Excipientes de medicamentos e as informações da bula

Aim: To evaluate the presence of preservatives, dyes, sweeteners and flavouring substances in 73 pharmaceutical preparations of 35 medicines for oral administration, according to drug labeling information about the excipients. Methods: 35 medications were selected, both over-the-counter and prescription durgs, marketed in Brazil. The sample included: analgesic/antipyretic, antimicrobial, mucoregulatory, cough and cold, decongestant, antihistamine, bronchodilator, corticosteroid, antiinflammatory and vitamin medications. We collected data on 73 preparations of these drugs, according to drug labeling information regarding preservatives, dyes, sweeteners and flavourings. Results: Methylparaben and propylparaben were the most common preservatives found (43% and 35.6% respectively). The most common sweeteners were: sucrose (sugar) (53.4%), sodium saccharin (38.3%) and sorbitol (36.9%). Twenty-one medicines (28,7%) contained two sweeteners. Colourless medicines predominated (43.8%), followed by those with sunset yellow dye (FD&C yellow no. 6) (15%). Five products (6.8%) contained more than one colour agent. Tartrazine (FD&C yellow no. 5) was present in seven preparations (9.5%). Fruit was the most common flavouring found (83%). Labelings of drugs which contained sugar frequently omitted its exact concentration (77%). Of the four labelings of medicines which contained aspartame, two did not warn patients regarding phenylketonuria. Conclusions: Omission and inacuracy of drug labeling information on pharmaceutical excipients may expose susceptible individuals to adverse reactions caused by preservatives and dyes. Complications of inadvertent intake of sugar-containing medicines by diabetics, or aspartame intake by patients with phenylketonuria may also occur.

Síntese e caracterização de novos complexos de vanádio: estudo da utilização dos complexos no tratamento do Diabetes Mellitus

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Development of a synbiotic low-calorie beverage made from soy and yacon extracts

The objective of this study was to develop a new low-calorie symbiotic beverage made from yacon (prebiotic source) and soy extracts, containing probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis BB-12. The synbiotic beverage was first produced with a range of sucrose concentrations in order to determine ideal sweetness by an acceptance test using a “just-about-right scale”. Sucrose was then replaced by sucralose or aspartame to produce sugar-free beverages. Characteristics including viable cell numbers, physicochemical properties, sensorial characteristics and fructooligosaccharides content were investigated. The ideal sweetness of the beverages with sucrose, aspartame and sucralose were 7.28%, 0.0486% and 0.0167%, respectively. Sucralose exhibited higher scores in acceptance test and was used to replace sucrose in the low-calorie symbiotic beverage. The synbiotic beverage exhibited counts of Bifidobacterium spp. of 108 CFU·mL-1 , sufficient condition to be considered probiotic. The chemical composition of the product was (g/100 g): 2.91 of protein, 1.41 of fat, 2.41 of total carbohydrate; 0.82 of FOS and 148.22 Kj of energy value. The synbiotic beverage developed in this study may be successful in health applications, due to their functional ingredients (soy, probiotic bacteria and yacon prebiotics) that can afford benefits to health or can present disease-preventing properties, beyond their inherent nutritional value. In addition this low-calorie beverage can be consumed by diabetic individuals and people concerned about the ingestion of calories.

Placebo expectancy effects in the relationship between glucose and cognition

The present study investigated the extent of expectancy in the ability of glucose to affect cognitive performance. Using a within-subjects design, subjects (n 26) completed four experimental sessions (in counterbalanced order and after an initial practice session) during which they were given a 500 ml drink 30 min prior to completing a cognitive assessment battery. In addition, all subjects completed a baseline practice session during which they were given no drink. During two of the sessions, subjects were given a drink containing 50 g glucose and on the other two they were given a drink containing aspartame. A balanced placebo design was used, such that for half the sessions subjects were accurately informed as to the content of the drink (glucose or aspartame), whereas in the other two sessions they were misinformed as to the content of the drink. The task battery comprised a 6 min visual analogue of the Bakan vigilance task, an immediate verbal free-recall task, an immediate verbal recognition memory task and a measure of motor speed (two-finger tapping). Blood glucose and self-reported mood were also recorded at several time points during each session. Glucose administration was found to improve recognition memory times, in direct contrast to previous findings in the literature. Glucose administration also improved performance on the Bakan task (relative to the control drink), but only in sessions where subjects were informed that they would receive glucose and not when they were told that they would receive aspartame. There were no effects either of the nature of the drink or expectancy on the other measures. These results are interpreted in terms of there being some contribution of expectancy concerning the positive effects of glucose on cognition in studies which have not used an equi-sweet dose of aspartame as a control drink.

Antioxidant profile of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni cultivated in Portugal and submitted to different conservation conditions

The demand for natural sweeteners has been gaining more and more importance due to the great controversy associated with the use of some synthetic sweeteners as cyclamates, aspartame and acesulfame-K. The steviol glycosides (E 960) are a group of natural sweeteners of generalized use; these compounds are obtained from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, a sweet plant native from South America (Carocho et al., 2015). However, Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni may have other uses to be exploited, in particular due to its antioxidant capacity. This plant is already produced in Portugal but it is important to evaluate if the plant chemical composition is maintained regardless of culture conditions. Therefore, in this study, stevia samples were cultivated in Braganca (northeastern of Portugal) in a field trial with defined culture conditions. After harvesting, the plants were submitted to two different treatments: kept fresh by freezing (-20°C) and oven-dried (30°C). The antioxidant profile of the samples was studied through evaluation of free radicals scavenging activity, reducing power, phenolic compounds (HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS), tocopherols (HPLC-fluorescence) and free sugars (HPLC-RI). Significant differences were observed: while oven-dried samples showed the highest antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds concentration (mainly 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid), the frozen fresh samples had the highest values of total tocopherols and total sugars. These results confirm that the plants grown in Bragança have excellent bioactive secondary metabolites responsible for the observed antioxidant capacity.