Browsing by Author "Ferreira da Vinha, Ana"
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- Acorns as a food resourcePublication . Pacheco, R.; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Oliveira, M.B.P.P.The oaks (Quercus spp.) comprise the largest genus Fagaceae, an important family of evergreen or deciduous trees of temperate and tropical climatic areas. The acorn is a one-seeded nut, the hard, dry and indehiscent fruit of oaks, derived from a unilocular ovary of fused carpels. Acorns are an interesting source of carbohydrates, fats and fibers and also contain protein, amino acids and vitamins, mostly A and C. Additionally, it has been proven its antioxidant effects. Appreciation of acorn has been increasing, because of its potential as a food resource. The goal of the present review is to compile the published information about nutritional, phytochemical and bioactive composition of acorns.
- Adansonia digitata fruit: compounds and antioxidante activity against reactive speciesPublication . Pinto, Diana; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Freitas, Marisa; Oliveira, M. Beatriz P.P.Baobab (Adansonia digitata) is an African native fruit, of which both chemical composition and antioxidant activity against physiologically relevant reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) were not yet investigated. It is generally accepted that the antioxidant activity of natural resources could be related with the prevention of several diseases. Baobab leaves, fruit pulp, root, stem, seeds and bark have shown medicinal properties, including diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hepato-protective, analgesic, anti-diarrhea, anti-dysentery, anti rheumatoid and antiviral activities.
- Agenesia dentária: a importância da amamentação maternaPublication . Couraceiro, Luís; Santos, António; Salazar, Filomena; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Almeida-Dias, António; Manzanares, CristinaOs dentes são estruturas importantes e indispensáveis para a função mastigatória. A ausência de um ou mais dentes, pode ser um problema sério, designado por agenesia dentária. Os dentes, que começam a surgir ainda na fase de lactência, devem estar prontos para serem trocados pelos dentes permanentes entre os seis e os nove anos de idade. Na fase adulta, uma pessoa deverá apresentar na cavidade oral 32 dentes. No entanto, na prática da medicina dentária são frequentes os registos de anomalias dentárias, conhecidas como agenesias. A agenesia caracteriza-se pela ausência de um ou mais dentes que se pode verificar desde a hipodontia (ausência de um ou poucos dentes) até a anodontia (ausência total de dentes). Não é um problema comum, mas quando ocorre, geralmente é nos terceiros molares (sisos), nos incisivos laterais superiores e nos pré-molares.
- Agro-food wastes: valorization of lychee (Litchi chinensis) peelsPublication . Ferchal, Clemence; Silva, Carla Sousa e; Ferreira da Vinha, AnaBackground: Tropical fruits represent one of the most important crops in the world. Moreover, currently, food security is a growing problem due to the depletion of natural resources and increasing population, which has led to a gap between production and consumption (1). Nowadays, medicine has started to pay great attention to functional food, which displays an additional function related to health promotion or disease prevention. In fact, phytochemicals present in fruit byproducts (peel and seeds) are generally significantly higher than in their respective edible tissues (pulp), suggesting these wastes to be potential sources for isolating bioactive compounds or as nutraceuticals ingredients for new food products (2). Methods: Lychee (Litchi chinensis) is a very popular fruit, currently consumed worldwide. The peel and seed represent 50% of the fruit, which is considered high. However, when processed properly, such waste can generate other products as extracts and flours, contributing to its use in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Selected fruits were washed, weighed and separated into peel, pulp and seed. The peel was lyophilized, ground, and stored protected from light until the time of analysis. Proximate composition of lychee peel flour was performed according to the methods AOAC (3), and dietary fiber, determined using enzymatic kit Sigma®, followed the technique proposed by (3). The total energy value (TEV) was also calculated. Results: Total carbohydrates and TEV were high (60 g/100 g and 318 kcal/100 g, respectively), presenting low content of proteins and lipids. Lychee peel flour presented 20 g/100 g dietary fiber. The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) is 25 g fiber (4); thus, this flour may be considered a potential fiber source, to be integrated in new products. Conclusions: It is desirable to find proper food applications for fruits peel for helping the environment through sustainability and creating new value-added food products.
- Alimentos funcionais e fitoterapêuticos: o uso de vegetais como agentes da promoção e prevenção da saúde públicaPublication . Silva, V.; Santos, A.; Herdeiro, T.; Machado, M; Ferreira da Vinha, AnaO estilo de vida atual é considerado como o causador do aumento de doenças crónicas-degenerativas, que nem sempre, conseguem êxito com medicação farmacológica. A dietoterapia e a fitoterapia são duas vias terapêuticas em ascensão, relacionando os alimentos funcionais com a ação fitoterápica.
- Alimentos funcionais: uma tendência de mercadoPublication . Silva, Carla Sousa e; Passos, Ana Rita; Pereira, Ana Filipa; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Ana, NunesA mudança dos hábitos e costumes da sociedade moderna que tem vindo a acontecer nas últimas décadas, conduziu a uma alteração dos padrões alimentares e, consequentemente, a consumidores mais exigentes e atentos aos benefícios que cada género alimentício aporta. Como resposta a esta situação, a indústria alimentar reforçou a sua política de investigação, surgindo um novo tipo de alimentos, denominados alimentos funcionais, os quais são caracterizados como alimentos comuns, integrados na dieta e capazes de produzir benefícios específicos para a saúde. As substâncias biologicamente ativas presentes nos alimentos funcionais podem ser classificadas em: probióticos e prebióticos, alimentos sulfurados e azotados, pigmentos naturais e vitaminas, compostos fenólicos, ácidos gordos polinsaturados e fibras alimentares. Este trabalho teve como objetivo realizar uma revisão bibliográfica fundamentada que sustente a importância dos alimentos funcionais como géneros alimentícios integrantes da dieta alimentar, apresentando as diferentes classes de compostos bioativos que os integram e divulgando os seus efeitos benéficos à saúde. A pesquisa de informação para a realização deste trabalho foi efetuada recorrendo aos motores de busca PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar e Scielo. As palavras-chave utilizadas foram, maioritariamente, alimento funcional, ingrediente funcional, componentes bioativos, prebióticos, consumo. A pesquisa bibliográfica teve por base artigos de revisão e estudos experimentais publicados, relacionados com o tema deste trabalho, limitando-se a procura a textos escritos em inglês, espanhol e português. Uma vez que esta revisão pretendeu abranger a evolução dos alimentos funcionais, desde o aparecimento do conceito dos mesmos, no Japão, na década de 80, até aos dias de hoje, a pesquisa realizada teve como limites temporais os anos de 1995 até à atualidade.
- Antibacterial and antimalarial activity of Angolan Cymbopogon citratus essential oilPublication . Pires, P.P. Catarino; Sekhoacha, M.; Matsabisa, M.; Tselanyane, M.; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Soares, M.O.Bacterial infections and malaria remain a major public health problem due to the emergence and spread of drug resistant strains. There is an urgent need to investigate new sources of antibacterial and antimalarial drugs, which are more effective. One of the potential sources of antibacterial and antimalarial drugs is traditional medicinal plants. Our ethnopharmacological studies, in several Angolan regions, showed that Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf., has high bioactivity against bacterial infections and malaria. The constituents of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil (CCEO), obtained by hydro-distillation, were analysed by GC and GC-MS and identified from their retention indices and mass spectra. The antimicrobial activity of CCEO and major natural volatile compounds were tested against several bacterial strains. The antimalarial assays where performed in continuous in vitro cultures of asexual erythrocyte stages of P. falciparum using the parasite lactate dehydrogenase assay. CCEO exhibits broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Our results showed that multi-resistant Stafilococus aureus (MRSA) isolates were more sensitive to CCEO than non-MRSA. When tested against MRSA resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid combination, penicillin G and methicillin, CCEO shows a significant increase in bactericidal activity when compared with the commercial antibiotics. The same results were obtained using vancomycin resistant S. epidermidis and other strains. Regarding the anti-malaria activity, test samples where considered active for in vitro antimalarial activity exhibiting IC50 values of 5.34±1.01 μg/ml and 7.06±0.47 μg/ml. Our work shows that CCEO has higher antibacterial activity than commercial antibiotics against MRSA strains, as well as antimalarial activity. This offers opportunities for clinical treatments since preliminary in vivo studies showed no toxic effects and high antimalarial activity.
- Antifungal activity of endemic Origanum virens from PortugalPublication . Soares, M.O.; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Lima, R.P.; Coutinho, F.; Catarino, P.Origanum virens is widely used in Portuguese, and Mediterranem, cuizin. Althout it is use as food condiment, it is also used in traditional medicin as antiseptic. The antifungal activity of Origanum virens essential oil on Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and physicchemical characterization of several extracts were evaluated.
- Antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf. Poaceae-Gramineae from Angola in ATCC and multidrug resistant strainsPublication . Soares, M.O.; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Lima, R.P.; Coutinho, F.; Machado, M.; Catarino, P.Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf. Poaceae-Gramineae (C. citratus) is an herb from India, which grows in several countries in tropical and sub-tropical, as the Republic of Angola, where tea is known as caxinde. This tea is consumed, as aromatic drink, as well as in traditional cuisine due to its lemon flavor. Cymbopogon citratus (DC) is widelly used in folk medicine, where infusions and decoctions, feature anti-spasmatic, carminatives and anti-hypertension properties. The essential oil of C. citratus is often applied, in pharmaceutical industry, as flavor and fragrance, and is also used as a source of new phytochemical molecules for the development of new pharmaceutical products.
- Antimicrobial natural productsPublication . Soares, M.O.; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Coutinho, F.; Pires, P.C.Our ethnopharmacological studies, in several Angolan regions, showed that Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf., it´s applied in folk medicine to treat several diseases In order to validate antibacterial activity several studies were performed using 12 bacterial strains. The essencial oil samples of Cymbopogon citratus, obtained by hydro-distillation, were analysed by GC and GC-MS. Constituents were identified and tested for their antimicrobial activity by the disc agar diffusion technique and the dilution technique against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 12228) and other bacterial strains. Broad spectrum antibacterial activity was exhibited by the Cymbopogon citratus essential oil against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as for MRSA that exhibited more sensitive towards the test substance compared to the non-MRSA. Our work was the first to show that Cymbopogon citratus essential oil has higher antibacterial activity against MRSA strains, than commercial antibiotics. These discover opens a new hope to fight against nosocomial infection.