From grape to wine: Fate of ochratoxin A during red, rose, and white winemaking process and the presence of ochratoxin derivatives in the final products.

The presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in wine is mainly due to the contamination of grapes by Aspergillus carbonarius and A. niger, still in the vineyard or at stages prior to winemaking. Throughout winemaking process, although there is a reduction in OTA levels, modified mycotoxins may also be formed. In fact, modified mycotoxins are compounds that normally remain undetectable during the conventional analysis used for the parent toxin. In this context, the current study aimed to evaluate the effect of grape variety and winemaking steps on OTA fate as well as the formation of modified ochratoxins. White, rose and red wines were prepared from Muscat Italia, Syrah and Touriga Nacional varieties, respectively. OTA was determined during different steps of winemaking by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Identification of ochratoxin derivatives was performed using tandem MS experiments. A reduction of 90.72, 92.44 and 88.15% in OTA levels was observed for white, rose and red wines, respectively. Among the sought targets, the following ochratoxin-derived candidates were identified: ochratoxin β, ochratoxin α methyl ester, ochratoxin B methyl ester, ochratoxin A methyl ester, ethylamide ochratoxin A, ochratoxin C and ochratoxin A glucose ester. These results indicate that the formation of ochratoxin derivatives leads to an underestimation of total mycotoxin levels in wine and, therefore, the inclusion of techniques for multi-mycotoxins detection should be considered

Clinical Applications Of Hplc-icp-ms Element Speciation: A Review

Arsenic (As), Selenium (Se) and Mercury (Hg) are three trace elements that have been the subject of much analytical discussion and investigation over the last three decades. While Selenium (Se) is among the list of essential trace elements necessary for the regulation of metabolic processes and overall health, As and Hg are not, and have been the centre of various cases surrounding the contamination of food, water and the environment. The focus of this review is to explore the area of chemical speciation, particularly as it relates to the measurement of these elements in various clinical matrices by HPLC-ICP-MS. This review will highlight the importance of accurately identifying the various chemical species of each of these elements, especially when considering their respective toxicological impacts on human health. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.153306331Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel [88888.058633/2013-00]Government of Ireland through Irish Research Council Embark Initiative [GOIPG/2014/1406

Inflammation markers in the saliva of infants born from Zika-infected mothers: exploring potential mechanisms of microcephaly during fetal development

Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged as one of the most medically relevant viral infections of the past decades; the devastating effects of this virus over the developing brain are a major matter of concern during pregnancy. Although the connection with congenital malformations are well documented, the mechanisms by which ZIKV reach the central nervous system (CNS) and the causes of impaired cortical growth in affected fetuses need to be better addressed. We performed a non-invasive, meta bolomicsbased screening of saliva from infants with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), born from mothers that were infected with ZIKV during pregnancy. We were able to identify three biomarkers that suggest that this population suffered from an important inflammatory process; with the detection of mediators associated with glial activation, we propose that microcephaly is a product of immune response to the virus, as well as excitotoxicity mechanisms, which remain ongoing even after birth9CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal e Nível SuperiorCNPQ - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoFAPESP – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa Do Estado De São PauloFNDCT - Fundo Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico88882.305824/2013-01; 1578388; 1489740; 14/201614/201611/50400-0; 18/14657-5; 16/17066-2; 18/03321-6; 13/07607-814/201

Serum Metabolic Alterations upon Zika Infection

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has recently emerged as a major concern worldwide due to its strong association with nervous system malformation (microcephaly) of fetuses in pregnant women infected by the virus. Signs and symptoms of ZIKV infection are often mistaken with other common viral infections. Since transmission may occur through biological fluids exchange and coitus, in addition to mosquito bite, this condition is an important infectious disease. Thus, understanding the mechanism of viral infection has become an important research focus, as well as providing potential targets for assertive clinical diagnosis and quality screening for hemoderivatives. Within this context, the present work analyzed blood plasma from 79 subjects, divided as a control group and a ZIKV-infected group. Samples underwent direct-infusion mass spectrometry and statistical analysis, where eight markers related to the pathophysiological process of ZIKV infection were elected and characterized. Among these, Angiotensin (1-7) and Angiotensin I were upregulated under infection, showing an attempt to induce autophagy of the infected cells. However, this finding is concerning about hypertensive individuals under treatment with inhibitors of the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS), which could reduce this response against the virus and exacerbate the symptoms of the infection. Moreover, one of the most abundant glycosphingolipids in the nervous tissue, Ganglioside GM2, was also elected in the present study as an infection biomarker. Considered an important pathogen receptor at membrane's outer layer, this finding represents the importance of gangliosides for ZIKV infection and its association with brain tropism. Furthermore, a series of phosphatidylinositols were also identified as biomarkers, implying a significant role of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR Pathway in this mechanism. Finally, these pathways may also be understood as potential targets to be considered in pharmacological intervention studies on ZIKV infection management