reduce OTA, FB1, and DON from bacterial medium. An in vivo trial in rats was performed to evaluate the effects of in-feed supplementation of a LAB strain, Pediococcus pentosaceus FBB61, to counteract the toxic effects induced by exposure to OTA contaminated diets. The study allows to conclude that feed supplementation with P. pentosaceus FBB61 ameliorates the oxidative status in liver, and lowers OTA induced oxidative damage in liver and kidney if diet was contaminated by OTA. This P. pentosaceus FBB61 feature joined to its bactericidal activity against Gram positive bacteria and its ability to modulate gut microflora balance in pigs, encourage additional in vivo experiments in order to better understand the potential role of P. pentosaceus FBB61 as probiotic for farm animals and humans. In the present study, in vivo trial on weaned piglets fed FB1 allow to conclude that feeding of 7.32 ppm of FB1 for 6 weeks did not impair growth performance. Deoxynivalenol contamination of feeds was evaluated in an in vivo trial on weaned piglets. The comparison between growth parameters of piglets fed DON contaminated diet and contaminated diet supplemented with the commercial product did not reach the significance level but piglet growth performances were numerically improved when the commercial product was added to DON contaminated diet. Further studies are needed to improve knowledge on mycotoxins intestinal absorption, mechanism for their detoxification in feeds and foods, and nutritional strategies to reduce mycotoxins induced damages in animals and humans. The multifactorial approach acting on each of the various steps could be a promising strategy to counteract mycotoxins damages.

Messa a punto delle condizioni ottime di infusione di foglie di Ilex guayusa mediante disegno sperimentale Box-Behnken

Ilex guayusa, a tree native from the Amazon Rainforest, represents an important part of the culinary traditions and folk medicine of the indigenous tribes. In fact, infusions of different parts of the tree have been used as natural remedies. Particularly, the infusion obtained by the dry leaves of guayusa is a source of phenolic compounds, which are considered as antioxidant substances and have been associated with numerous benefits for human health. Currently, the growing interest of consumers towards healthy food and drinks has led to the rapid spread of this drink. However, the scientific literature about the content of polar compounds in infusion of guayusa leaves is scarce. Therefore, the aims of the present work were to enhance the extraction conditions of phenolic compounds from guayusa leaves by infusion and to characterize them via HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS. To reach these objectives, a Box-Behnken design (BBD) was applied to test the effect of different extraction conditions (time 2, 8 and 14 min), temperature (25, 62.5 and 100 °C) and solid ratio (0.25, 0.375 and 0.50 g) on the sum of phenolic content. On the one hand, the optimal conditions were 1 min infusion, 100 °C and 0.370 g of dry leaves. On the other hand, the 99% of the nine phenolic compounds identified were phenolic acids derivatives from hydroxycinnamic acid and the 1% belonged to the flavonoid family. The major compound was dicaffeoylquinic acid (68%). The difference between the results obtained and those of other researches is probably due to the stochastic nature of the vegetable matrix samples, since their chemical composition is susceptible to multiple factors. To sum up, the use of experimental design provided greater quantity of phenolic compounds than other extraction techniques such as blanching, or only to the oxidation process. Besides, the high resolution of the TOF spectrometer allowed the characterization of new isomers of the compounds previously described.