Browsing by Author "Pinto, Ana"
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- Microbiological characterization of different formulations of alheiras (fermented sausages)Publication . Silva, Julieta; Barbosa, Joana; Albano, Helena; Sequeira, Maria; Pinto, Ana; Bonito, Conceição Costa; Saraiva, Margarida; Teixeira, PaulaDifferent ingredients in old recipes are becoming popular and the traditional alheira did not escape to this new trend. The objective of this preliminary study was to characterize microbiologically nine different formulations of alheira from five producers. In this sense, isolates obtained were characterized through different phenotypic and biochemical tests. Their susceptibility to different antimicrobials and the presence of virulence factors was also investigated. Lactic acid bacteria were the predominant microbiota, but pathogenic bacteria as coagulase-positive staphylococci, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. as well as indicator organisms were also found. Several virulence factors were produced among the different groups of isolates, with a high incidence of isolates producing β-haemolysis. Along with their potential pathogenic activity, also several antimicrobial resistances were found being the majority of isolates classified as multi-resistant. At our knowledge, this is the first study with these new formulations of alheira. A higher number of products must be analyzed, but we believe that results obtained in this study should help to alert consumers for the need of safe cooking time/temperatures of these products.
- Perturbações de ansiedade na infância – a perceção das crianças e dos paisPublication . Barroca, Inês; Riggi, Giullia; Pinto, Ana; Fong, Paula; Reis, Rosália; Pereira, Paulo; Soares, Ana Rita; Dieudonné, Volker; Maia, GeorginaAs perturbações de ansiedade estão entre as condições psiquiátricas da infância e adolescência mais comuns, condicionando uma redução do funcionamento global da criança, a nível académico, familiar e social, assim como um risco aumentado para patologias psiquiátricas comórbidas ao longo de toda a sua vida. O objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar a perceção das crianças e dos seus pais em relação à prevalência das perturbações de ansiedade e possíveis fatores associados. A população estudada envolveu todos os alunos do 5º ano de escolaridade do Agrupamento de Escolas Grão Vasco e os respetivos pais. Como instrumentos de medida foram utilizados os questionários SCARED-R, versão para crianças e versão para pais, respetivamente. Foi realizada análise da consistência interna de escalas, estatística descritiva, teste t-Student, teste ANOVA e teste do Qui-quadrado, tendo sido considerados significativos os valores de p<0.05. Verificou-se que, globalmente, as crianças referem níveis de ansiedade superiores àqueles percecionados pelos seus pais, com uma prevalência de 19% segundo as respostas das crianças, mas de apenas 9% segundo a perceção dos pais. De forma geral, não houve relação significativa com a idade, sexo ou nível de desempenho escolar, embora pareça haver uma predominância do sexo masculino e uma relação inversa entre os níveis de ansiedade das crianças e o seu desempenho escolar. Desta forma, consideram-se necessárias medidas psicoeducativas destinadas a aumentar o reconhecimento destas condições por parte dos cuidadores, de maneira a instaurar precocemente o tratamento adequado e reduzir o compromisso funcional associado, a curto e longo prazo.
- Prevalência de excesso de peso e obesidade em crianças de 2 escolas básicas do agrupamento de escolas de Leça da Palmeira/Santa Cruz do BispoPublication . Matos, Nídia; Fernandes, Cátia; Oliveira, Inês; Pinto, Ana; Festas, ConstançaIntrodução: Segundo a Organização Mundial de Saúde a obesidade é considerada a epidemia global do século XXI. O Plano Nacional de Saúde apresenta como estratégia a mudança centrada no cidadão, que se encontra diretamente relacionada com a prevenção da obesidade e a promoção de comportamentos e estilos saudáveis. No que se refere à obesidade infantil, o Programa Nacional de Combate à Obesidade, preconiza que a intervenção ocorra ao nível da educação para a saúde na escola e envolvendo as famílias nas adequadas escolhas alimentares. Atualmente existem, em todo o mundo, cerca de 150 milhões de crianças em idade escolar com excesso de peso, entendendo-se por este conceito, crianças que apresentam um valor de índice de massa corporal entre o percentil 85 e 95, da quais 45 milhões são obesas, ou seja, o valor de índice de massa corporal é superior a 95.
- Screening of bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria and their characterization as potential probioticsPublication . Pinto, Ana; Barbosa, Joana; Albano, Helena; Isidro, Joana; Teixeira, PaulaProbiotics are living microorganisms used as nutritional additives that confer health benefits on the host. Their use in food products is very attractive, especially if they could also inhibit important foodborne athogens. In this study, antimicrobial activity against several foodborne pathogens was screened for 280 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from di erent food products and the probiotic characteristics of bacteriocinogenic isolates were evaluated. Seven out of 280 LAB isolates were selected due to their bacteriocinogenic properties and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis as Pediococcus pentosaceus (n = 6) and Lactobacillus plantarum (n = 1). Virulence factors and antibiotic resistances were not detected for any of the isolates. Except for L. plantarum R23, all the isolates were able to survive through the simulated gastrointestinal tract conditions. Only P. pentosaceus CFF4 was able to adhere to Caco-2 cells after the simulated gastrointestinal tract passage. In conclusion, even though in vivo studies should be performed, P. pentosaceus CFF4, which was also able to inhibit the growth of foodborne pathogens in vitro, seems to be a potential probiotic to be used in the food industry.
- Screening of bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria cultures and their characterization as potential probioticsPublication . Pinto, Ana; Barbosa, Joana; Albano, Helena; Teixeira, Paula
- Screening of bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria cultures and their characterization as potential probioticsPublication . Pinto, Ana; Barbosa, Joana; Albano, Helena; Teixeira, PaulaIntroduction: Ingestion of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been pointed out to confer a range of health benefits, including the immune system stimulation, reduction of infectious illness, among others (Harzallah and Belhadj 2013). Food products containing probiotics should follow the guidelines established by FAO/WHO (2001). In general, probiotics have to be harmless to the host, they cannot be pathogenic, mutagenic or carcinogenic, allergenic or provoke any type of adverse reactions. For commercial purposes, potential probiotics need to be subjected to several tests: i) to the level of safety: origin, screening and selection of probiotics in terms of phenotype and genotype pathogenicity; ii) to the level of functionality: probiotics should be tolerant to acid and bile and possess intestinal epithelial adhesion properties; iii) to the level of technology: tests for genetically stable strains are required for large-scale production and iv) to the physiological level: immunomodulation, cholesterol metabolism, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties are needed assays. The aim of this study was to select different bacteriocinogenic LAB isolated from different food products and study some of their probiotic characteristics in terms of safety, functional and physiological properties. Discussion & Conclusion: From all the 280 LAB isolates tested, only seven showed bacteriocinogenic activity and were selected for further studies. These isolates were identified as P. pentosaceus (6) and L. plantarum (1). All the isolates lacked intrinsic virulence factors and no antibiotic resistances were detected phenotypically. Also, all the isolates survived through the simulated gastrointestinal tract conditions, except L. plantarum R23, which growth was reduced in more than 2 log cycles. On the other hand, only P. pentosaceus CFF4 was able to adhere to Caco-2 cells (11 % of adherence after the simulated gastrointestinal tract passage). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that, at least one isolate, P. pentosaceus CFF4, presented the most attributes to be a potential probiotic bacterium; however, more studies must be carried out to validate this potential.