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- Contribution of Plant‐Based Foods to Protein Intake in the Portuguese PopulationPublication . Motta, Carla; Dinis, Dalila; Tavares, Nelson; Coelho, Mariana; Castanheira, IsabelObjectives: Plant-based foods (PBFs) are in cutting edge of nutrition due to well-established physical and environmental health benefits. The knowledge of amino acid (AA) composition of PBFs is crucial to evaluate the protein intake. This work aims to assess how PBFs can contribute to the protein intake, according to the Mediterranean diet's reference portions. Methods: Protein quality was determined in 58 PBFs belonging to cereals and tubers, vegetables, fruits, legumes, animal protein substitutes and algae available in Portuguese markets. The AA score and specific intake estimated in agreement with WHO, National recommendation and Portuguese food consumption patterns, after UPLC/PDA analysis. Results: The highest protein content found in algae, with 35.1 ± 1.2 g/100g DW, and animal protein substitutes with 26.1 ± 0.8 g/100g. Regarding the essential AA scores, by food group, histidine, threonine and aromatic amino acids (AAA) present scores above 1 (1 to 3.5) and lysine, valine and isoleucine current results below 1 for all food groups, despite that lysine in legumes have a 0.9 score. Only legumes for leucine, and cereals and meat substitutes for sulfur AA have scores greater than 1. They are considering the maximum recommended portions, for Portuguese consumption, each of the food groups supplies between 400% of AAA and 100% of lysine regarding essential AA. According to data of consumption on specific plant food groups, an average of 80% of the recommended intake is represented by AAA, and the Portuguese population consumes 15% lysine. The primary sources, of essential AA that contribute to the Portuguese intake, are cereals and tubers with 67.9% of AAA in men and 56.3% in women and 10% of lysine in men and 8.3% in women. The groups of vegetables, legumes and fruits contribute less than 10% of all essential AA. Conclusions: Complementarity and diversity of PBFs can reduce some essential AA to achieve the established protein recommendations. A combination of different food groups, such as cereals and legumes, should be taken into account. Increasing seaweed consumption, legumes, and vegetables should be encouraged to the general population.
- Histone H2AX phosphorylation: assessing the effect of cryopreservation and cell stimulation in DNA damage levelsPublication . Duarte, Xavier; Oliveira, Joana; Teixeira, João Paulo; Madureira, Joana; Costa, CarlaAbout histone H2AX phosphorylation.
- FRIESA (FRIo Extremo na SAúde): relatório da época de inverno 2020/21Publication . Silva, Susana Pereira; Torres, Ana Rita; Rodrigues, Ana Paula; Neto, Mariana; Antunes, Silvia; Marques, Jorge; Nunes, Baltazar; Matias Dias, CarlosO Inverno 2020/21 (Novembro a Março) foi caracterizado pela grande variabilidade das temperaturas, com meses classificados desde muito quentes até muito frios. Tendo em conta as temperaturas mínimas e a taxa de incidência de síndroma gripal, foi identificado um período no distrito de Lisboa e um no distrito do Porto com possível impacte na mortalidade. Considerando a sobreposição entre os dias identificados para a população geral e com 65 e mais anos de idade foi analisado apenas um período quer em Lisboa quer no Porto, correspondendo a períodos com mais do que um dia. No período selecionado para análise em Lisboa identificaram-se excessos em todos os estratos. Na globalidade estimaram-se 113 óbitos (32%) em excesso potencialmente associados ao frio extremo no distrito de Lisboa na época 2020/21 sendo o excesso estimado no sexo masculino de 171 óbitos, no sexo feminino de 21 óbitos, e no grupo etário acima dos 65 anos de idade de 28 óbitos. No distrito do Porto também se verificaram excessos de mortalidade em todos os estratos. A estimativa global de excesso de mortalidade durante a época 2020/21 no distrito do Porto foi de 85 óbitos (34% de excesso relativo), sendo de 82 óbitos em excesso no grupo etário dos 65 e mais anos de idade, 68 no sexo masculino e 46 no sexo feminino.
- Genotoxicity assessment of TiO2 nanoparticles in SH-SY5Y cells: suitability of the cytokinesis-block micronucleus testPublication . Fernández-Bertólez, Natalia; Brandão, Fátima; Costa, Carla; Lema-Arranz, C.; Rodríguez-Fernández, R.; Pásaro, E.; Teixeira, J.P.; Laffon, Blanca; Valdiglesias, VanessaObjective: to determine whether Cyt-B could interfere with micronuclei (MN) induction by TiO2 NP in human SH-SY5Y cells, as assessed by CBMN test.
- SafeGrains - Contamination of stored grain and derivatives by insect pests and fungiPublication . Carvalho, M.O.; Mourato, M.; Louro, L.; Sousa, I.; Raymundo, A.; Alvito, P.; Magro, A.; Barros, G.; Ferreira, R.; Duarte, S.About contamination of stored grain and derivatives by insect pests and fungi.
- Tratamento de doenças lisossomais de sobrecarga: relatório 2020Publication . Oliveira, Anabela; Pereira, Carla; Ribeiro, Cristina; Teles, Elisa Leão; Martins, Esmeralda; Duarte, Hélder; Carvalho, Susana; Costa, Inês; Macedo, Beatriz; Azevedo, Olga; Alves, Sandra; Sequeira, Sílvia; Ferreira, Ana Cristina; Macário, Maria do Carmo; Maia, Tabita Magalhães; Comissão Coordenadora do Tratamento das Doenças Lisossomais de SobrecargaRelatório anual ‘Tratamento de doenças lisossomais de sobrecarga’, referente às atividades desenvolvidas pela respetiva Comissão Coordenadora em 2020. As Doenças Lisossomais de Sobrecarga (DLS) constituem um grupo de patologias raras, progressivas, com elevada morbilidade, que engloba, atualmente, mais de 60 patologias, cuja apresentação clínica é extremamente variável, podendo ir desde doença neurológica grave até a casos menos graves. Em Portugal, a prevalência deste tipo de patologias em recém-nascidos é de 25 por cada 100.000 nados-vivos. Nos últimos anos, várias terapêuticas de substituição enzimática e de redução do substrato têm sido desenvolvidas possibilitando o tratamento dos doentes com algumas destas patologias, nomeadamente, a Doença de Gaucher, a Doença de Fabry, a Doença de Pompe, as Mucopolissacaridoses tipo I, II, IVA e VI, a Deficiência de lipase ácida lisossomal e a Doença de Niemann-Pick tipo C. Pelo Despacho n.º 2545/2013, foi criada a Comissão Coordenadora do Tratamento das Doenças Lisossomais de Sobrecarga (CCTDLS), que funciona junto do INSA, sendo atualmente constituída por profissionais designados pelo INSA, pelos Centros de Referência nesta área, pela Administração Central do Sistema de Saúde, pela Direção-Geral da Saúde e pela Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento e Produtos de Saúde (Infarmed). Das atividades apresentadas no presente relatório, destaca-se o seguinte: − Discussão e avaliação de 45 casos clínicos com emissão de 35 pareceres relativos a pedidos de início de tratamento (18), ajuste de dose (10) ou alteração do tratamento (7). Foram emitidos pareceres para a Doença de Gaucher, Doença de Fabry, Mucopolissacaridoses tipo I, II e VI, Deficiência de lipase ácida lisossomal, Doença de Pompe e Doença de Niemann-Pick tipo C; − Monitorização da evolução clínica dos doentes com terapias em curso; − Atualização de dados referentes ao número total de doentes com DLS em tratamento no território continental, por centro hospitalar, por patologia e terapêutica. No fim de 2020, encontravam-se em tratamento 309 doentes com DLS (133 com Doença de Fabry, 94 com Doença de Gaucher, 32 com Doença de Pompe, 13 com Doença de Niemann-Pick tipo C, 7 com Mucopolissacaridoses tipo I, 9 Mucopolissacaridose II, 3 com Mucopolissacaridose IVA, 13 com Mucopolissacaridose VI, 3 com Mucopolissacaridose VII e 2 com Deficiência de lipase ácida lisossomal; − Discussão da implementação da modalidade de tratamento domiciliário das doenças lisossomais de sobrecarga. Durante o ano de 2020 em consequência da pandemia da COVID-19, ocorreu um debate emergente sobre a implementação do tratamento domiciliário com elaboração de um documento, enviado superiormente, a elencar os argumentos que tornam esta modalidade imperiosa com benefícios reportados a vários níveis, nomeadamente a nível da conveniência e qualidade de vida dos doentes com estas patologias e menor exposição a situações de risco de contágio como a vivida durante o ano de 2020; − Atualização da página web da CCTDLS no website do INSA, nomeadamente com a disponibilização do documento “COVID-19 – Fase de Mitigação”, com propostas relativas à reconfiguração de cuidados aos doentes com DLS nos estabelecimentos do Serviço Nacional de Saúde; − Levantamento do impacto da pandemia da COVID-19 no tratamento dos doentes a realizar terapêuticas de substituição enzimática nos cinco Centros de Referências de Doenças Hereditárias Metabólicas, no Centro de Referência de Doenças Lisossomais de Sobrecarga e nos Centros de Tratamento de Proximidade na primeira fase da pandemia da COVID-19 (março-abril/2020); − Discussão dos processos de criação de um Registo Nacional de Doenças Lisossomais de Sobrecarga e da implementação da Plataforma de monitorização da efetividade de terapias, Infarmed.
- Impact of the cooking methods on the tempeh nutritional compositionPublication . Serôdio, Ana; Gueifão, Sandra; Nascimento, Ana; Barbosa, Cássia; Santiago, Susana; Assunção, Ricardo; Castanheira, IsabelObjectives: Promoting plant-based protein diets (PBPDs) are of utmost importance in public health nutrition. However, the studies on the nutrient profile of PBPDs for foods as consumed remain scare. Tempeh is a fermented vegetable food used as an alternative source of protein in plant-based and flexitarian diets. This study aims to: 1) compare the nutritional profile of “raw” tempeh available in Portugal (PT) and in the USA (according to data available at the USDA); 2) assess the impact of different cooking methods on the nutritional composition of tempeh. Methods: Three pools (with 20 samples of 6 commercial brands – most consumed brands) of tempeh were analyzed, one “raw” and two cooked (sautéed and stewed). The profile of the macronutrients protein, total sugars and fat was determined by AOAC methods, Fe, Zn, Mg, Ca, P, Na and K by ICP-OES, and Cu, Mn and Se by ICP-MS. Results: Comparing with the tempeh values (IFDC 174272) from the USDA table, the “raw” tempeh from Portugal presents, in general, lower values for all parameters analyzed, except for carbohydrates, Na and Cu, which value are higher, and Se, which value is similar. Comparing the different cooking methods in PT tempeh, there are statistically significant differences (p <0.05) between the sautéed and the stewed for Fe, Zn, Mg, Ca, P, K and Mn; there are statistically significant differences (p <0.05) between the “raw” and the stewed sample for Na, Cu and Se; and there are no statistically significant differences (p> 0.05) between proteins, fats and total sugars for any of the cooking methods. Conclusions: The results showed that the nutritional composition of tempeh presents differences when its origin is PT or USA. Additionally, these results showed that the cooking method used determines the nutritional composition of this product, in terms of micronutrients. Important aspects such as the retention factors of these foods and the bioaccessibility of their components should deserve attention in future studies, especially when different cooking methods are considered.
- Early-life exposure to aflatoxin B1 and associated effects on gut microbiota: preliminary results under earlyMYCO projectPublication . Silva, I.; Duarte, E.; Bastos-Amador, P.; Ferreira, M.; Assunção, R.; Salvador, C.; Caldeira, A.Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) produces acute or chronic deleterious health effects in humans and animals. Still, long-term effects derived from initial exposure in early life, a critical period for colonization and development of gut microbiota, has not been fully evaluated. Particularly, aflatoxins could impair gut microbiota and immunity settlement, as they have been proven to cross the placental barrier and can be found in breast milk. We investigated the impact of maternal exposure to AFB1 on early-life microbiota in a mouse model. Females were fed jelly pellets containing 400 µg/kg AFB1 diluted in DMSO (treated animals n=6) or DMSO vehicle alone (control group n=6) during pregnancy and lactation. Faeces from the offspring of both treated and control females were collected immediately after weaning and faecal DNA was extracted and purified. Bacterial taxa diversity and relative abundance were assessed by High-Throughput Sequencing performed in an Illumina Miseq® sequencer, targeting the V3 and V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were determined by clustering reads to 16S reference databases. A hundred and twenty-four (N=124) bacterial genera were found in both groups, 5 were only present in AFB1 treated group and 27 exclusively in control groups. A hundred and fifty-one (N=151) bacterial species were common to both groups, 15 species exclusively found in AFB1 litters and 34 species were exclusively found in control litters. To assess abundance and characterize species diversity and evenness, Shannon diversity index was calculated but no significant differences were found between groups. Although present in both groups, Akkermansia muciniphila and Bacteroides acidifaciens were significantly higher in controls. A. muciniphila colonizes the intestinal tract in childhood and regulates mucus thickness, intestinal barrier integrity and is involved in immune modulation. B. acidifaciens participates in the metabolism of lipids and sugars and activates some cytokines and immune cell receptors. Sulfidogenic bacteria recently related to inflammatory bowel disease such as Desulfovibrio piger and Bilophila wadsworthia were exclusivly found in the treated litters. Early-life gut microbiome is paramount to trigger the gut immune defences, but is far less stable than the adult microbiome. Moreover, previous work identified aflatoxins intake as a potential health hazard in Portuguese children. These preliminary results open an extensive field to further investigate the association between mycotoxins and microbiome, as the latest is increasingly recognized as a major player in a wide spectrum of diseases.
- Biomarkers of effect as determined in human biomonitoring studies on hexavalent chromium and cadmium in the period 2008-2020Publication . Ventura, Célia; Gomes, BC; Oberemm, Axel; Louro, Henriqueta; Huuskonen, Pasi; Mustieles, Vicente; Fernández, Mariana F.; Ndaw, Sophie; Mengelers, Marcel; Luijten, Mirjam; Gundacker, Claudia; Silva, Maria JoãoA number of human biomonitoring (HBM) studies have presented data on exposure to hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] and cadmium (Cd), but comparatively few include results on effect biomarkers. The latter are needed to identify associations between exposure and adverse outcomes (AOs) in order to assess public health implications. To support improved derivation of EU regulation and policy making, it is of great importance to identify the most reliable effect biomarkers for these heavy metals that can be used in HBM studies. In the framework of the Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) initiative, our study aim was to identify effect biomarkers linking Cr(VI) and Cd exposure to selected AOs including cancer, immunotoxicity, oxidative stress, and omics/epigenetics. A comprehensive PubMed search identified recent HBM studies, in which effect biomarkers were examined. Validity and applicability of the markers in HBM studies are discussed. The most frequently analysed effect biomarkers regarding Cr(VI) exposure and its association with cancer were those indicating oxidative stress (e.g., 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH)) and DNA or chromosomal damage (comet and micronucleus assays). With respect to Cd and to some extent Cr, β-2-microglobulin (B2-MG) and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) are well-established, sensitive, and the most common effect biomarkers to relate Cd or Cr exposure to renal tubular dysfunction. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and kidney injury molecule (KIM)-1 could serve as sensitive biomarkers of acute kidney injury in response to both metals, but need further investigation in HBM studies. Omics-based biomarkers, i.e., changes in the (epi-)genome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome associated with Cr and/or Cd exposure, are promising effect biomarkers, but more HBM data are needed to confirm their significance. The combination of established effect markers and omics biomarkers may represent the strongest approach, especially if based on knowledge of mechanistic principles. To this aim, also mechanistic data were collected to provide guidance on the use of more sensitive and specific effect biomarkers. This also led to the identification of knowledge gaps relevant to the direction of future research.
- earlyMYCO: assessing the risk associated to the early-life exposure to mycotoxinsPublication . Assunção, R.; Martins, C.; Nunes, B.; Namorado, S.; Silva, S.; Pires, S.M.; Alvito, P.A number of health disorders, e.g. non-communicable diseases, has been associated to exposure with hazardous chemicals during the first 1000 days of life. In this context, a proper risk assessment built on accurate data assumes particular importance to evaluate the potential impact that early-life exposure could represent in adulthood. Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites that could produce harmful effects in humans and animals. These substances can be found in a variety of food products, and recent studies showed that Portuguese young children are exposed to multiple mycotoxins through food consumption which could constitute a health concern in this population group [1]. However, earlier exposure to these compounds remains unexplored. earlyMYCO – Early-life exposure to MYCOtoxins and its impact on health, a national funded project (PTDC/MED-TOX/28762/2017), 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 associated health risk will be characterized and the health impact assessed combining data from mother-and-child pairs, their exposure to mycotoxins and newly obtained toxicological data. The Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) will be compared with reference dose values. 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). When finalized, our results will contribute to reach an accurate risk assessment framework and to establish and prioritize preventive measures to reduce exposure to chemicals and risk, especially for vulnerable population groups as pregnant women and infants. [1] R. Assunção, et. al., Food and Chemical Toxicology 118, 399–408 (2018).