Thyroid-disrupting effects of chlorpyrifos in female Wistar rats.

Thousands of chemicals are released into the environment daily, arousing great scientific interest because they can influence the overall function of living organisms. The indiscriminate use of pesticides, especially organophosphate, confers important risks to both public and environmental health. Previous studies showed that chlorpyrifos (CPF) acts as an endocrine disruptor. Nevertheless, CPF is still widely used in many countries. Thus, we evaluated the thyroid-disrupting effects of CPF after short-term low-dose oral exposure in female Wistar rats. A total of 48 female Wistar rats were divided into five experimental groups (n = 8/group) that were treated orally by gavage with vehicle (control) and chlorpyrifos (0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/kg) for 5 days. Clinical signs of toxicity were observed throughout treatment. On day 6, the animals were weighed. Serum samples were obtained to measure levels of thyroid hormones, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, glutamyl transpeptidase, and estradiol. The animals were then euthanized by deep anesthesia with isoflurane. The thyroid gland, liver, spleen, and kidneys were collected to determine relative organ weight and perform histopathological analyses. We observed a significant increase in total triiodothyronine (T3) levels in all CPF treatment groups, even at very low doses that corresponded to the Acceptable Daily Intake. Only the highest dose tested significantly increased both total and free T3 levels. In the group that received the highest dose of CPF, thyroid follicles had irregular contours and few or no colloids. The present results indicated that short-term low-dose CPF exposure in female rats induced significant thyroid-disrupting effects.

Avaliação do conhecimento de acadêmicos de farmácia sobre plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos / Assessment of knowledge of pharmacy students about medicinal plants and herbal medicines / Evaluación de conocimientos de los estudiantes de farmacia sobre plantas medicinales y medicamentos a base de hierbas

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o conhecimento sobre plantas medicinais e medicamentos fitoterápicos em uma instituição de ensino superior da Região Sul do Brasil a Universidade Paranaense -UNIPAR, considerando a importância da fitoterapia para a formação profissional dos cursos de Farmácia. Foi desenvolvido, um estudo quantitativo e descritivo, aplicando um questionário, pelo Google Formulários, para avaliar o conhecimento sobre as plantas e fitoterápicos, com todos os 23 acadêmicos do 4ºano do curso de farmácia. Os resultados demonstraram que 60,9% dos alunos faz uso de alguma planta medicinal, 95,7% dos acadêmicos aprendeu utilizar plantas medicinais na faculdade e as plantas mais citadas foram: hortelã, hibisco e boldo, 95,7% respondeu que indicaria uso de fitoterápicos e plantas medicinais para outras pessoas, 87% dos acadêmicos responderam que talvez faça uma especialização em plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos. Este estudo demonstra que os acadêmicos, utilizam plantas medicinais com certa frequência, adquiriram informações provenientes da Universidade e do saber tradicional adquirido, havendo a necessidade de maior conhecimento sobre a importância do aperfeiçoamento profissional, com a realização de especialização, considerando o potencial da fitoterapia(AU)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge about medicinal plants and herbal medicines in a higher education institution in the southern region of Brazil, Universidade Paranaense -UNIPAR, considering the importance of herbal medicine for the professional training of pharmacy courses. A quantitative and descriptive study was developed, applying a questionnaire, by Google Forms, to assess the knowledge about plants and herbal medicines, with all 23 academics from the 4th year of the pharmacy course.The results showed that 60.9% of students use some medicinal plant, 95.7% of students learned to use medicinal plants in college and the most cited plants were: mint, hibiscus and boldo, 95.7% answered that they would indicateuse from herbal medicines and medicinal plants to other people, 87% of academics responded that perhaps they do a specialization in medicinal plants and herbal medicines. This study demonstrates that academics, using medicinal plants with a certain frequency, acquired information from the University and acquired traditional knowledge, with the need for greater knowledge about the importance of professional improvement, with the realization of specialization, considering the potentialof herbal medicine(AU)

El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el conocimiento sobre plantas medicinales y medicinas a base de hierbas en una institución de educación superior en la región sur de Brasil, la Universidade Paranaense -UNIPAR, considerando la importancia de la fitoterapia para la formación profesional de los cursos de farmacia. Se desarrolló un estudio cuantitativo y descriptivo, aplicando un cuestionario, de Google Forms, para evaluar los conocimientos sobre plantas y medicinas a base de hierbas, con los 23 académicos del 4º año del curso de farmacia. Los resultados mostraron que el 60.9% de los estudiantes usa alguna planta medicinal, el 95.7% de los estudiantes aprendió a usar plantas medicinales en la universidad y las plantas más citadas fueron: menta, hibisco y boldo, el 95.7% respondió que indicaría uso de hierbas medicinales y medicinales. plantas a otras personas, el 87% de los académicos respondió que tal vez hacen una especialización en plantas medicinales y medicinas a base de hierbas. Este estudio demuestra que los académicos, utilizando plantas medicinales con cierta frecuencia,adquirieron información de la Universidad y adquirieron conocimientos tradicionales, con la necesidad de un mayor conocimiento sobre la importancia de la superación profesional, con la realización de la especialización, considerando el potencial de la fitoterapia(AU)

Levantamento de informações etnobotânicas, etnofarmacológicas e farmacológicas registradas na literatura sobre Tropaeolum majus l. (CHAGUINHA) / Survey of ethnobotanical, ethnopharmacological and pharmacological information recorded in literature on Tropaeolum majus l. (garden nasturtium)

O uso popular de plantas é uma arte muito antiga fundamentada no acúmulo de informações repassadas por meio de sucessivas gerações. A etnobotânica e a etnofarmacologia são considerados ferramentas importantes no resgate de saberes tradicionais das sociedades humanas, passadas e presentes, e suas interações com as plantas e a geração de conhecimento científico e tecnológico voltados para o uso sustentável dos recursos naturais, e estão diretamente ligados com o mercado fitoterápico. A Tropaeolum majus L. conhecida popularmente como capuchinha, chaguinha ou nastúrcio pertence à família Tropaeolaceae é uma espécie amplamente cultivada no Brasil, tanto para fins ornamentais, medicinais e alimentícios. A Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA) orienta e recomenda o cultivo desta espécie para fins alimentares e medicinais. Diante dessa realidade, inúmeros estudos foram realizados com essa espécie no intuito de comprovar sua eficácia, segurança e qualidade. A partir do levantamento bibliográfico sobre a etnobotânica, etnofarmacologia, farmacologia e toxicologia da espécie em questão, observou-se que existem vários trabalhos publicados que justificam a utilização desta espécie, tanto no uso medicinal quanto alimentício, podendo-se lançar no mercado de produtos naturais um novo fitoterápico promissor, cujos estudos encontram-se bem definidos e justificados.

The popular use of plants is an ancient art based on the accumulation of information passed on through successive generations. Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology are considered important tools in the recovery of traditional human society knowledge, both past and present, their interactions with plants and the generation of scientific and technological knowledge for sustainable use of natural resources, directly linked with the herbal medicine market. The Tropaeolum majus L. (popularly known as garden nasturtium, Indian cress or monks cress) belongs to the Tropaeolaceae family, and is widely cultivated in Brazil, for ornamental, medicinal and food purposes. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) provides guidance and recommendation on the cultivation of this species for food and medicinal purposes. Thus, many studies have been carried out with this species in order to prove its efficacy, safety and quality. From the literature on ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, pharmacology and toxicology of the studied species, it could be observed that there are several published works justifying the use of this species, both for its medical and food use, thus allowing the launching of natural products on the market with a promising new herbal medicine, with well-defined and justified studies.