Automedicación en niños con enfermedades de vías respiratorias altas en un centro materno infantil en Perú

Introducción: La automedicación es una práctica común para aliviar síntomas de diversas enfermedades, en la población infantil como la faringoamigdalitis y la rinofaringitis que son comunes en los centros de salud del Perú. Objetivo: Determinar los factores asociados a la automedicación en niños con enfermedades de vías respiratorias altas. Material y métodos: Estudio observacional transversal analítico. El tamaño muestral fue de 206 padres de familia que acudieron con sus hijos al servicio de emergencia. Se utilizó un cuestionario aprobado por Valenzuela m. Y el programa SPSS para hallar la frecuencia, análisis bivariado y análisis multivariado regresión logística de Poisson. Resultados: la prevalencia de automedicación en niños fue de 91,3%. Los padres que solo estudiaron primaria y secundaria tuvieron mayor probabilidad de automedicar a sus hijos RPa=1,22 (IC 95%: 1,01-1,40). Los primogénitos estuvieron protegidos ante la automedicación RPa=0,86 (IC 95% :0,76-0,97). Los padres que tenían un rango de edad entre 20 a 29 años obtuvieron RPa=1,04 (IC 95%: 0,96-1,13), los niños menores de 7 años, RPa=0,99 (IC 95%: 0,91-1,07) y los padres de familia que tenían 1 hijo RPa=1,04 (IC 95%:0,90-1,20). Conclusiones: El nivel educativo y el número de orden del hijo como ser el primogénito tuvieron asociación significativa con la automedicación en niños.

Introduction: self-medication is a common practice to alleviate symptoms of various diseases, in the child population such as pharyngitis and rhinopharyngitis that are common in health centers in Peru. Objective: to determine the factors associated with self-medication in children with upper respiratory tract diseases. Material and methods: analytical cross-sectional observational study. The sample size was 206 parents who went with their children to the emergency service. A questionnaire approved by Valenzuela m was used. And the SPSS program to find the frequency, the bivariate analysis and the multivariate analysis of Poisson logistic regression. Results: the prevalence of self-medication in children was 91,3%. Parents who only studied primary and secondary school were more likely to self-medicate their children PRa=1,22 (95% CI: 1,01-1,40). The first-born were protected from self-medication PRa=0,86 (95% CI: 0,76-0,97). Parents who were between 20 and 29 years of age obtained PRa=1,04 (95% CI: 0,96-1,13), children under 7 years old, PRa=0,99 (95% ci: 0,91-1,07) and parents of family that had 1 child PRa=1,04 (95% CI:0,90-1,20). Conclusions: the educational level and the order number of the child, such as being the first-born, had a significant association with self-medication in children.

Seeds from ancient food crops with the potential for antiobesity promotion.

Populations like to have a healthy diet without changing their fundamental dietary pattern. The importance of dietetic foods with health potential has increased the interest of consumers on crops with nutraceutical messages. Several plant food products from selected ancient crops like flax, chia, black cumin, sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds contain substances with high health benefits. These crops are usually rich sources in fatty acids, sterols, phenolic compounds and dietary fiber which have mainly shown the ability to increase satiety and obesity control, among chronic degenerative diseases and others. These plant seeds offer outstanding features for the food and nutraceutical industries, due to their functional components. This review focuses on scientific evidence of the different potential benefits of these crops on human antiobesity promotion.

Capsicum annuum (hot pepper): An ancient Latin-American crop with outstanding bioactive compounds and nutraceutical potential. A review.

Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruits, usually termed as chili, have been used since ancient times as food vegetables, flavoring ingredients, natural colorants, and in traditional medicines. Nowadays, a wide variation of sweet and pungent peppers are consumed worldwide in a large variety of forms. Interestingly, the most important hot pepper at the global level in commercial terms is C. annuum with a high number of varieties. This review compares C. annuum to other Capsicum species for plant agronomic traits, biochemical composition, the content of capsaicin and capsaicinoids and their nutraceutical and medical potentialities, and the effects of processing on quality and key components of the fruit, among other aspects. Chili contains important levels of pigments (i.e., chlorophyll, anthocyanin, and lutein) with potential health benefits; it also contains additional outstanding health-promoting chemical compounds, such as vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, carotenoids, and capsaicinoids, in general. And capsaicin, the major active compound responsible for the pungent taste of these species has been proven to have a positive role in health. We report here on how dietary chili and capsaicinoids consumption, especially capsaicin, are involved in body weight reduction and their potential antiobesity effects, in urinary disorders, as well as antioxidants, antimicrobial, anticancer, and analgesic capacity. Selected characteristics of processing for the fruit preservation on its quality and content of these compounds are described as well. However, additional clinical research on the mechanism of action and efficacy of frequent capsaicinoid consumption on human health is needed.

Nopal (Opuntia spp.) and its Effects on Metabolic Syndrome: New Insights for the Use of a Millenary Plant.

BACKGROUND: Nopal (Opuntia spp.) is by excellence the most utilized cactus in human and animal nutrition. It is also a very noble plant; its main physicochemical, nutritional and nutraceutical characteristics allow the use of nopal in diverse food applications. Special focus has been given over the past decades in the use of Opuntia for the treatment of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is predominantly related to Diabetes Mellitus. In this sense, the prevalence of MetS is increasing at a worldwide level. This in turn has led to a notorious demand for natural and nutraceutical food sources. METHODS: The objective of this work was to summarize the main contributions in the field of Opuntia spp. research highlighting the potential use of nopal fruits or cladodes in MetS treatment, providing the reader with historical and novel information in this field. Nevertheless, the present work is not a meta-analysis. We included mainly information from recognized scientific databases, such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. No homeopathic based studies were included since they lack scientific validation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review that fairly categorizes the majority of the information in this field into subsections, which can be of interest for the reader, such as the effect of nopal against cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity among others. CONCLUSION: Nopal constitutes one of the most studied members of the Cactaceae family; its potential effects on human health have been described since ancient times, mostly through traditional medicine. The present work highlights the importance of this plant in the treatment of MetS related maladies and points out the importance of elucidating new compounds and their validation for the interactions of nutraceutical compounds which could be related to MetS.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of cultivated and wild seeds of Salvia hispanica (chia).

Salvia hispanica (chia) constituted an important crop for pre-Columbian civilizations and is considered a superfood for its rich content of essential fatty acids and proteins. In this study, we performed the first comprehensive comparative transcriptome analysis between seeds from cultivated varieties and from accessions collected from native wild populations in Mexico. From the 69,873 annotated transcripts assembled de novo, enriched functional categories and pathways revealed that the lipid metabolism was one of the most activated processes. Expression changes were detected among wild and cultivated groups and among growth conditions in transcripts responsible for triacylglycerol and fatty acid synthesis and degradation. We also quantified storage protein fractions that revealed variation concerning nutraceutical proteins such as albumin and glutelin. Genetic diversity estimated with 23,641 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) revealed that most of the variation remains in the wild populations, and that a wild-type cultivated variety is genetically related to wild accessions. Additionally, we reported 202 simple sequence repeat (SSRs) markers useful for population genetic studies. Overall, we provided transcript variation that can be used for breeding programs to further develop chia varieties with enhanced nutraceutical traits and tools to explore the genetic diversity and history of this rediscovered plant.

Bioactive peptides from selected latin american food crops - A nutraceutical and molecular approach.

This review reported an updated survey on the molecular functional properties of bioactive peptides derived from different Latin American ancient grains such as Maize, common Bean, Amaranth, Quinoa and Chia seeds. Seed storage proteins ecrypt in their sequences diverse peptides associated with a wide range of beneficial effects on the human health and the most studied are antihypertensive, anti-cholesterolemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties. Additionally, in the last decades molecular properties have been also used for their characterization to understand their activities and it makes them highly attractive to be incorporated into food formulations and to complement or replace some conventional cereal grains. Due to the nutraceutical effects, today, these seeds are one of the main gastronomic trends of consumption worldwide due to their nutritional benefits and are part of the shopping lists of many people, among them vegetarians, vegans, celiacs or lovers of raw food. These seeds are a legacy of pre-Columbian civilizations reason why in our time they are considered as "Superfoods of the Gods", "The pre-hispanic superfoods of the future" and "The new golden seeds of the XXI century".

Antioxidant and Antihypertensive Potential of Protein Fractions from Flour and Milk Substitutes from Canary Seeds (Phalaris canariensis L.).

Canary seed (Phalaris canariensis) is used to feed birds but it has been recently considered a promising cereal with nutraceutical potential for humans. The aim of this work was to analyze the protein fractions from canary seed flour and from milk substitutes (prepared by soaking the seeds in water 12 and 24 h), and to evaluate antioxidant and antihypertensive capacity of peptides obtained after in vitro digestion. Prolamins were the major protein fraction, followed by glutelins. After digestion, albumins and prolamins fractions from milks presented higher levels of peptides than flour, globulins showed more peptides in flour and glutelins were found in similar concentrations in all samples; 24 h milk prolamins had the highest concentration of peptides. Purification by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), sequencing of peptides, in vitro antioxidant ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis, 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assays, and antihypertensive capacity (angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) assay), indicated that peptides from canary seed prolamins were the most efficient compounds with antioxidant and antihypertensive activity. Canary seeds may be considered an accessible and cheap source to prepare milk substitutes with high contents of bioactive peptides with remarkable functional properties to promote better human health and healthy ageing.

Phenolic Compounds, Antioxidant Activity and Lipid Profile of Huitlacoche Mushroom (Ustilago maydis) Produced in Several Maize Genotypes at Different Stages of Development.

Huitlacoche mushroom (composed by the fruiting bodies growing on the maize ears from the basidiomycete Ustilago maydis) is a culinary delicacy with a great economic and nutraceutical value. In this work, phenolic content, antioxidant activity, ergosterol and fatty acids profile from huitlacoche produced in 15 creole and in one hybrid maize genotypes, and harvested at different stages of development were determined. The hybrid crop was studied in raw and cooked samples. Total phenolic content ranged from 415.6 to 921.8.0 mg gallic acid equivalents per 100 g of flour. Samples exhibited attractive antioxidant activities: 75 % of antiradical activity on average by DPPH methodology, and ORAC values up to 7661.3 µmol Trolox equivalents /100  g. Important quantities of ferulic acid, quercetin, ergosterol, linoleic and oleic acids were observed. Stage of development and cooking process had an effect on evaluated compounds, sometimes negative and sometimes positive. Results suggest that huitlacoche is an attractive food source of phenolics with excellent antioxidant potential and interesting lipidic compounds.

Edible mushrooms: improving human health and promoting quality life.

Mushrooms have been consumed since earliest history; ancient Greeks believed that mushrooms provided strength for warriors in battle, and the Romans perceived them as the "Food of the Gods." For centuries, the Chinese culture has treasured mushrooms as a health food, an "elixir of life." They have been part of the human culture for thousands of years and have considerable interest in the most important civilizations in history because of their sensory characteristics; they have been recognized for their attractive culinary attributes. Nowadays, mushrooms are popular valuable foods because they are low in calories, carbohydrates, fat, and sodium: also, they are cholesterol-free. Besides, mushrooms provide important nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D, proteins, and fiber. All together with a long history as food source, mushrooms are important for their healing capacities and properties in traditional medicine. It has reported beneficial effects for health and treatment of some diseases. Many nutraceutical properties are described in mushrooms, such as prevention or treatment of Parkinson, Alzheimer, hypertension, and high risk of stroke. They are also utilized to reduce the likelihood of cancer invasion and metastasis due to antitumoral attributes. Mushrooms act as antibacterial, immune system enhancer and cholesterol lowering agents; additionally, they are important sources of bioactive compounds. As a result of these properties, some mushroom extracts are used to promote human health and are found as dietary supplements.

Endoplasmic reticulum-retention C-terminal sequence enhances production of an 11S seed globulin from Amaranthus hypochondriacus in Pichia pastoris.

The methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris was used to express an 11S seed globulin from Amaranthus hypochondriacus. Three different plasmids were tested for expression of amarantin. One of them, which included the untranslated regions (UTR) of the full cDNA, failed to express the amarantin under tested conditions, whereas the other plasmids, one without UTR and the other similar but including the endoplasmic reticulum-retention signal KDEL, were able to express the proamarantin in P. pastoris. After 48 h of induction, KDEL-proamarantin had accumulated quite significantly compared to unmodified proamarantin. Different solubilization patterns were also obtained from both proamarantin versions; only soluble protein was obtained from the system that included the KDEL retrieval signal. Protein fractionation was carried out by differential precipitation with ammonium sulfate, and proamarantin purification was performed using an HPLC ion exchange column. The endoplasmic reticulum-retention C-terminal sequence (KDEL retrieval signal), not commonly employed in this heterologous expression system, can therefore be used to enhance accumulation of recalcitrant protein in P. pastoris. The results obtained here also suggest that this expression system is suitable for expression and evaluation of engineered seed globulin proteins.

Chemical and biochemical changes in prickly pears with different ripening behaviour.

Chemical and biochemical changes were studied in ripening prickly pears from three Opuntia morphospecies with different ripening behaviour: Naranjona (O. ficus-indica), Blanca Cristalina (Opuntia sp.), and Charola (O. streptacantha), of early, intermediate, and late ripening, respectively. At fullyripe stage (commercial maturity), Blanca Cristalina showed the biggest fruits, the hardest texture, and its pulp had the highest protein content. There were no significant differences among morphospecies in pH or total soluble solids in fully ripe fruits. The three species exhibited considerable levels of vitamin C, dietary fibre, and minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc. Protein expression was analysed in pulp and skin from every species at physiological and commercial maturity. Some proteins appeared at both stages, while many others expressed differentially. This study evaluated prickly pear components important for human nutrition and health, and provided basic information on pricky pear ripening, with a view to its control and to improving shelf life.