Public perceptions of hazards associated with Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa) : evaluation of risk within an European context

One of the most important economic plants of the Amazon is the Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa). Brazil nuts for international trade are mainly obtained from wild collection rather than from plantations, often cited as one of the most important products of extractive reserves in Amazonia. The European Commission (2003/493/EC) has imposed strict regulations on the import from Brazil of Brazil nuts in their shells, as the shells have been found to contain high levels of aflatoxins, which can lead to liver cancer. This may have a negative impact on the Brazilian exports of shelled Brazil nuts, due to possible public awareness. The aim of the present research is to assess public perceptions regarding Brazil nuts and to contrast these with other nuts in general through the use of the Portuguese version of the Perceived Food Risk Index (PFRI). A sample of 418 consumers was drawn through a door-to-door interview using a random route walk procedure and following a quota sampling controlled for sex, age and location. Consumers were asked to choose the most relevant quality and preservation characteristics and to identify their consumption patterns for Brazil nuts and for nuts in general. Risk perception was evaluated over ten risk characteristics, for each of the following hazards: i) aflatoxins; ii) biological contaminants; iii) organoleptic changes; iv) fragments and strange bodies and v) microbial contamination. Additionally, subjects were asked to rate the probability of each hazard occurring in Brazil nuts or in nuts in general. Results show high consumptions of nuts in general, and a reduced consumption of Brazil nuts, although with low differences on the dimensions of risk perception. Concluding, this work adds to knowledge about the perceptions of risk connected to Brazil nuts consumption, namely that consumers perceive Brazil nuts as safe as nuts in general

Medicinal Chemistry of Brazil Nuts: An Overview

Brazil nuts are very consumed in the North of Brazil as well in other regions. Those nuts are rich in mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as essential and non-essential aminoacid residues, selenium, tocopherols and phytosterols. Although some studies pointed out some protective effect of Brazil nuts against cancer, in fact the best evidence supports cardiometabolic protection by regular ingestion of 1 nut per day

Microbiological quality of Brazil nuts milk submitted to different dehulling methods.

Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl populaly known as Brazil nut, is considered one of the noblest species of the Amazon rainforest, being found throughout this territory. Its fruit represents a high economic value due to its use in both human and animal feeding, presenting about 60 to 70% of lipids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and 15 to 20% of protein. There are many uses of Brazil nuts, and the "milk" extracted from the nuts, is usually consumed pure and used by the natives as typical food. Due to the high content of unsaturated fatty acids in its composition, the nuts becomes very perishable, due oxidative processes, reduction of nutritional value, appearance of smell and rancid flavor, leading to a product with low quality, besides the susceptibility to colonization by pathogenic microorganisms due poorly handled. The process for obtaining Brazil nuts milk involves the stages of degumming of the nuts, extraction, separation of the insoluble residue, formulation and packaging. The most common form of degumming is manual. The objective of the work was to evaluate the microbiological quality of Brazil nuts and its milk obtained through the processes of manual or NaOH dehulling. The count of aerobic bacteria in the standard agar for counting (PCA), total coliforms and E. coli, presence of Salmonella sp., and counting of molds and yeasts using Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) were counted

Mycobiota predominant and aflatoxins content in shell and shelled Brazil nuts

Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa Humb. and Bonpl.) are an important product of the Brazilian Amazon. Currently, its marketing is compromised by the high incidence of aflatoxins (AF). The most known naturally occurring AF are named AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2. This study aimed to identify the potentially aflatoxigenic mycobiota associated with shelled Brazil nuts and with the shells, and to determine which one of these fractions contributes to aflatoxins (AF) contamination, since that official method use integral Brazil nuts samples to AF test. Samples of Brazil nuts were collected from the agro forestry system production area in Amazonian rain forest, in Brazil. These samples were split in shells and shelled nuts, and the total count of Aspergillus spp. was analysed after sanitation (sodium hypochlorite 1% / 10 minutes) and without sanitation, by plating AFPA medium, for 7 days, at 25 °C. The isolates identified as Aspergillus section Flavi were plated in YES medium (5days at 25°C) for determination of the aflatoxigenic potential by agar plug technique. To analyze AF, 500 g samples were milled and were extracted with chloroform. The chromatographic analysis was performed by HPLC–FD system in an isocratic mode [Waters pump W600, Waters module autosampler W717, Fluoresce detector W2475 and column Waters X-Terra (4.6x150mm and 5μm -- RP18)]. The mobile phase was water milli-Q/acetonitrile/methanol (600:150:150 v/v) and the injected volume was 5μL both to standards and samples. The average incidence of infection from Aspergillus spp. in sections Flavi, Nigri and Circumdati were 48%, 8% and 1%, respectively. The sanitization treatment reduced the fungi counts. There were AF production by fungi isolated from both types of samples, 30% of the samples were positive for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2 and 23.8% produced AFB1, AFB2, and AFG1. Concerning the Brazil nuts AF analysis, it was observed that the concentration of AFB1 and AFG1 obtained were higher than AFB2 and AFG2. The AFB1 content was 35.281 and 1.782 μg/Kg in shelled Brazil nuts and shells, respectively. AFB2 and AFG2 were detected only in shelled samples. The HPLC-FD presented limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LQ) of 0.2 and 0.4 μg/kg, respectively

Physical properties of Brazil nuts.

The Brazil-nut, also known as Para-nut, is widely used as food and in cosmetic industries. The seeds are rich in lipids and protein, and also present a considerable amount of selenium. Limited research has been conducted on postharvest of the Brazil nut, being an important information to design equipment related to aeration, drying, storage and transportation steps. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the physical properties of the Brazil-nut with and without tegument. The dimensions found for the almonds with tegument were 39.35 mm in the X axis, 24.19 mm in the Y axis, and 17.88 mm in the Z axis. However for the almond without tegument the values were 31.05 mm in X, 14.38 in Y and 15.91 mm in Z axis. The sphericity was 66.40% and 51.59% for the kernels with and without seed tegument respectively. The kernels with and without tegument presented sphericity of 63.00% and 47.72% respectively. The mass of 1000 almonds was 6.13 kg for almond with teguments and 3.18 kg for almonds without teguments. Specific mass of 0.947 g.cm-3 and 1.003 g.cm-3 for the kernels with and without tegument, coupled with a porosity of 46.88% and 37.60% and, resulting on a bulk density of 0.504 g.cm-3 and 0.626 g.cm-3 for almonds with and without teguments respectively. Finally, the angle of repose for the kernels with teguments was 36.37°. A castanha-do-brasil, também conhecida como castanha-do-pará, é muito utilizada na alimentação humana e na indústria cosmética. As sementes são ricas em lipídeos e proteínas, apresentando ainda uma quantidade considerável de Selênio. Poucas pesquisas vêm sendo realizadas na pós-colheita do produto, sendo as propriedades físicas importantes para o desenvolvimento de equipamentos relacionados à aeração, secagem, armazenamento e transporte de produtos. Assim, neste trabalho, teve-se por objetivos: determinar as propriedades físicas da castanha-do-brasil com e sem tegumento. O tamanho para as amêndoas com tegumento, foi de 39,35 mm no eixo X, 24,19 mm no eixo Y e 17,88 mm no eixo Z; já para a amêndoa sem tegumento os valores foram de 31,05 mm em X, 14,38 mm em Y e 15,91 em Z. A esfericidade foi de 66,40% e 51,59%, para as amêndoas com e sem tegumento, respectivamente. 63,00% e 47,72% foram os valores de esfericidade encontrados para as amêndoas com e sem tegumento, respectivamente. A massa de 1.000 amêndoas foi de 6,13 kg para a amêndoa com tegumento e de 3,18 kg para amêndoas sem tegumento. Valores de massa específica de 0,947 g.cm-3 e de 1,003 g.cm-3 para as amêndoas com e sem tegumento, associados a uma porosidade de 46,88% e 37,60%, produziram uma massa específica aparente de 0,504 g.cm-3 e de 0,626 g.cm-3. Finalmente, o ângulo de repouso para as amêndoas com tegumento foi de 36,37°

Screening of fungal metabolites in Brazil nuts using LC/MS/MS

The aim of this study was to evaluate quantitatively the occurrence of fungal metabolites in Brazil nuts. Nuts were collected from Agroforest production areas in Amazon basin region. A total of 235 mycotoxins were investigated/screened by a multi-mycotoxin method based on HPLC-MS/MS. The recovery was between 56 and 136%. Fifteen mycotoxins were detected and quantified, in at least one sample; namely, aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and M1, kojic acid, sterigmatocystin, methyl-sterigmatocystin, citrinin, cyclosporin A, cyclosporin C, cyclosporin D, cyclosporin H, rugulosin, altenariol-methylether and emodin. Aflatoxins were detected in just 1 sample (20%), but above its legal limit in Brazil and EU. Ochratoxin A and Fusarium toxins were not detected. Alternariol-methylether (from 0.75 to 3.2 g.kg-1) was detected in all five samples. This is the first study dealing with the detection of kojic acid, citrinin, cyclosporin A, cyclosporin C, cyclosporin D, cyclosporin H, rugulosin, altenariol-methylether and emodin in Brazil nuts

Identification of a Brazil-Nut Allergen in Transgenic Soybeans

Background: The nutritional quality of soybeans (Glycine max) is compromised by a relative deficiency of methionine in the protein fraction of the seeds. To improve the nutritional quality, methionine-rich 2S albumin from the Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) has been introduced into transgenic soybeans. Since the Brazil nut is a known allergenic food, we assessed the allergenicity of the 2S albumin. Methods: The ability of proteins in transgenic and nontransgenic soybeans, Brazil nuts, and purified 2S albumin to bind to IgE in serum from subjects allergic to Brazil nuts was determined by radioallergosorbent tests (four subjects) and sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamidegel electrophoresis (nine subjects) with immunoblotting and autoradiography. Three subjects also underwent skin-prick testing with extracts of soybean, transgenic soybean, and Brazil nut. Results: On radioallergosorbent testing of pooled serum from four subjects allergic to Brazil nuts, protein extracts of transgenic soybean inhibited binding of IgE to Brazil-nut proteins. On immunoblotting, serum IgE from eight of nine subjects bound to purified 2S albumin from the Brazil nut and to proteins of similar molecular weight in the Brazil nut and the transgenic soybean. On skin-prick testing, three subjects had positive reactions to extracts of Brazil nut and transgenic soybean and negative reactions to soybean extract. Conclusions: The 2S albumin is probably a major Brazil-nut allergen, and the transgenic soybeans analyzed in this study contain this protein. Our study shows that an allergen from a food known to be allergenic can be transferred into another food by genetic engineering

Contents of tocols in different types of dry shell fruits

ArticleThe aim of this study was to identify all forms of vitamin E in different kinds of dry shell fruits (generally called ‘ nuts ’ ) obtained from different sources and to perform their mutual comparison . All tocols were determined by reversed phase HPLC using is ocratic elution with fluorescence detection. Almonds were evaluated as the most important source of α - tocopherol (average value 1 , 132 mg kg - 1 ), β - tocopherol was present in all samples as a minor component, its maximum content was found in hazelnuts (9.6 mg kg - 1 ). γ - T ocopherol was found in all kinds of nuts and the highest content was found in pistachios (584 mg kg - 1 ), very high amount of δ - tocopherol was contained in Brazil nuts (2 , 29 8 mg kg - 1 ). Tocotrienols were found in a smaller number of nut kinds than tocopherols. α - Tocotrienol was found only in three kinds of nuts - Brazil nuts, which contained the highest amount (399 mg kg - 1 ), pine nuts and hazelnuts grown in the Czech Republic, which were analyzed soon after harvest. Similarly, γ - tocotrienol w as det ermined only in four kinds of nuts (pistachios, macadamias, cashew and walnuts grown in the Czech Republic ) , which were analyzed soon after harvest ; t he most significant amount was found in pistachios (34.8 mg kg - 1 ) , β - and γ - tocotrienols were below the detection limit . In the Czech Republic, walnuts and hazelnuts are the most widely cultivated and consumed nuts. While in walnuts the most important form is γ - tocopherol (459 ± 40 mg kg - 1 ), in hazelnuts it is α - tocopherol ( 863 ± 10 mg kg - 1 )