Avaliação do estado nutricional de crianças menores de 10 anos no município de Ferros, Minas Gerais Evaluación del status nutricional de niños con menos de 10 años en la ciudad de ferros, estado de Minas Gerais Nutritional assessment in children under 10 in ferros, Minas Gerais

A sociedade brasileira vivencia, além da desnutrição e fome, problemas relacionados à obesidade - a transição nutricional. Este trabalho é um estudo transversal com amostra de 1322 crianças menores de 10 anos, residentes no município de Ferros, Minas Gerais, e cadastradas no SISVAN. Observou-se que 20,7% das crianças apresentaram alguma alteração nutricional (10,1% risco nutricional, 3,8% desnutrição e 6,7% sobrepeso). Fatores de risco para o desenvolvimento de desnutrição foram pesquisados: baixo peso ao nascer, RP=3,57, IC 95% (1,96-6,52); baixa estatura RP=19,36, IC 95% (11,53-32,52); aleitamento materno ausente RP=2,23, IC 95% (1,19-4,18); renda familiar de até R$95, RP = 2,39, IC 95$ 95, RP=2.39, IC 95% (1.10-5.16). Prevalence for overweight was higher than for malnutrition. While the rural population presented higher prevalence for nutritional risk and malnutrition, in the urban area there was higher prevalence of risk for overweight. These results show the need for specific nutritional interventions according to the specific issues identified

Antioxidant properties of three aromatic herbs (rosemary, thyme and lavender) in oil-in-water emulsions

Lipid oxidation is the major form of deterioration in foods because it decreases food quality and nutritional value, and may have negative health implications. Selected aromatic plant extracts from leaves, flowers and stems of rosemary, thyme and lavender were investigated for their antioxidant activity. The total polyphenol content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay and the antioxidant capacity was determined by the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, oxygen radical absorbance capacity and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assays. For all four antioxidant assays, the extracts from thyme flowers, lavender leaves and thyme leaves had the highest antioxidant activity, followed by rosemary stems, rosemary leaves, and lavender stems, and the lavender flowers and thyme stems had the lowest antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity was correlated with the polyphenol content, although minor deviations were observed. In oil-in-water emulsion, extracts from rosemary leaves and thyme leaves were most effective at retarding oxidation followed by the rosemary stems and thyme flowers. Extracts from thyme flowers and lavender leaves were less effective in the emulsion than predicted by the homogeneous antioxidant assays. This study demonstrated the potential use of plants extract as substitutes for synthetic antioxidants

Recent progress in research on the pharmacological potential of mushrooms and prospects for their clinical application

International audienceFungi are considered one of the most diverse, ecologically significant, and economically important organisms on Earth. The edible and medicinal mushrooms have long been known by humans and were used by ancient civilizations not only as valuable food but also as medicines. Mushrooms are producers of high- and low-molecular-weight bioactive compounds (alkaloids, lectins, lipids, peptidoglycans, phenolics, polyketides, polysaccharides, proteins, polysaccharide-protein/peptides, ribosomal and non-ribosomal peptides, steroids, terpenoids, etc.) possessing more than 130 different therapeutic effects (analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiplatelet, antiviral, cytotoxic, hepatoprotective, hypocholesterolemic, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, immunomodulatory, immunosuppressive, mitogenic/regenerative, etc.). The early record of Materia Medica shows evidence of using mushrooms for treatment of different diseases. Mushrooms were widely used in the traditional medicine of many countries around the world and became great resources for modern clinical and pharmacological research. However, the medicinal and biotechnological potential of mushrooms has not been fully investigated. This review discusses recent advances in research on the pharmacological potential of mushrooms and perspectives for their clinical application