Revista de Saúde Pública: 50 years disseminating the knowledge in nutrition

ABSTRACT This work describes and comments on articles in the area of Public Health Nutrition published in Revista de Saúde Pública (RSP – Public Health Journal) from 1967 to 2016. We searched in the PubMed database restricted to the periodical “Revista de Saúde Pública” and using terms related to key topics in the area of Public Health Nutrition. We retrieved 742 articles and, after exclusion of duplicates and articles unrelated to the subject, we analyzed 441 articles, grouped according to subject: dental caries, anemia, hypovitaminosis A, macro/micronutrients, malnutrition, nutritional assessment, overweight/obesity, food consumption, low birthweight, and breastfeeding. We observed significant increase in the number of articles published and diversification of subjects addressed over the 50 years, representing the consistent development of the scientific field of Nutrition in Brazil. Since its inception, RSP has played an important role in the dissemination of knowledge about the main nutritional issues in Brazil

Effects of bacterial infestation caused by human wastes on the skin structures of Mugil platanus Günther, 1880 (Mugilidae)

Manifestation of infectious pathologies in fishes usually increases in environments where organic wastes are disposed. Specimens of Mugil platanus Günther, 1880 and water samples collected at three points of the Tramandaí river were analyzed during a one year period. The macroscopic observation revealed ulcerations in the caudal peduncle area covered with a mass of amorphous and whitened tissues. Histopathologic analysis showed the presence of negative gram bacteria, probably responsible for alterations of the normal structure of the epidermic tissues. Non-parametric statistical analysis for ammonia concentration showed a significant variation among the three collected spots as well as in the multiple comparison between two spots. In this study, we describe cutaneous lesions observed in Mugil platanus specimens and tested their correlation with environmental ammonia concentration

Mutagenicity and antimutagenicity of six Brazilian Byrsonima species assessed by the Ames test

Background: In various regions of Brazil, several species of the genus Byrsonima (Malpighiaceae) are widely used to treat gastrointestinal complications. This genus has about 150 species of shrubs and trees distributed over the entire Neotropical region. Various biological activities have been identified in these plants, especially antioxidant, antimicrobial and topical and systemic anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the mutagenicity and antimutagenicity of hydroalcoholic leaf extracts of six species of Byrsonima: B. verbascifolia, B. correifolia, B. coccolobifolia, B. ligustrifolia, B. fagifolia and B. intermedia by the Salmonella microsome assay (Ames test).Methods: Mutagenic and antimutagenic activity was assessed by the Ames test, with the Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA100, TA98, TA97a and TA102, with (+S9) and without (-S9) metabolization, by the preincubation method.Results: Only B. coccolobifolia and B. ligustrifolia showed mutagenic activity. However, the extracts of B. verbascifolia, B. correifolia, B. fagifolia and B. intermedia were found to be strongly antimutagenic against at least one of the mutagens tested.Conclusions: These results contribute to valuable data on the safe use of medicinal plants and their potential chemopreventive effects. Considering the excellent antimutagenic activities extracted from B. verbascifolia, B. correifolia, B. fagifolia and B. intermedia, these extracts are good candidate sources of chemopreventive agents. However, B. coccolobifolia and B. ligustrifolia showed mutagenic activity, suggesting caution in their use.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)UNESP Sao Paulo State Univ, Fac Pharmaceut Sci Araraquara, Dept Biol Sci, BR-14801902 Sao Paulo, BrazilUNESP Sao Paulo State Univ, Chem Inst Araraquara, Dept Organ Chem, BR-14800900 Sao Paulo, BrazilUNESP Sao Paulo State Univ, Unidade Sao Vicente, BR-11330900 Sao Paulo, BrazilUNESP Sao Paulo State Univ, Fac Pharmaceut Sci Araraquara, Dept Biol Sci, BR-14801902 Sao Paulo, BrazilUNESP Sao Paulo State Univ, Chem Inst Araraquara, Dept Organ Chem, BR-14800900 Sao Paulo, BrazilUNESP Sao Paulo State Univ, Unidade Sao Vicente, BR-11330900 Sao Paulo, Brazi