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Some of the vernacular or scientific names are related to possible medicinal and/or toxic properties that can reveal the presence of potential bioactive agents, contributing to the discovery of new drugs and/or knowledge of the risks associated with their use. This study sought to list the scientific and vernacular names of plants whose lexicons are related to those possible properties of plants and to compare them with the "ethno" (ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological) and pharmacological data available in the scientific literature. A floating reading of the two classical and reference works on Brazilian medicinal plants was performed, and plants with vernacular and/or scientific names related to the possible medicinal and/or toxic properties were listed. Correlations between the meanings of the species' names (lexicon) and their possible biological properties were made from their translation from Latin by consulting dictionaries. A bibliographic survey was conducted on the "ethno" and pharmacological data for each species. Finally, data from these three dimensions (lexicon, "ethno," and pharmacology) were classified and compared using a bioprospection classification. It resulted in a list of 90 plant species belonging to 47 families. 66 of the 90 species presented "ethno" data from the scientific literature, while 46 species presented pharmacological data. Of these, 46 (69.7%) and 27 (58.7%), respectively, showed equivalence with the possible medicinal and/or toxic properties of plants according to their lexicons. According to this study, half of the plants investigated demonstrate equivalence in the three dimensions analyzed (lexicons, "ethno," and pharmacological data from the scientific literature). Gastrointestinal and nervous system categories are among the most common in all three dimensions. Plant lexicons may be closely linked to the possible medicinal and/or toxic properties and the study of plant lexicons may represent one more approach for the search for new drugs, mainly considering the gastrointestinal, nervous, and parasites categories.

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The mechanism of colonisation of the chicken intestine by Salmonella remains poorly understood, while the severity of infections vary enormously depending on the serovar and the age of the bird. Several metabolism and virulence genes have been identified in Salmonella Heidelberg; however, information on their roles in infection, particularly in the chicken infection model, remains scarce. In the present publication, we investigated three Salmonella Heidelberg mutants containing deletions in misL, ssa, and pta-ackA genes by using signature-tagged mutagenesis. We found that mutations in these genes of S. Heidelberg result in an increase in fitness in the chicken model. The exception was perhaps the pta-ackA mutant where colonisation was slightly reduced (2, 7, 14, and 21 days post-infection) although some birds were still excreting at the end of the experiment. Our results suggest that for intestinal colonisation of the chicken caecum, substrate-level phosphorylation is likely to be more important than the MisL outer membrane protein or even the secretion system apparatus. These findings validate previous work that demonstrated the contribution of ackA and pta mutants to virulence in chickens, suggesting that the anaerobic metabolism genes such as pta-ackA could be a promising mitigation strategy to reduce S. Heidelberg virulence.

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Chocolate is widely consumed worldwide and its market grows every year, with emerging demands for new high-quality products. However, this product is susceptible to contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), representing a risk for humans. In this study, a methodology for the evaluation of benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and chrysene in chocolate by high performance liquid chromatography was validated. The occurrence, dietary exposure, and health risks of 4 PAHs in 38 commercial chocolate samples was investigated. The methodology demonstrated adequate accuracy and precision, with recovery (95.25 %-108.12 %) and relative standard deviation (0.14 %-5.83 %). Benzo[a]pyrene and the ∑4 PAHs concentrations varied between 1.09 and 10.42 µg/kg and 8.38-41.58 µg/kg, respectively. The results of risk assessment suggest low potential health risk for chocolate consumers, considering the margin of exposure (MOE) and the incremental life cancer risk (ILCR) values.

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Selenium has an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and possibly antitumoral action. Thus, we hypothesized that this element could be an ally in cancer treatment. We evaluated the effect of chelated selenium treatment of BALB/c mice with Erhlich Tumor on tumor size, histology, and biochemical parameters of the liver. A total of 96 male mice were treated for 7, 15, and 30 days with different doses of chelated selenium. During the 7 days of treatment, livers presented mild hydropic degeneration; after 15 days, the livers presented mild hydropic degeneration, inflammatory infiltrate, and steatosis, which was intensified in the animals treated for 30 days. Biochemical analysis showed an increase of the alanine transaminase enzyme in those animals, indicating hepatotoxicity. At the beginning of treatment, selenium was able to inhibit tumor growth. After 30 days of treatment, however, hepatotoxicity could be seen.

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Among the important recent observations involving anaerobic respiration was that an electron acceptor produced as a result of an inflammatory response to Salmonella Typhimurium generates a growth advantage over the competing microbiota in the lumen. In this regard, anaerobically, salmonellae can oxidize thiosulphate (S2O32-) converting it into tetrathionate (S4O62-), the process by which it is encoded by ttr gene cluster (ttrSRttrBCA). Another important pathway under aerobic or anaerobic conditions is the 1,2-propanediol-utilization mediated by the pdu gene cluster that promotes Salmonella expansion during colitis. Therefore, we sought to compare in this study, whether Salmonella Heidelberg strains lacking the ttrA, ttrApduA, and ttrACBSR genes experience a disadvantage during cecal colonization in broiler chicks. In contrast to expectations, we found that the gene loss in S. Heidelberg potentially confers an increase in fitness in the chicken infection model. These data argue that S. Heidelberg may trigger an alternative pathway involving the use of an alternative electron acceptor, conferring a growth advantage for S. Heidelberg in chicks.

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In most commercial pine farms in southern Brazil, black capuchin causes damage to wood and financial losses when it removes bark from some pine species to feed upon underlying vascular tissues. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the variability of the primary metabolites of phloem saps from 10 different species of pine by NMR spectroscopy, as well as the aroma compounds using SPME-GC-MS. Each technique provided a different set of metabolites that we can correlate to monkey predilection. The PCA showed monosaccharide (detected by NMR) and α-pinene (pine-like and resinous flavor descriptors) as attractive compounds for monkeys. On the other hand, the low content of monosaccharide and the high content of ß-phellandrene (citrus odor descriptor) was observed in less attacked pine species (P. patula). The data fusion on primary metabolites and aroma compounds corroborated the individual analyses, complementing the comprehension of the monkey predilection. Thus, P. elliottii was an avoided tree even with high content of sugars possibly due to its high content of ß-phellandrene (citrus odor). The results are useful for further behavioral studies to determine the role that each highlighted metabolite plays in chemically mediated animal-plant interactions.

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemical compounds comprised of carbon and hydrogen molecules in a cyclic arrangement. PAHs are associated with risks to human health, especially carcinogenesis. One form of exposure to these compounds is through ingestion of contaminated food, which can occur during preparation and processing involving high temperatures (e.g., grilling, smoking, toasting, roasting, and frying) as well as through PAHs present in the soil, air, and water (i.e., environmental pollution). Differently from changes caused by microbiological characteristics and lipid oxidation, consumers cannot sensorially perceive PAH contamination in food products, thereby hindering their ability to reject these foods. Herein, the occurrence and biological effects of PAHs were comprehensively explored, as well as analytical methods to monitor their levels, legislations, and strategies to reduce their generation in food products. This review updates the current knowledge and addresses recent regulation changes concerning the widespread PAHs contamination in several types of food, often surpassing the concentration limits deemed acceptable by current legislations. Therefore, effective measures involving different food processing strategies are needed to prevent and reduce PAHs contamination, thereby decreasing human exposure and detrimental health effects. Furthermore, gaps in literature have been addressed to provide a basis for future studies.

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Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) is a major cause of foodborne diseases in humans being frequently related to the consumption of poultry products. Therefore, guaranteeing early immunity to chicks is an important tool to prevent the colonization and infection by this pathogen. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a candidate recombinant vaccine against SE. Thirty female and five male broiler breeders that were ten weeks-old were divided into 3 groups: unvaccinated (UV), vaccinated with recombinant vaccine candidate (VAC) and vaccinated with commercial bacterin (BAC). Samples of serum and embryonated egg were collected at seven and twelve weeks after the booster dose to quantify the transfer rate of IgY to egg yolks and offspring. Subsequently, forty day-old offspring were divided into two groups (UV and VAC) and challenged on the following day with 107 CFU/chick of SE. Samples of serum, intestine, liver, and cecal content were harvested. Throughout the experiment period, significantly higher levels of IgY were observed in the egg yolk and also in the serum of broiler breeders and offspring of the VAC group in comparison to the UV group. In addition, increased transfer rates of IgY were observed in the VAC group when compared to the BAC group. Furthermore, higher villus-crypt ratios were found out in duodenum, jejunum and ileum at four days post-infection in the offspring from the VAC group. A high challenge dose of SE (107 CFU per chick) was used and despite the stronger humoral immune response provoked by the candidate vaccine, there were no statistical differences in the recovery of viable SE cells from the offspring cecal contents. Therefore, the effect of vaccination to improve intestinal quality may affect the development of the chickens and consequently increase the resistance to lower SE challenge doses.

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BACKGROUND: Periodontal pathogenesis takes into consideration that disease results from a complex inflammatory immune response. Among the major cytokines related to periodontal damage, interleukin (IL)-6 enhances a cascade of tissue destruction. Tocilizumab (TCZ) is a humanized monoclonal anti-human IL-6 receptor that inhibits IL-6-mediated proinflammatory activity. This study aimed to elucidate whether TCZ inhibits the deleterious effect of ligature-induced periodontitis. METHODS: Experimental ligature-induced periodontitis was treated with systemic administration of TCZ intraperitoneally in three different concentration dosages (2 mg/kg, 4 mg/kg, and 8 mg/kg. Euthanasia occurred at 7 and 14 days after the initiation of the study. Local changes in the alveolar bone were measured by bone volume, the ratio of bone volume, and trabecular thickness using microcomputed tomography. Attachment loss and inflammatory infiltrate were evaluated by histology. Immune response was analyzed focusing on the Th17 pattern. RESULTS: TCZ inhibited alveolar bone resorption and attachment loss in 7 and 14 days for all dosage groups in comparison to controls (P  < 0.05). Besides, TCZ induced lower expression of inflammatory infiltrate (P <0.05) and less production of Th17-related cytokines (P <0.05) and RANKL (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The inhibition of IL-6-mediated proinflammatory activity by IL-6R blocking reduced alveolar bone resorption and attachment loss supported by the modulation of the Th17 periodontal response. Considering the inflammatory status, modulatory therapy may be a promising approach to periodontal disease.

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Salmonella Enteritidis causes infections in humans and animals which are often associated with extensive gut colonization and bacterial shedding in faeces. The natural presence of flagella in Salmonella enterica has been shown to be enough to induce pro-inflammatory responses in the gut, resulting in recruitment of polymorphonuclear cells, gut inflammation and, consequently, reducing the severity of systemic infection in chickens. On the other hand, the absence of flagellin in some Salmonella strains favours systemic infection as a result of the poor intestinal inflammatory responses elicited. The hypothesis that higher production of flagellin by certain Salmonella enterica strains could lead to an even more immunogenic and less pathogenic strain for chickens was here investigated. In the present study, a Salmonella Enteritidis mutant strain harbouring deletions in clpP and fliD genes (SE ΔclpPfliD), which lead to overexpression of flagellin, was generated, and its immunogenicity and pathogenicity were comparatively assessed to the wild type in chickens. Our results showed that SE ΔclpPfliD elicited more intense immune responses in the gut during early stages of infection than the wild type did, and that this correlated with earlier intestinal and systemic clearance of the bacterium.

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