An Analytical Pipeline for Quantitative Characterization of Dietary Intake:Application To Assess Grape Intake

Lack of accurate dietary assessment in free-living populations requires discovery of new biomarkers reflecting food intake qualitatively and quantitatively to objectively evaluate effects of diet on health. We provide a proof-of-principle for an analytical pipeline to identify quantitative dietary biomarkers. Tartaric acid was identified by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as a dose-responsive urinary biomarker of grape intake and subsequently quantified in volunteers following a series of 4-day dietary interventions incorporating 0 g/day, 50 g/day, 100 g/day, and 150 g/day of grapes in standardized diets from a randomized controlled clinical trial. Most accurate quantitative predictions of grape intake were obtained in 24 h urine samples which have the strongest linear relationship between grape intake and tartaric acid excretion (r² = 0.90). This new methodological pipeline for estimating nutritional intake based on coupling dietary intake information and quantified nutritional biomarkers was developed and validated in a controlled dietary intervention study, showing that this approach can improve the accuracy of estimating nutritional intakes

Mudanças nos compostos bioativos e atividade antioxidante de pimentas da região amazônica.

A Embrapa Amazônia Oriental possui um Banco Ativo de Pimenteira com diferentes genótipos do gênero Capsicum, os quais ainda não foram analisados, quanto às suas características funcionais e capacidade antioxidante. Este estudo objetivou determinar os teores de ácido ascórbico, compostos fenólicos, carotenoides totais e a atividade antioxidante total, em frutos imaturos e maduros de genótipos de pimentas Capsicum spp. As concentrações de vitamina C (100,76-361,65 mg 100 g-1 nos frutos imaturos e 36,70-157,76 mg 100 g-1 nos maduros) decresceram com a maturação dos frutos. Carotenoides totais não foram detectados nos frutos imaturos, porém, nos frutos maduros, observaram-se valores de 73,80-1349,97 mg g-1, em função do genótipo. Os teores de compostos fenólicos aumentaram nos frutos maduros (147,40-718,64 mg GAE 100 g-1), para oito dos nove genótipos avaliados. Os frutos de pimenteira apresentaram significativa atividade antioxidante (55,02-92,03 mM trolox g-1 nos frutos imaturos e 39,60-113,08 mM trolox g- 1 nos maduros). Concluiu-se que o grau de maturação dos frutos influenciou nos teores de compostos bioativos dos genótipos estudados. Destacaram-se, como genótipos promissores com potencial para serem utilizados em programas de melhoramento genético, IAN-186301 e IAN-186324, pelos altos teores de carotenoides totais; IAN-186301, IAN-186311, IAN-186312 e IAN-186313, com relação às altas concentrações de ácido ascórbico; IAN-186304 e IAN-186311, pelos altos teores de compostos fenólicos; e IAN-186311, para atividade antioxidante

Profiling of antioxidant potential and phytoconstituents of Plantago coronopus

The halophyte species Plantago coronopus has several described ethnomedicinal uses, but few reported biological activities. This work carried out for the first time a comparative analysis of P. coronopus organs in terms of phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of organic and water extracts from roots, leaves and flowers. The leaves contents in selected nutrients, namely amino acids and minerals, are also described. Roots (ethyl acetate and methanol extracts) had the highest radical scavenging activity (RSA) towards 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radicals, while leaves (hexane extract) had higher RSA on nitric oxide radical and iron chelating ability. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis identified eighteen phenolics from which salicylic acid and epicatechin are here firstly described in Plantago species. Leaves had mineral levels similar to those of most vegetables, proving to be a good source for elements like calcium, sodium, iron and magnesium, and also for several of the essential amino acids justifying it use as food. Our results, especially those regarding the phenolics composition, can explain the main traditional uses given to this plantain and, altogether, emphasize the potential of P. coronopus as a source of bioactive molecules particularly useful for the prevention of oxidative stress-related diseases

Changing trends in mortality among solid organ transplant recipients hospitalized for COVID-19 during the course of the pandemic

Mortality among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 has declined over the course of the pandemic. Mortality trends specifically in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR) are unknown. Using data from a multicenter registry of SOTR hospitalized for COVID-19, we compared 28-day mortality between early 2020 (March 1, 2020–June 19, 2020) and late 2020 (June 20, 2020–December 31, 2020). Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess comorbidity-adjusted mortality. Time period of diagnosis was available for 1435/1616 (88.8%) SOTR and 971/1435 (67.7%) were hospitalized: 571/753 (75.8%) in early 2020 and 402/682 (58.9%) in late 2020 (p <.001). Crude 28-day mortality decreased between the early and late periods (112/571 [19.6%] vs. 55/402 [13.7%]) and remained lower in the late period even after adjusting for baseline comorbidities (aOR 0.67, 95% CI 0.46–0.98, p =.016). Between the early and late periods, the use of corticosteroids (≥6 mg dexamethasone/day) and remdesivir increased (62/571 [10.9%] vs. 243/402 [61.5%], p <.001 and 50/571 [8.8%] vs. 213/402 [52.2%], p <.001, respectively), and the use of hydroxychloroquine and IL-6/IL-6 receptor inhibitor decreased (329/571 [60.0%] vs. 4/492 [1.0%], p <.001 and 73/571 [12.8%] vs. 5/402 [1.2%], p <.001, respectively). Mortality among SOTR hospitalized for COVID-19 declined between early and late 2020, consistent with trends reported in the general population. The mechanism(s) underlying improved survival require further study

COVID-19 in hospitalized lung and non-lung solid organ transplant recipients: A comparative analysis from a multicenter study

Lung transplant recipients (LTR) with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may have higher mortality than non-lung solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR), but direct comparisons are limited. Risk factors for mortality specifically in LTR have not been explored. We performed a multicenter cohort study of adult SOTR with COVID-19 to compare mortality by 28 days between hospitalized LTR and non-lung SOTR. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess comorbidity-adjusted mortality among LTR vs. non-lung SOTR and to determine risk factors for death in LTR. Of 1,616 SOTR with COVID-19, 1,081 (66%) were hospitalized including 120/159 (75%) LTR and 961/1457 (66%) non-lung SOTR (p =.02). Mortality was higher among LTR compared to non-lung SOTR (24% vs. 16%, respectively, p =.032), and lung transplant was independently associated with death after adjusting for age and comorbidities (aOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.0–2.6, p =.04). Among LTR, chronic lung allograft dysfunction (aOR 3.3, 95% CI 1.0–11.3, p =.05) was the only independent risk factor for mortality and age >65 years, heart failure and obesity were not independently associated with death. Among SOTR hospitalized for COVID-19, LTR had higher mortality than non-lung SOTR. In LTR, chronic allograft dysfunction was independently associated with mortality