Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy and its impact on the fetus, the newborn and in childhood / Deficiência de vitamina D na gravidez e o seu impacto sobre o feto, o recém-nascido e na infância

OBJECTIVE: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in pregnant women and their children is an important health problem with severe consequences for the health of both. Thus, the objectives of this review were to reassess the magnitude and consequences of VDD during pregnancy, lactation and infancy, associated risk factors, prevention methods, and to explore epigenetic mechanisms in early fetal life capable of explaining many of the non-skeletal benefits of vitamin D (ViD). DATA SOURCE: Original and review articles, and consensus documents with elevated level of evidence for VDD-related clinical decisions on the health of pregnant women and their children, as well as articles on the influence of ViD on epigenetic mechanisms of fetal programming of chronic diseases in adulthood were selected among articles published on PubMed over the last 20 years, using the search term VitD status, in combination with Pregnancy, Offspring health, Child outcomes, and Programming. DATA SYNTHESIS: The following items were analyzed: ViD physiology and metabolism, risk factors for VDD and implications in pregnancy, lactation and infancy, concentration cutoff to define VDD, the variability of methods for VDD detection, recommendations on ViD replacement in pregnant women, the newborn and the child, and the epigenetic influence of ViD. CONCLUSIONS: VDD is a common condition among high-risk pregnant women and their children. The routine monitoring of serum 25(OH)D3 levels in antenatal period is mandatory. Early preventive measures should be taken at the slightest suspicion of VDD in pregnant women, to reduce morbidity during pregnancy and lactation, as well as its subsequent impact on the fetus, the newborn and the child. .

OBJETIVO: Deficiência de vitamina D (DVD) nas gestantes e seus filhos é problema de saúde, com consequências graves à saúde de ambos. Assim, esta revisão visou reavaliar a magnitude e as consequências da DVD na gestação, lactação e infância, fatores de risco associados, métodos de prevenção, além de explorar os mecanismos epigenéticos na vida fetal capazes de explicar benefícios não-esqueléticos da vitamina D (ViD). FONTES DE DADOS: Selecionaram-se artigos originais, de revisão e consensos com nível elevado de evidência para decisões clínicas relacionadas à DVD na saúde das gestantes e seus filhos e artigos sobre sua ação sobre os mecanismos epigenéticos da programação fetal de doenças crônicas na vida adulta, publicados no PubMed nos últimos 20 anos, empregando-se VitD status, e em combinação com Pregnancy, Offspring health, Child outcomes e Programming. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: Abordou-se fisiologia, metabolismo, fatores de risco para a DVD e implicações na gravidez, lactação e infância, concentração de corte para definir DVD, variabilidade de métodos na sua detecção, recomendações sobre a reposição de ViD nas gestantes, no recém-nascido e na criança, bem como sobre ter as influências epigenéticas da ViD. CONCLUSÕES: DVD é frequente entre gestantes de alto risco e seus filhos. Monitorar rotineiramente os níveis séricos de 25(OH)D3 no período antenatal é imperativo. Medidas preventivas precoces devem ser instituídas à menor suspeita de DVD na gestante, para reduzir morbidades durante a gestação e a lactação, bem como seu posterior impacto sobre o feto, o recém-nascido e na infância. .

Synthesis, DNA cleavage and antimicrobial activity of 4-thiazolidinones-benzothiazole conjugates.

Antimicrobial screening of several novel 4-thiazolidinones with benzothiazole moiety has been performed. These compounds were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against a panel of bacterial and fungal strains. The strains were treated with these benzothiazole derivatives at varying concentrations, and MIC’s were calculated. Structures of these compounds have been determined by spectroscopic studies viz., FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and elemental analysis. Significant antimicrobial activity was observed for some members of the series, and compounds viz. 3-(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl) phenyl)-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)thiazolidin-4-one and 3-(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenyl)-2-(4-hydroxy phenyl)thiazolidin-4-one were found to be the most active against E.coli and C.albicans with MIC values in the range of 15.6–125 μg/ml. Preliminary study of the structure–activity relationship revealed that electron donating groups associated with thiazolidine bearing benzothiazole rings had a great effect on the antimicrobial activity of these compounds and contributes positively for the action. DNA cleavage experiments gave valuable hints with supporting evidence for describing the mechanism of action and hence showed a good correlation between their calculated MIC’s and its lethality.

Measurement of antioxidant activity with trifluoperazine dihydrochloride radical cation

A novel, rapid and cost-effective trifluoperazine dihydrochloride (TFPH) decolorization assay is described for the screening of antioxidant activity. A chromogenic reaction between TFPH and potassium persulfate at low pH produces an orange-red radical cation with maximum absorption at 502 nm in its first-order derivative spectrum. TFPH was dissolved in distilled water to give a 100 mM solution. The TFPH radical cation solution was made by reacting 0.5 mL of the solution with K2S2O8 (final concentration: 0.1 mM) and diluting to 100 mL with 4 M H2SO4 solution. A linear inhibition of color production was observed with linearly increasing amounts of antioxidants, with correlation coefficients (R²) ranging from 0.999 to 0.983. The antioxidant capacity of standard solutions of an antioxidant was evaluated by comparing with the inhibition curve using Trolox as the standard. Comparison of antioxidant capacity determined with this newly developed TFPH assay and with the well-known 2,2'-azinobis-[3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid] (ABTS)-persulfate decolorization assay indicated the efficacy and sensitivity of the procedure. The proposed assay is less expensive (costs about US$4 per 100 assays) and requires only 20 min for preparation of radical cation solution in comparison with ABTS assay, in which almost 12-16 h are required for preparation of a stable ABTS radical cation solution. The present assay has the advantage over ABTS assay that it can be used to measure the antioxidant activity of the samples, which are naturally found at a pH as low as 1, because the radical cation itself has been stabilized at low pH.