Arsenic, lead and cadmium concentration in food and estimated daily intake in the Cuban population and the health risks using a Total Diet Study.

This study estimates the intake of arsenic, lead and cadmium by the adult population (aged 18-91) of Cuba. The food consumption indices were obtained through 24-h dietary recall surveys applied to 450 people between October 2020 and March 2021. The Estimated Dietary Intake (EDI) of t-As (54.6 µg/day), Pb (118.5 µg/day) and Cd (35.1 µg/day) complied with Cuban legislation but was higher than the EDI for Cd established by the CONTAM Panel. The Target Hazard Quotients for the three contaminants were: iAs (0.220), Pb (0.409) and Cd (0.424), making the value of the Total Target Hazard Quotient 1.05, which indicates potential health risks for the population. Additionally, associated carcinogenic risks were: iAs (1.0·10-4), Pb (7.2·10-4) and Cd (25.9·10-4). Therefore, 10, 72 and 259 persons per 100,000 inhabitants are likely prone to developing cancer due to the ingestion of iAs, Pb and Cd, respectively.

Chemoprotective and antiobesity effects of tocols from seed oil of Maqui-berry: Their antioxidative and digestive enzyme inhibition potential.

Maqui-berry (Aristotelia chilensis) is the emerging Chilean superfruit with high nutraceutical value. Until now, the research on this commodity was focused on the formulations enriched with polyphenols from the pulp. Herein, contents of tocols were compared in the seed oil of Maqui-berry obtained through three different extraction methods followed by determining their antioxidative and enzyme inhibitions in-vitro. Firstly, oilseed was extracted with n-hexane (Soxhlet method), chloroform/methanol/water (Bligh and Dyer method) and pressing (industrial). These samples were used to access their effects against DPPH, HORAC, ORAC, FRAP, Lipid-peroxidation (TBARS), α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase. All the isomers of tocopherol and tocotrienol were identified, and ß-sitosterol was the only sterol found in higher amounts than other vegetable oils. The Bligh and Dyer method could lead to the highest antioxidative capacity compared to Soxhlet and press methods likely because the latter have a higher amount of tocopherols. Further, seed oil from Maqui berry and their tocols (α, ß, γ, δ-tocopherols, tocotrienols, and ß-sitosterol) warrant clinical investigation for their antioxidative and antiobesity potential. Taken together, these findings provide relevant and suitable conditions for the industrial processing of Maqui-berry.