Exploratory study on sequestration of some essential metals by indigo carmine food dye

Indigo carmine forms a stable complex with different ions, and the stability constant of the complexes were evaluated as log K equal to 5.75; 5.00; 4.89 and 3.89 for complexes with Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Zn(II) ions, respectively, in 0.1 mol L -1 carbonate buffer solution at pH 10. The interaction between Cu(II) ions and indigo carmine (IC) in alkaline medium resulted in the formation of the Cu 2(IC) complex, measured by the spectrophotometric method, with a stoichiometric ratio between indigo carmine and metal ions of 2:1 (metal-ligand). The reported method has also been successfully tested for determination of copper in pharmaceutical compounds based on copper-gluconate without pre-treatment.

Assessment of the breakdown products of solar/UV induced photolytic degradation of food dye tartrazine

The food dye tartrazine (CI 19140) was exposed to UV irradiation from an artificial source, a mercury vapor lamp, and a natural one, sunlight. It was observed that conditions such as energy dose, irradiation time, pH and initial dye concentration affected its discoloration. There was 100% of color removal, after 30 min of irradiation, when a dye solution 1 x 10(-5) mol L-1 was submitted to an energy dose of 37.8 J cm(-2). Liquid Chromatography coupled to Diode Array Detection and Mass Spectrometry confirmed the cleavage of the chromophore group and the formation of five by-products at low concentration. Although by-products were formed, the Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assay performed for both, the dye solution at a dose of 5.34 mg/plate and the solutions obtained after exposure to UV irradiation, did not present mutagenic activity for TA98 and TA100 with and without S9. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genotoxic and mutagenic effects of erythrosine B, a xanthene food dye, on HepG2 cells

Erythrosine (ErB) is a xanthene and an US Food and Drug Administration approved dye used in foods, drugs and cosmetics. Although its utilization is permitted, ErB is described as inhibitor of enzymes and protein-protein interactions and is toxic to pituitary and spermatogenesis processes. However, the genotoxicity and mutagenicity of ErB is inconclusive in the literature. This study aimed to analyze the genotoxicity of this dye using the alkaline comet assay and is the first investigation to evaluate ErB mutagenicity using the cytokinesis block micronucleus cytome (CBMN-Cyt) assay in HepG2 cells. These cells were chosen because they produce phase I and phase II enzymes that can mimic in vivo metabolism. The cells were treated with seven concentrations (0.1-70.0 mu g mL(-1)) of ErB, and the results showed genotoxicity at the two highest concentrations and mutagenicity at six concentrations. Furthermore, as micronuclei result from clastogenic and aneugenic processes, while comet assay is often considered more sensitive and detects DNA single strain breaks, we suggest that an aneugenic is responsible for the observed damage. Although ErB is approved for use in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, it must be used carefully because it damages the DNA structure. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bilberry adulteration using the food dye amaranth

Vaccinium myrtillus or bilberry fruit is a commonly used herbal product. The usual method of determining the anthocyanin content is a single-wavelength spectrophotometric assay. Using this method, anthocyanin levels of two extracts were found to be 25% as claimed by the manufacturers. When high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used, however, one extract was found to contain 9% anthocyanins probably not derived from V. myrtillus but from an adulterant. This adulterant was subsequently identified, using HPLC, mass spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance, as amaranth, that is, 3-hydroxy-4-[(4-sulfo-1-naphthalenyl)azo]-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid trisodium saltsa synthetic dark red sulfonic acid based naphthylazo dye. As described in this study, if deliberate adulteration occurs in an extract, a single-wavelength spectrophotometric assay is inadequate to accurately determine the levels of compounds such as anthocyanins. Detection of deliberate adulteration in commercial samples thus requires the use of alternative, more sophisticated, methods of analysis such as HPLC with photodiode array detection as a minimum.

Influence of particle size on the photoactivity of Ti/TiO2 thin film electrodes, and enhanced photoelectrocatalytic degradation of indigo carmine dye

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

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, Indigotine Blue, Fast Red E, Orange GGN and Scarlet GN. All food colours tested inhibited mitochondrial respiration (State III respiration, uncoupled) supported either by α-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.

Study on the mutagenicity and antimutagenicity of a natural food colour (annatto) in mouse bone marrow cells

Most manufactured foods contain chemicals added as a deliberate part of the manufacturing process. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the mutagenicity and antimutagenicity of annatto, a natural pigment extracted from the Bixa orellana L. and widely used as a colorant in foods. The micronucleus test was performed in bone marrow cells from Swiss male mice treated with one of the three concentrations of annatto (1330, 5330 and 10,670 ppm), incorporated into the diet. The animals were fed with the diets for 7 days and sacrificed 24 h after the last treatment. For the evaluation of the antimutagenic potential of annatto, at day 7, the animals received an intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (50 mg/kg body weight). Under the concentrations tested annatto did not present mutagenic or antimutagenic activities on the mice bone marrow cells. However, an increased frequency of micronucleated cells was observed when the highest concentration (10,670 ppm) was administered simultaneously with cyclophosphamide. In conclusion, the data indicate that annatto colour, for the conditions used, is neither mutagenic nor an inhibitor of induced mutations, although it should be used carefully since high doses may increase the effect of a mutagen. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

CYP-450 isoenzymes catalyze the generation of hazardous aromatic amines after reaction with the azo dye Sudan III

This work describes the mutagenic response of Sudan III, an adulterant food dye, using Salmonella typhimurium assay and the generation of hazardous aromatic amines after different oxidation methods of this azo dye. For that, we used metabolic activation by S9, catalytic oxidation by ironporphyrin and electrochemistry oxidation in order to simulate endogenous oxidation conditions. The oxidation reactions promoted discoloration from 65% to 95% of Sudan III at 1×10-4molL-1 and generation of 7.6×10-7molL-1 to 0.31×10-4molL-1 of aniline, o-anisidine, 2-methoxi-5-methylaniline, 4-aminobiphenyl, 4,4'-oxydianiline; 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane and 2,6-dimethylaniline. The results were confirmed by LC-MS-MS experiments. We also correlate the mutagenic effects of Sudan III using S. typhimurium with the strain TA1535 in the presence of exogenous metabolic activation (S9) with the metabolization products of this compound. Our findings clearly indicate that aromatic amines are formed due to oxidative reactions that can be promoted by hepatic cells, after the ingestion of Sudan III. Considering that, the use of azo compounds as food dyestuffs should be carefully controlled. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Adsorption of food dyes onto chitosan: Optimization process and kinetic

Adsorption of food dyes acid blue 9 and food yellow 3 onto chitosan was optimized. Chitosan was obtained from shrimp wastes and characterized.Afull factorial design was used to analyze the effects of pH, stirring rate and contact time in adsorption capacity. In the optimal conditions, adsorption kinetics was studied and the experimental data were fitted with three kinetic models. The produced chitosan showed good characteristics for dye adsorption. The optimal conditions were: pH 3, 150rpm and 60 min for acid blue 9 and pH 3, 50rpm and 60 min for food yellow 3. In these conditions, the adsorption capacities values were 210mgg−1 and 295mgg−1 for acid blue 9 and food yellow 3, respectively. The Elovich kinetic model was the best fit for experimental data and it showed the chemical nature of dyes adsorption onto chitosan.

Revestimento de sementes de milho superdoce (sh2)

A semente de milho doce é leve e rugosa. A rugosidade torna difícil a classificação das sementes quanto à forma e ao tamanho e isso dificulta a semeadura. Uma solução para esse problema seria a utilização da técnica de revestimento. Assim, este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar diferentes materiais de enchimento, cimentantes e corantes na peletização de sementes de milho superdoce e verificar quais combinações de materiais seriam eficientes na manutenção da qualidade fisiológica das sementes após o armazenamento e que permitissem vazão e distribuição uniformes durante a semeadura. Foram então testados doze materiais de enchimento (calcários 1 e 2, caulim, carvão vegetal ativado, areia, vermiculita, fubá de milho, farinha de trigo, polvilho de mandioca, amido de milho, celite e terra de diatomáceas), dois cimentantes (goma arábica e cascorez extra) e seis corantes (tintas guache, acrílica, plástica e para tecido, corante para alimento e gelatina). As avaliações da qualidade física e fisiológica das sementes revestidas e nuas foram efetuadas por meio dos testes: teor de água, fragmentação, peso de mil sementes, volume aparente e plantabilidade, germinação, primeira contagem da germinação e emergência de plântulas em campo. O revestimento de sementes de milho superdoce proporciona homogeneidade de forma e tamanho às sementes, melhora a vazão e a distribuição dos péletes na semeadura e não compromete a emergência de plântulas em campo depois de quatro meses de armazenamento.

Efeito da intensidade do vento, da pressão e de pontas de pulverização na deriva de aplicações de herbicidas em pré-emergência

Objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar o efeito de pontas de pulverização, pressão e intensidade do vento na deriva gerada em aplicações simuladas de herbicidas aplicados em pré-emergência. Os modelos de pontas de pulverização e as respectivas pressões testadas foram: SF 11002 (207 e 310 kPa), JA-2 (345 e 655 kPa) e AVI 11002 (207 e 414 kPa). As aplicações foram realizadas em dois períodos, em dias com condições de velocidade de vento distintas, em uma área de 1.200 m², localizada na Fazenda Experimental da FCA/UNESP. Um pulverizador com barra de 12 m, 24 bicos e tanque de 600 L foi utilizado nas aplicações. A calda de aplicação foi composta por água e o corante alimentício FDC-1 foi usado como traçador. A deriva foi amostrada por coletores ativos fixados sobre a barra de pulverização. As velocidades mínimas, médias e máximas de vento registradas no primeiro e segundo períodos das aplicações foram de 7, 14 e 23 km h-1 e 1, 5 e 18 km h-1, respectivamente. Nas duas ocasiões de aplicação, as pontas de pulverização com indução de ar AVI 11002 e de jato cônico vazio JA-2 a 655 kPa resultaram nas menores e maiores quantidades de depósito de líquido detectadas, respectivamente. A maior intensidade do vento incrementou a deriva. A redução na pressão pode ser utilizada para controle de deriva, mas a seleção adequada de uma ponta mostrou ser mais eficiente para esse propósito.

AGRICULTURAL SPRAY DEPOSIT QUANTIFICATION METHODS

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)