Avelã: composição química e efeitos benéficos associados ao seu consumo

Among the different nuts grown worldwide, hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is considered one of the most popular and consumed. Hazelnut is mainly used by the food industry in chocolates, cakes and desserts, with only a small part of the world’s produc"on being consumed as table hazelnut. Hazelnut is considered to be a highly nutri"ous food, providing macronutrients (fat, protein and carbohydrates), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and several bioac"ve phytochemicals, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannins and phytosterols, among others. Despite presen"ng a high content in fat, hazelnut lipids mainly include monounsaturated fa$y acids (MUFA), which have been associated with beneficial health effects, par"cularly regarding the cardiovascular system. Moreover, different interes"ng proper"es, such as an"oxidant, an"-inflammatory, an"-prolifera"ve and hipocholesterolemic ac"vi"es have been ascribed to several micronutrients and phytochemicals present in hazelnuts. To date, some studies have shown that the consump"on of hazelnuts can have a beneficial effect on health, namely by reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, its inclusion has been recommended as part of a healthy-diet.Os autores agradecem o financiamento da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) através do projeto UID/ QUI/50006/2013 - POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265 com apoio financeiro da FCT/MEC através de fundos nacionais e cofinanciamento FEDER.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Avaliação da autenticidade de Alheiras de caça por identificação específica de espécies

A produção de diferentes enchidos tradicionais é uma práti-ca enraizada em várias regiões do país, em particular no Nordeste Transmontano onde é produzido um produto mui-to apreciados por diversos consumidores, nomeadamente a alheira. A alheira é um produto cárneo tradicional, fumado e fermentado, cuja origem remonta ao final do século XV e se relaciona com a presença de comunidades Judaicas nesta região. Naquela data, sendo frequente o consumo de enchi-dos pela população Cristã e sendo o porco uma espécie não consumida pelos Judeus, para evitar serem facilmente iden-tificados pela Inquisição pelos seus diferentes hábitos ali-mentares, estes começaram a produzir um enchido com forma similar à da cozinha Cristã, mas usando carne de aves em vez de porco. A receita foi, eventualmente, passando através de gerações e tornou-se popular também entre os Cristãos, sendo atualmente produzida com base numa mis-tura de carne e gordura de porco, carne de aves, pão de trigo, azeite, alho, sal e especiarias [1]. Dado o seu sucesso, nos últimos anos, têm surgido novas versões deste tipo de enchido, entra as quais se destacam as alheiras de caça. Estas distinguem-se das suas congéneres tradicionais pelo facto de incluírem na sua composição carne de caça, a qual pode ser adicionada total ou parcialmente em relação à car-ne utilizada na sua confeção.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adulteration of Dietary Supplements by the Illegal Addition of Synthetic Drugs: a review

In the last few years, the consumption of dietary supplements, especially those having plants as ingredients, has been increasing due to the common idea that they are natural products posing no risks to human health. In the European Union and the United States, dietary supplements are legally considered as foods/special category of foods, thus are not being submitted to any safety assessment prior to their commercialization. Among the issues that can affect safety, adulteration by the illegal addition of pharmaceutical substances or their analogs is of major concern since unscrupulous producers can falsify these products to provide for quick effects and to increase sales. This review discusses the various classes of synthetic drugs most frequently described as being illegally added to dietary supplements marketed for weight loss, muscle building/sport performance and sexual performance enhancement. Information regarding regulation and consumption is also presented. Finally, several conventional and advanced analytical techniques used to detect and identify different adulterants in dietary supplements and therefore also in foods, with particular emphasis on plant food supplements, are critically described. This review demonstrates that dietary supplement adulteration is an emerging food safety problem and that an effective control by food regulatory authorities is needed to safeguard consumers.This work was supported by European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and Natl. Funds (FCT, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) through projects EXPL/DTP-SAP/1438/2013 (Safety of plant food supplements: searching for adulterant pharmaceutical drugs and plants) and LAQV UID/QUI/50006/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Food supplements adulteration with undeclared synthetic phosphodiesterase type-5 drugs (PDE-5) inhibitors

The use ofplant food supplements (PFS) in developed countries is becoming increasingly popular mostly due to the consumers' widespread idea that natural products are safer and healthier than conventional pharmaceutical drugs [l]. However, in the last years, several studies have been showing the existence of gaps in PFS regulation that can result in insuíficient quality control and intentional adulteration ofthese products [2]. Among the issues that can aíFect PFS safety, the illegal addition of pharmaceutical substances is of major concern, since unscrupulous producers can dope PFS to provide for quick effects. Supplements used for sexual performance improvement are among the most popular PFS used by males. One of the major concerns in this type of product is the possible adulteration with drugs used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, namely synthetic phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor drugs, such as sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil which are approved prescription drugs being marketed as Viagra (Pfizer, USA), Levitra (Bayer Pharmaceuticals Co., Germany) and Cialis (Elli Lilly, USA), respectively. Since these drugs can present side eífects, its illegal addition in PFS can seriously endanger consumers' health. In particular, individuais for whom conventional PDE-5 inhibitor drugs are contraindicated and consequently use food supplements as an alternative maybe at risk ifthe clandestine addition ofthese drugs occurs. In the last years, the presence ofthis type ofdrugs have been detected by FDA in the US, and reported in food supplements commercialized in Ásia, however studies regarding this issue in the EU are almost inexistent. For the presented reasons, an analytical methodology based on the use of high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a fluorescence detector in series with a photodiode array (HPLC-FL-PDA) is proposed for the detection ofPDE-5 inhibitors, namely sildenafil and its analogue acetildenafil, vardenafil and tadalaíil, illegally added to supplements used for aphrodisiac purposes.to FCT (PEst-C/EQB/LA0006/2013 and EXPL/DTP-SAP/1438/2013) and QREN (NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000069-CIÊNCIA DO ALIMENTO).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of Three Portuguese Varietal Olive Oils Based on Fatty Acids, Triacylglycerols, Phytosterols and Vitamin E Profiles: Application of Chemometrics

In Portugal, olive oil production is considered an ancient activity, where old olive groves can still be observed. In the last few years monovarietal groves seem to be increasing, though some disadvantages, such as the susceptibility to insects and diseases, can result from the growth of individual olive varieties (Aguilera et al., 2005). In some typical producer countries, the olive cultivation is being improved by renewing old trees, reducing the association with other crops, selecting the olive varieties suited to local agroclimates and planting new single variety orchards (Criado et al., 2008). This is leading to an increase in the prevalence of monovarietal olive oils

Riscos e benefícios associados ao consumo de carne de caça

A caça de animais é praticada pelo homem desde tempos ancestrais, tendo sido uma das principais fontes de nutrien-tes/alimentos na era pré-histórica. Com o progredir da civili-zação, e principalmente após o desenvolvimento da agricul-tura e a domesticação de animais, a importância da carne de caça como meio de subsistência diminuiu substancialmente em várias regiões do globo. Contudo, atualmente continua ainda a ser de grande relevância em diversos países, princi-palmente nos chamados países subdesenvolvidos e em vias de desenvolvimento, sobretudo Africanos, mas também Asiáticos, nos quais a carne de animais selvagens é frequen-temente consumida e também alvo de trocas económicas [1].info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Food supplements adulteration with undeclared synthetic phosphodiesterase type-5 drugs (PDE-5) inhibitors

The use ofplant food supplements (PFS) in developed countries is becoming increasingly popular mostly due to the consumers' widespread idea that natural products are safer and healthier than conventional pharmaceutical drugs [l]. However, in the last years, several studies have been showing the existence of gaps in PFS regulation that can result in insuíficient quality control and intentional adulteration ofthese products [2]. Among the issues that can aíFect PFS safety, the illegal addition of pharmaceutical substances is of major concern, since unscrupulous producers can dope PFS to provide for quick effects. Supplements used for sexual performance improvement are among the most popular PFS used by males. One of the major concerns in this type of product is the possible adulteration with drugs used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, namely synthetic phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor drugs, such as sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil which are approved prescription drugs being marketed as Viagra (Pfizer, USA), Levitra (Bayer Pharmaceuticals Co., Germany) and Cialis (Elli Lilly, USA), respectively. Since these drugs can present side eífects, its illegal addition in PFS can seriously endanger consumers' health. In particular, individuais for whom conventional PDE-5 inhibitor drugs are contraindicated and consequently use food supplements as an alternative maybe at risk ifthe clandestine addition ofthese drugs occurs. In the last years, the presence ofthis type ofdrugs have been detected by FDA in the US, and reported in food supplements commercialized in Ásia, however studies regarding this issue in the EU are almost inexistent. For the presented reasons, an analytical methodology based on the use of high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a fluorescence detector in series with a photodiode array (HPLC-FL-PDA) is proposed for the detection ofPDE-5 inhibitors, namely sildenafil and its analogue acetildenafil, vardenafil and tadalaíil, illegally added to supplements used for aphrodisiac purposes.to FCT (PEst-C/EQB/LA0006/2013 and EXPL/DTP-SAP/1438/2013) and QREN (NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000069-CIÊNCIA DO ALIMENTO).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio