Resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene; CHO) is a polyphenolic phytoalexin found in grapes, berries, peanuts, and wines. Resveratrol has been viewed as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anticancer agent. Moreover, it has been reported that resveratrol modulates mitochondrial function, redox biology, and dynamics in both in vitro and in vivo experimental models. Resveratrol also attenuates mitochondrial impairment induced by certain stressors. Resveratrol upregulates, for example, mitochondria-located antioxidant enzymes, decreasing the production of reactive species by these organelles. Resveratrol also triggers mitochondrial biogenesis, ameliorating the mitochondria-related bioenergetics status in mammalian cells. In the present work, we discuss about the effects of resveratrol on brain mitochondria. Brain cells (both neuronal and glial) are susceptible to mitochondrial dysfunction due to their high demand for adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Additionally, brain cells consume oxygen (O) at very high rates, leading to a proportionally high mitochondrial production of reactive species. Therefore, strategies focusing on the maintenance of mitochondrial function in these cell types are of pharmacological interest in the case of neurodegenerative diseases, which involve mitochondrial impairment and increased generation of reactive species, leading to neuroinflammation and cell death. The mechanism by which resveratrol protects mitochondrial function and dynamics is not completely understood, and further research would be necessary in order to investigate exactly how resveratrol affects mitochondria-related parameters. Furthermore, it is particularly important because resveratrol is able to induce cytotoxicity depending on its dosage.

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Objective To assess the epidemiological and toxicological profile of all suicide victims in 2017 in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Methods The victims were classified by gender, age, parental absence, city, suicide form, death context, and toxicological results, using the police occurrences and the reports issued by the Instituto-Geral de Perícias do RS. Multiple correspondence analysis and the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel X 2 test were used to evaluate associations between the parameters studied. Results There were 1,284 suicides (11.3 cases/100,000 inhabitants) in RS in 2017, 80% of which were men and 46% were young and old. Porto Alegre had the highest number of victims and the region of the Vale do Rio Pardo, the highest rate (20.8 cases/100,000 inhabitants). The hanging was the most used medium and the depression, the most mentioned context in the occurrences. The presence of ethanol was observed in 30% of the samples analyzed, with an adult male profile associated with the presence of other psychotropic substances, whose class was most frequently detected with anxiolytics. The nitrite was the most detected poison among the samples sent for this purpose. There was an association between parental absence and young people, between suicidal intoxication method and women and among young people and the presence of illicit compounds. Conclusion Mortality due to suicide continues to increase in RS, which, historically, has the highest Brazilian index. The information obtained in this study supports new research, promoting awareness raising, guidance to health services and the elaboration of more preventive public policies.

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The organosulfur compound sulforaphane (SFN; C 6 H 11 NOS 2) is a potent cytoprotective agent promoting antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiglycative, and antimicrobial effects in in vitro and in vivo experimental models. Mitochondria are the major site of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production due to the work of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system. They are also the main site of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in nucleated human cells. Mitochondrial impairment is central in several human diseases, including neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders. In this paper, we describe and discuss the effects and mechanisms of action by which SFN modulates mitochondrial function and dynamics in mammalian cells. Mitochondria-related pro-apoptotic effects promoted by SFN in tumor cells are also discussed. SFN may be considered a cytoprotective agent, at least in part, because of the effects this organosulfur agent induces in mitochondria. Nonetheless, there are certain points that should be addressed in further experiments, indicated here as future directions, which may help researchers in this field of research.