Browsing by Author "Lopes, Carla"
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- 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.
- Building capacity in risk-benefit assessment of foods: lessons learned from the RB4EU projectPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula; Brazão, Roberto; Carmona, Paulo; Fernandes, Paulo; Jakobsen, Lea S.; Lopes, Carla; Martins, Carla; Membré, Jeanne-Marie; Monteiro, Sarogini; Nabais, Pedro; Thomsen, Sofie T.; Torres, Duarte; Viegas, Silvia; Pires, Sara; Boué, GeraldineBackground: Human diet may present both risks and benefits to consumers’ health. Risk-benefit assessment of foods (RBA) intends to estimate the overall health impact associated with exposure (or lack of exposure) to a particular food or food component. Scope and approach: “RiskBenefit4EU – Partnering to strengthen the risk-benefit assessment within EU using a holistic approach” (RB4EU) is a project funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that integrates a multidisciplinary team from Portugal, Denmark and France. This project aims to strengthen the EU capacity to assess and integrate food risks and benefits regarding toxicology, microbiology and nutrition. One of the specific objectives of RB4EU was to build capacity in RBA among the recipient partners from Portugal. In order to achieve this objective, a capacity building strategy including theoretical and hands-on training and the development of a case-study were established. This paper aims to present the strategy used in the RB4EU project to build capacity within RBA, including the main training approaches and the lessons learned. Key findings and conclusions: The capacity-building program included three main activities: theoretical training, focusing on RBA concepts; hands-on training, applying the acquired concepts to a concrete case-study, using the methods and tools displayed; and scientific missions, intending to provide advanced training in specific domains of RBA. The developed strategy can be used in the future to build capacity within RBA.
- Building capacity in risk-benefit assessment of foods: lessons learned from the RB4EU ProjectPublication . Boué, Géraldine; Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula; Brazão, R.; Carmona, Paulo; Carvalho, Catarina; Correia, D.; Fernandes, Paulo; Jakobsen, Lea; Lopes, Carla; Martins, Carla; Membré, Jeanne-Marie; Monteiro, Sarogini; Nabais, Pedro; Thomsen, Sofie; Torres, Duarte; Pires, SaraRisk-Benefit Assessment (RBA) of food, food ingredients and diets, has recently emerged to address multidisciplinary public health issues. RBA aims to assess in a global perspective potential risks and benefits related to microbiology, toxicology and nutrition; in order to evaluate different options and to support decision-making process. At this time, significant methodological progress have been made but only few research groups have experience in RBA. To promote knowledge transfer, the RiskBenefit4EU project was funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The objective of the presentation will be to introduce the strategy developed to capacitate a new team in RBA and to give an overview on lessons learned from this experience. The new team was comprised of experts in risk assessment in toxicology, microbiology or nutrition, epidemiology, dietary assessment or data analysis to answer to a specific multidisciplinary public health issue on cereal-based foods consumed by young children considering breakfast and infant cereals. Activities of the capacity building experience were designed by experienced researchers in RBA to transfer a harmonized methodology. Two weeks of face-to-face training were organized, one on theoretical concepts used in RBA and one on their application to the cereal case study. This experience has highlighted the necessity to build a common language within the team by harmonizing important concepts including hazard, health effect, adverse health effect, beneficial health effect, risk, benefit, health and health impact. It was also important that all participant learn basis of all area of expertise used in RBA. A harmonized RBA stepwise approach was introduced with key steps illustrated with examples of previous RBA performed. Finally, the RBA case study was initiated to design a shared protocol. The learning by doing process experienced under the RB4EU project enabled to create the first training in RBA. The strategy developed, with materials and method used, can now be re-used to capacitate other new teams in RBA and can be considered as a robust basis to build on.
- Burden of disease associated with dietary exposure to carcinogenic aflatoxins in Portugal using human biomonitoring approachPublication . Martins, Carla; Vidal, Arnau; De Boevre, M.; De Saeger, Sarah; Nunes, Carla; Torres, Duarte; Goios, A.; Lopes, Carla; Alvito, Paula; Assunção, RicardoHuman biomonitoring is an important tool to assess human exposure to chemicals, contributing to describe trends of exposure over time and to identify population groups that could be under risk. Aflatoxins are genotoxic and carcinogenic food contaminants causing hepatocellular carcinoma, the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In Portugal, scarce data are available regarding exposure to aflatoxins and no previous study used human biomonitoring data to comprehensively characterize the associated burden of disease. 24 h urine and first-morning urine paired samples were collected by 94 participants and were analyzed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the quantitative determination of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2 and M1). Deterministic and probabilistic models were developed to assess the Portuguese exposure to aflatoxins and to estimate the health impact of this exposure, estimating the attributed Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Aflatoxins were detected in a maximum of 13% (AFB1), 16% (AFB2), 1% (AFG1), 2% (AFG2) and 19% (AFM1) of the urine samples. Data obtained through the probabilistic approach revealed an estimated mean probable daily intake of 13.43 ng/kg body weight per day resulting in 0.13 extra cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, corresponding to mean annual DALYs of 172.8 for the Portuguese population (10 291 027 inhabitants). The present study generated for the first time and within a human biomonitoring study, reliable and crucial data to characterize the burden associated to the exposure to aflatoxins of the Portuguese population. The obtained results constitute an imperative support to risk managers in the establishment of preventive policy measures that contribute to ensure public health protection.
- Burden of disease attributable to exposure to aflatoxins in PortugalPublication . Martins, Carla; Vidal, Arnau; De Boevre, M.; De Saeger, Sarah; Nunes, Carla; Torres, D.; Goios, A.; Lopes, Carla; Alvito, Paula; Assunção, RicardoHuman biomonitoring (HBM) is recognized as an important tool to assess the Human exposure to chemicals, contributing to describe trends and patterns of exposure over time and to identify population groups that could be under risk. Natural chemicals as mycotoxins, fungi metabolites that produce toxic effects in humans, are important compounds that could be found in foods usually consumed worldwide in a daily basis. Mycotoxins as aflatoxins (AFTs) are genotoxic, carcinogenic and immunosuppressive compounds. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of their main health toxic effects and is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In Portugal, scarce data are available regarding exposure to AFTs and none previous study used HBM data to characterize comprehensively the burden associated to this 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 AFTs (B1, B2, G1, G2, M1). A model was developed to estimate the health impact of the exposure of Portuguese population to aflatoxins, estimating the number of cases of HCC and DALYs attributed to AFTs exposure. AFTs were detected in 12.8% (AFB1), 16.0% (AFB2) and 19.1% (AFM1) of the 24h-urine samples. The estimated number of extra cases of HCC attributed to this exposure ranged from 17 to 65 cases/year; the associated DALYs for the Portuguese population ranged from 284 to 1802 years. The present study generated, for the first time and within a HBM study, reliable data regarding the exposure of the Portuguese population to AFTs. These data were crucial to characterize the health impact associated to AFTs exposure and to support risk managers to establish preventive policy measures that contribute to ensure the public health protection. Main messages: Portuguese population is exposed to aflatoxins, chemical food contaminants that may be harmful (carcinogenic, immunotoxic, mutagenic, teratogenic, hepatotoxic) to humans. Human biomonitoring studies provide realistic data on internal exposure at individual level, contributing to a more accurate estimation of the burden derived from this exposure.
- Consumo de alimentos à base de cereais pelas crianças portuguesas: uma avaliação de risco-benefícioPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Boué, Géraldine; Alvito, Paula; Brazão, Roberto; Carmona, Paulo; Carvalho, Catarina; Correia, Daniela; Fernandes, Paulo; Lopes, Carla; Martins, Carla; Membré, Jeanne-Marie; Monteiro, Sarogini; Nabais, Pedro; Thomsen, Sofie T.; Torres, Duarte; Pires, Sara M.; Jakobsen, Lea S.De uma forma geral, o consumo de alimentos pode apresentar potenciais riscos e benefícios para os consumidores. Os alimentos à base de cereais, incluindo os cereais de pequeno-almoço e os cereais infantis, representam componentes importantes da dieta humana e estão entre os primeiros alimentos sólidos que são introduzidos na dieta. Estes alimentos constituem uma fonte importante de vários nutrientes, incluindo o sódio, fibras e açúcares livres, que podem estar associados a efeitos benéficos e adversos para a saúde. Simultaneamente, os alimentos à base de cereais podem também ser veículo de contaminantes químicos (por exemplo, micotoxinas) e microbiológicos (por exemplo, Bacillus cereus). As aflatoxinas, um grupo de micotoxinas que apresenta maior potencial tóxico, são frequentemente detetadas em cereais. No âmbito do projeto RiskBenefit4EU, o presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os riscos e os benefícios associados ao consumo de alimentos à base de cereais pelas crianças portuguesas. Os riscos (teores de aflatoxinas e B. cereus, sódio e açúcares livres) e os benefícios (teor de fibra) associados ao consumo de cereais de pequeno-almoço (CPA) foram comparados com aqueles associados ao consumo de cereais infantis (CI). Os resultados obtidos revelaram que a mudança do consumo atual para os cenários alternativos considerados (em especial para o consumo de cereais de pequeno-almoço com características semelhantes ao “Melhor CPA”) poderia resultar num ganho de anos de vida saudável.
- 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.
- Dietary exposure to aflatoxins in the Portuguese population – the use of biomonitoring data to assess the associated burdenPublication . Martins, Carla; Vidal, Arnau; De Boevre, M.; De Saeger, Sarah; Nunes, Carla; Torres, Duarte; Goios, Ana; Lopes, Carla; Alvito, Paula; Assunção, RicardoBackground: Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an important tool to assess the human exposure to chemicals, contributing to describe trends of exposure over time and to identify population groups that could be under risk. Aflatoxins (AFTs) are genotoxic and carcinogenic compounds causing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In Portugal, scarce data are available regarding exposure to AFTs and none previous study used HBM data to characterize comprehensively the associated burden. Methods: 24h-urine samples (n=94) were analyzed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the determination of AFTs (B1, B2, G1, G2, M1). Regarding left-censored data (< LOD) a substitution approach was considered (< LOD = 0). Deterministic and probabilistic models were developed to estimate the health impact of the exposure to aflatoxins, estimating the DALYs attributed to AFTs exposure for the Portuguese population (10291k). Results: AFTs were detected in 13% (AFB1), 16% (AFB2), 1% (AFG1), 2% (AFG2) and 19% (AFM1) of the 24h-urine samples. The mean probable daily intake estimated was 16.7 and 13.4 ng/kg body weight/day, calculated mean DALYs/100k were 1.7 (0-10.7) and 1.68 (0.04-6.23) considering the deterministic and probabilistic models, respectively. Conclusion: The present study generated, for the first time and within a HBM study, reliable and crucial data to characterize the burden associated to Portuguese population exposure to aflatoxins. The obtained results constitute an important contribution to support risk managers in the establishment of preventive policy measures that contribute to ensure the public health protection.
- Exposição a metilmercúrio e consumo de pescado: emissão de recomendações nacionais, 2023Publication . Fernandes, Paulo; Afonso, Cláudia; Bico, Paula; Bandarra, Narcisa; Borges, Marta; Carmona, Paulo; Carvalho, Catarina; Correia, Daniela; Gonçalves, Susana; Lopes, Carla; Lourenço, Helena; Monteiro, Sarogini; Nabais, Pedro; Oliveira, Luísa; Santiago, Susana; Severo, Milton; Torres, Duarte; Dias, Maria GraçaConsiderando que o consumo de pescado é uma fonte importante de exposição ao metilmercúrio, a Comissão Europeia recomendou aos Estados- -membros que estabelecessem recomendações para o seu consumo. Assim, tendo sido criado um grupo de trabalho, é objetivo deste artigo apresentar o trabalho desenvolvido para a elaboração das recomendações de consumo de pescado adaptadas à população portuguesa, tendo em conta o padrão nacional de consumo de peixe e as espécies consumidas. A definição das recomendações assentou na realização de um estudo de avaliação de risco-benefício associado ao consumo de pescado. Esta metodologia permitiu identificar dois grupos populacionais sujeitos a recomendações distintas: para a população em geral recomenda-se uma frequência de consumo de 4 a 7 vezes por semana e, para a população vulnerável, uma frequência de 3 a 4 vezes por semana das espécies com médio e baixo teor de mercúrio, devendo ser evitado o consumo das espécies com elevado teor de mercúrio. Estas recomendações foram divulgadas num evento público e deverão ser alvo de esforços adicionais para chegarem à população vulnerável, constituída por mulheres grávidas, mulheres a amamentar e crianças até aos 10 anos.
- 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.