Browsing by Author "De Boevre, Marthe"
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- 3rd HBM-PT Workshop on Human BioMonitoring in Portugal - earlyMYCO: assessing the risk associated to early-life exposure to mycotoxins: Book of abstractsPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula; Ferreira, M.; Bastos, P.; Nunes, C.; De Boevre, Marthe; Duarte, E.; Nunes, B.; Namorado, S.; Silva, S.; Pires, S.; Martins, C.Livro de resumos do 3rd HBM-PT Workshop on Human BioMonitoring in Portugal sob o tema “Risk Assessment”, abrangendo trabalhos em torno das seguintes temáticas: Exposição a produtos químicos e efeitos na saúde humana; Influência da mudança do ambiente na exposição humana a produtos químicos; Integração de dados de monitorização humana e ambiental; Tradução dos dados de biomonitorização humana em ações regulamentares sobre saúde humana e ambiental. O evento pretende reunir investigadores, representantes de instituições reguladoras e restantes stakeholders, promovendo o debate sobre a aplicação da biomonitorização humana nas políticas de saúde e ambiente, bem como na avaliação de risco para a saúde e possibilitando a apresentação de resultados, na forma de comunicações orais e/ou e-posters. Este workshop é organizado pela National Hub portuguesa em Biomonitorização Humana, constituída no âmbito do programa europeu conjunto HBM4EU - European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (https://www.hbm4eu.eu/), da qual fazem parte a FCT, a Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente, a Direção-Geral da Saúde, o Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, a Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa e a Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa.
- Are Portuguese population exposed to Zearalenone? A human biomonitoring study as a contribution to the risk assessment of an endocrine disruptorPublication . Martins, Carla; Vidal, A.; De Saeger, Sarah; Assunção, R.; Nunes, Carla; Torres, D.; Goios, A.; Lopes, Carla; Alvito, P.; De Boevre, MartheZearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin that occurs widely in food commodities with particular incidence in cereals. Due to chemical structures similar to the endogenous oestrogen 17-β-estradiol, ZEN and its metabolites exert estrogenic toxicity. Therefore, it is crucial to assess ZEN exposure among the population and biomarker-driven research is a promising method to assess the human exposure. For this reason, ZEN metabolites such as α-zearalenol (α-ZEL), β-zearalenol (β-ZEL), α-zearalenal (α-ZAL), β-zearalenal (β-ZAL), zearalanone (ZAN) (phase I) and the glucuronides ZEN14GlcA, α-ZEL14GlcA and β-ZEL14Glc (phase II) were identified in biological fluids. With a potency factor of 60 relative to ZEN, α-ZEL is the most relevant metabolite in terms of human health. ZEN is characterized by a fast metabolism and excretion, therefore urine is the matrix commonly used to assess the exposure to this mycotoxin and its metabolites. To date, in Portugal, there is a lack of human studies to assess biomarkers of exposure to ZEN. Within the Scope of National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey of the Portuguese General Population (2015-2016), 24h-urine samples and non-consecutive dietary assessments (two 24-hour recalls, 8-15 days apart) from 94 participants were included in the present study. Following a salt-assisted matrix extraction, urine samples were analyzed using LC-MS/MS for the simultaneous determination of ZEN, α-ZEL, β-ZEL, α-ZAL, β-ZAL, ZAN and ZEN14GlcA. ZEN and ZEN-14-GlcA were detected in 52% (36/69) and 14% (10/69) of the analyzed samples, with a mean concentration of 1.2 and 6.9 µg/L, respectively. The metabolites α-ZEL, β-ZEL, α-ZAL, β-ZAL, ZAN were not detected in the urine samples. Considering the 24h-urinary volume, the mean dietary excretion of ZEN and ZEN-14-GlcA was 1.5 and 7.8 µg/day, respectively. These data will allow the determination of Probably Daily Intake of zearalenone with more accuracy since it reflects the internal exposure of participants.
- Deoxynivalenol exposure assessment through a modelling approach of food intake and biomonitoring data – A contribution to the risk assessment of an enteropathogenic mycotoxinPublication . Martins, Carla; Torres, Duarte; Lopes, Carla; Correia, Daniela; Goios, Ana; Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula; Vidal, Arnau; De Boevre, Marthe; De Saeger, Sarah; Nunes, CarlaDeoxynivalenol (DON), an enteropathogenic mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species, is usually associated with adverse health outcomes such as gastrointestinal diseases and immunotoxicity. To estimate DON exposure of the Portuguese population at national level, a modelling approach, based on data from 94 Portuguese volunteers, was developed considering the inputs of the food consumption data generated within the National Food and Physical Activity Survey and the human biomonitoring data used to assess the exposure to DON. Ten models of association between DON urinary biomarkers and food items (pasta, cookies, biscuits, sweets, bread, rusks, nuts, oilseeds, beer, meat, milk) were established. Applying the most adequate model to the consumption data (n = 5811) of the general population, the exposure estimates of the Probable Daily Intake revealed that a fraction (0.1%) of the Portuguese population might exceed the Tolerable Daily Intake defined for DON. The analysis stratified by age revealed children (3.2%) and adolescents (6.0%) are more likely to exceed the Tolerable Daily Intake for DON. Although the unavoidable uncertainties, these results are important contributions to understand the exposure to this mycotoxin in Portugal, to assess the associated risk and the potential public health consequences.
- earlyMYCO – a mother & child cohort in PortugalPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Martins, Carla; Costa, A.; Serrano, D.; De Boevre, Marthe; Vidal, A.; De Saeger, Sarah; Alvito, Paula; Vidigal, C.; Almeida, E.; Nunes, C.Background: Early-life exposure occurs during gestation through transfer of toxic substances present in the maternal diet to the fetus and later on, during lactation, through the breast milk. Food chemical contaminants as mycotoxins are well known carcinogenic, nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic and immunosuppressive compounds. Recent human biomonitoring data revealed that Portuguese population is exposed to mycotoxins. These results emphasized the need for assessing the prenatal and lactation exposure to mycotoxins in a critical and vulnerable period of life. This study aims for the first time in Portugal to assess the early-life exposure to mycotoxins through a mother & child cohort, thus contributing to the knowledge of the exposome of Portuguese population. Methods: Participants are recruited in primary health care units in Lisbon (Portugal) during pregnancy (1st trimester). Four moments of observation are expected within this study: 2nd trimester of pregnancy (mother), and 1st week of life, 1st month of life, 6th month (mother & child). Each moment includes the collection of biological samples (blood, urine, breast milk) and the application of sociodemographic and food consumption questionnaires. Biological samples will be analyzed by liquid chromatography with detection by mass spectrometry for the detection and quantification of 45 mycotoxins’ biomarkers. Results: Data presented include results of mycotoxins’ biomarkers from 12 participants for blood and urine samples. Results obtained will be used to estimate the probable daily intake of each mycotoxin, to perform risk characterization and estimate the burden associated with this exposure. Conclusions: It is expected that results obtained within earlyMYCO will contribute to have a deeper knowledge on exposure of vulnerable population groups (pregnant women and infants) and to understand the impact of early-life exposure to mycotoxins. The biobank will be available for further research and future studies will be developed in order to have a broader knowledge on the exposome of Portuguese population.
- earlyMYCO project - Early-life exposure to mycotoxins: a neglected issue?Publication . Alvito, Paula; Amador, P.; Broeiro, Paula; Caldeira, T; De Boevre, Marthe; De Saeger, Sarah; Duarte, E.; Ferreira, M.; Lamy, Elisabete; Mexia, R.; Namorado, S.; Nunes, B.; Nunes, C.; Pires, S.; Silva, M.J.; Silva, Susana; Vidal, A.; Martins, C.; Assunção, R.Recent studies under MYCOMIX project reported that Portuguese children until 3 years old are exposed to multiple mycotoxins through food consumption, constituting a potential health threat. Aflatoxins (carcinogenic toxins) represented the main risk contributors and deoxynivalenol (a non-carcinogenic toxin associated with immunological and gastrointestinal toxic effects) showed the highest daily intake of the studied mycotoxins. These results opened new research perspectives and emphasized the need to accurately assess the prenatal and lactational exposure to mycotoxins in a critical and vulnerable period of life. Early-life exposure of children occurs during gestation through transfer of toxic substances present in the maternal diet to the fetus and later on, during lactation, through the breast milk. Considering this, the national project earlyMYCO – Early-life exposure to MYCOtoxins and its impact on health aims at assessing the risk of early-life exposure to mycotoxins. earlyMYCO proposes to answer several key questions including what extent are pregnant women and infants until six months exposed to mycotoxins in Portugal? Is this exposure a health threat? With this purpose, earlyMYCO gathered a multidisciplinar team with expertise on medical sciences, public health and toxicology to perform i) an epidemiological study, including the recruitment of pregnant women and infants, food survey and biological sample collection and ii) mycotoxin exposure assessment in pregnant women and infants using biomarkers of exposure. The epidemiological study was approved by INSA’s Ethical Committee and will be conducted in the Primary Health Care of Central Lisboa. The biomonitoring study will use advanced analytical methodologies and will provide data to perform the exposure assessment. Due to the increasing prevalence in food commodities, mycotoxins appear to be important, but often neglected contaminants in terms of health impact on human population especially in vulnerable groups as children. It is expected that results obtained within earlyMYCO will contribute to understand the impact of mycotoxin early-life exposure.
- earlyMYCO: A Pilot Mother-Child Cohort Study to Assess Early-Life Exposure to Mycotoxins - Challenges and Lessons LearnedPublication . Martins, Carla; Assunção, Ricardo; Costa, Ana; Serrano, Débora; Visintin, Lia; De Boevre, Marthe; Lachat, Carl; Vidal, Arnau; De Saeger, Sarah; Namorado, Sónia; Vidigal, Cristina; Almeida, Elisabete; Alvito, Paula; Nunes, CarlaEarly-life exposure occurs during gestation through transfer to the fetus and later, during lactation. Recent monitoring data revealed that the Portuguese population is exposed to mycotoxins, including young children. This study aimed to develop a pilot study to assess the early-life exposure to mycotoxins through a mother-child cohort, and to identify the associated challenges. Participants were recruited during pregnancy (1st trimester) and followed-up in three moments of observation: 2nd trimester of pregnancy (mother), and 1st and 6th month of the child's life (mother and child), with the collection of biological samples and sociodemographic and food consumption data. The earlyMYCO pilot study enrolled 19 mother-child pairs. The analysis of biological samples from participants revealed the presence of 4 out of 15 and 5 out of 18 mycotoxins' biomarkers of exposure in urine and breast milk samples, respectively. The main aspects identified as contributors for the successful development of the cohort were the multidisciplinary and dedicated team members in healthcare units, reduced burden of participation, and the availability of healthcare units for the implementation of the fieldwork. Challenges faced, lessons learned, and suggestions were discussed as a contribution for the development of further studies in this area.
- earlyMYCO: assessing the risk associated to early-life exposure to mycotoxinsPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula; Ferreira, M.; Bastos, P.; Nunes, C.; De Boevre, Marthe; Duarte, E.; Nunes, B.; Namorado, S.; Silva, S.; Pires, S.; Martins, CarlaA number of health disorders has been associated to exposure to hazardous chemicals during the first 1000 days of life. Therefore, a proper risk assessment built on accurate data assumes particular im-portance to evaluate the potential impact that early-life exposure could represent in adulthood. Mycotox-ins are secondary fungal metabolites that might cause harmful effects in humans and animals. Recent studies showed that Portuguese young children are exposed to multiple mycotoxins through food con-sumption which could constitute a health concern. However, earlier exposure to these compounds re-mains unexplored. earlyMYCO – Early-life exposure to MYCOtoxins and its impact on health, a national funded project, intends to contribute to clarify this issue evaluating the health effects of early-life exposure of Portuguese mother-and-child pairs to mycotoxins and assessing the associated risk. The Estimated Daily Intake, using human biomonitoring data, will be compared with reference dose values. For those mycotoxins representing a health concern, an estimate of the associated probable health-impact will be performed by calculating the associated burden in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALY). Preliminary results of exposure to mycotoxins through food consumption (cereal-based foods) in young children (≤ 3 years old) revealed a potential adverse health effect for percentiles of intake of aflatoxins above or equal to P50 (corresponding to 0.041 ng/kg body weight/day or higher). Our results will contribute to reach an accurate risk assessment framework and to establish and prioritize preventive measures to reduce exposure to chemicals, especially for vulnerable population groups as pregnant women and infants.
- Exposição da população portuguesa a micotoxinas: o contributo da biomonitorização humanaPublication . Martins, Carla; Vidal, Arnau; De Boevre, Marthe; De Saeger, Sarah; Nunes, Carla; Torres, Duarte; Goios, Ana; Lopes, Carla; Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, PaulaAs micotoxinas constituem um grupo de contaminantes alimentares que poderão provocar vários efeitos tóxicos na saúde humana, entre eles efeitos estrogénicos, imunotóxicos, nefrotóxicos e teratogénicos. É por isso importante avaliar a exposição humana a estes compostos, através da análise direta dos seus biomarcadores em amostras biológicas. Em Portugal existem poucos dados disponíveis de exposição a micotoxinas obtidos em estudos de biomonitorização humana. Face a esta ausência de informação, o presente estudo teve como objetivo determinar os biomarcadores de exposição a micotoxinas em amostras de urina de 24 horas, colhidas no âmbito do Inquérito Nacional de Alimentação, Nutrição e Atividade Física da População Geral Portuguesa (2015-2016), e avaliar o risco associado a esta exposição. A determinação analítica destes compostos foi efetuada por cromatografia líquida com deteção por espectrometria de massa permitindo a deteção e quantificação simultânea de 37 biomarcadores de exposição a micotoxinas presentes na urina. Os dados obtidos foram utilizados para estimar a Ingestão Diária Provável e caracterizar o risco através da determinação do Quociente de Perigo. Os resultados obtidos revelaram a exposição da população portuguesa a zearalenona, desoxinivalenol, ocratoxina A, alternariol, citrinina e fumonisina B1. Os dados de caracterização de risco revelaram uma potencial preocupação, considerando que os valores de referência de ingestão foram excedidos em alguns participantes. A micotoxina alternariol foi identificada e quantificada, pela primeira vez, em amostras de urina num país europeu; no entanto, a caracterização do risco não foi efetuada dado não existir um valor de referência estabelecido internacionalmente. Estes resultados confirmam que a população Portuguesa está exposta a micotoxinas, reforçando a necessidade de mais estudos sobre os determinantes desta exposição.
- Human biomonitoring of multiple mycotoxins in the Portuguese population: strengths and limitations under risk assessmentPublication . Martins, Carla; De Boevre, Marthe; De Saeger, Sarah; Nunes, Carla; Torres, Duarte; Goios, A.; Lopes, Carla; Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula; Vidal, A.Mycotoxins constitute a relevant group of food contaminants with associated health outcomes such as estrogenic, immunotoxic, nephrotoxic and teratogenic effects. Although scarce data are available in Portugal, human biomonitoring (HBM) studies have been globally developed to assess the exposure to mycotoxins at individual level. This study aimed to present data for mycotoxins’ urinary biomarkers within a human biomonitoring study developed to assess the exposure of the Portuguese population, and to characterize the risk associated to the exposure. In the scope of the National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey of the Portuguese General Population (2015-2016), 24h-urine samples from 94 participants were analyzed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of 37 mycotoxins’ urinary biomarkers. Data obtained were used to estimate the probable daily intake as well as the risk characterization applying multiple imputation, reverse dosimetry and hazard quotient approaches. Results revealed the exposure of Portuguese population to zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin A, alternariol, citrinin and fumonisin B1. Risk characterization data revealed a potential concern to some reported mycotoxins since the reference intake values were exceeded by some of the considered participants. The use of data at individual level, the collection of 24h urine samples, the performance of analytical method and the use of multiple imputation approach were identified as the main strengths of this study. The limitations identified were related with the use of excretion data obtained within animal studies and the absence of health based guidance values for urinary biomarkers that would allow a direct comparison. The present study generated, for the first time and within a HBM study, reliable data on internal exposure to multiple mycotoxins at individual level for the Portuguese population. These data contributes for supporting risk managers in the establishment of preventive policy measures to ensure public health protection.
- Is Portuguese population exposed to Zearalenone? A human biomonitoring study as a contribution to the risk assessment of an endocrine disruptorPublication . Martins, Carla; Vidal, Arnau; De Saeger, S.; Assunção, R.; Nunes, Carla; Torres, D.; Goios, A.; Lopes, Carla; Alvito, Paula; De Boevre, MartheZearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin that occurs widely in food commodities with particular incidence in cereals. Due to chemical structures similar to the endogenous oestrogen 17-β-estradiol, ZEN and its metabolites exert estrogenic toxicity. Therefore, it is crucial to assess ZEN exposure among the population and biomarker-driven research is a promising method to assess the human exposure. For this reason, ZEN metabolites such as α-zearalenol (α-ZEL), β-zearalenol (β-ZEL), α-zearalenal (α-ZAL), β-zearalenal (β-ZAL), zearalanone (ZAN) (phase I) and the glucuronides ZEN14GlcA, α-ZEL14GlcA and β-ZEL14Glc (phase II) were identified in biological fluids. With a potency factor of 60 relative to ZEN, α-ZEL is the most relevant metabolite in terms of human health. ZEN is characterized by a fast metabolism and excretion, therefore urine is the matrix commonly used to assess the exposure to this mycotoxin and its metabolites. To date, in Portugal, there is a lack of human studies to assess biomarkers of exposure to ZEN. Within the Scope of National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey of the Portuguese General Population (2015-2016), 24h-urine samples and non-consecutive dietary assessments (two 24-hour recalls, 8-15 days apart) from 94 participants were included in the present study. Following a salt-assisted matrix extraction, urine samples were analyzed using LC-MS/MS for the simultaneous determination of ZEN, α-ZEL, β-ZEL, α-ZAL, β-ZAL, ZAN and ZEN14GlcA. ZEN and ZEN-14-GlcA were detected in 52% (36/69) and 14% (10/69) of the analyzed samples, with a mean concentration of 1.2 and 6.9 µg/L, respectively. The metabolites α-ZEL, β-ZEL, α-ZAL, β-ZAL, ZAN were not detected in the urine samples. Considering the 24h-urinary volume, the mean dietary excretion of ZEN and ZEN-14-GlcA was 1.5 and 7.8 µg/day, respectively. These data will allow the determination of Probably Daily Intake of zearalenone with more accuracy since it reflects the internal exposure of participants. The present biomonitoring study generates reliable data regarding the exposure of the Portuguese population to ZEN. These data are crucial to perform a more realistic risk assessment, contributing to the knowledge of determinants of this exposure.