Ketogenic diets influence brain function and have been therapeutically used for anti-epileptic purposes. We investigated the effects of maternal ketogenic diets on the development of somatic and reflex responses in rat pups. These were born from mothers receiving: (i) normal fat (7%) + normal protein (17%); (ii) high-fat (55.4%) + normal protein; (iii) normal fat + low protein (8%); and (iv) high-fat + low protein (respectively, called N-17, K-17, N-8 and K-8). Ketogenic diets, but not the normal-fat diets, delayed the development of reflex and somatic responses. The effects were more evident when the ketogenic diet was associated with low protein content. The results suggest that fat excess can alter brain maturation, and this action is intensified by early protein-deficiency. Data raise concerns about the therapeutic use of ketogenic diets in newborn children.

The supply of goat's milk offered to Wistar rats during pregnancy and lactation provided a variety of fatty acids necessary to accelerate the development of offspring.

1051 tigada a concentração de extrato com efeito bioativo, pelo teste de evolução da toxicidade do extrato etanólico de J. mollissima sobre o microcrustáceo Artemia salina, obtendo uma CL50 de 660,80µg/ml, que foi testada em coproculturas contendo larvas infectantes de Haemonchus contortus e em animais para a verificação da redução do OPG. Para o teste in vivo o extrato foi dissolvido em água para se obter as concentrações 660,80µg/ml e 1321,6µg/ml, foram coletadas fezes semanalmente e sangue quinzenalmente. This study aimed to evaluate the anthelmintic effect of Jatropha mollissima through in vitro and in vivo experiments. Initially we investigated the concentration of extract with bioactive effect, through the toxicity evolution test of the ethanol extract of J. mollissima on the microcrustacean Artemia salina, obtaining CL50 concentration of 660.80µg/ml, which was tested in fecal cultures containing infective larvae of Haemonchus contortus and in animals for the verification of OPG reduction. For in vivo test, the extract was dissolved in water to obtain concentrations of 660.80µg/ml and 1321.6µg/ml. Feces were collected weekly and blood was collected every fifteen days. As a result of in vitro test, the ethanol extract of the stem of J. mollissima proved toxic on A. salina, with CL50 less than 1000µg/ ml and inhibited the eggs hatching and the development of larvae of H. contortus, presenting an efficiency of 70.77%. In vivo test revealed that the extract is also effective in sheep, with a significant reduction in the count of OPG after 28 days of experiment, 47 and 44% of reduction in the groups treated with the extract, 7.5% in the untreated group of animals and 40.6% with ivermectin. Even parasitized, the animals remained clinically healthy and without anemia. The ethanol extract of the stem of Jatropha mollissima may represent an alternative to the control of sheep worms, because it slows the parasitic resistance.

Os avanços tecnológicos têm aumentado o número de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos, seja nas residências ou mesmo no ambiente de trabalho, fazendo com que a população conviva com grande número de fontes de irradiação eletromagnética, com os mais diversos níveis de potência e freqüência. Por muitos anos, alguns cientistas e engenheiros acreditaram que o campo eletromagnético (CEM) com freqüência extremamente baixa não pudesse causar efeitos e alterações significantes no material biológico. O objetivo deste trabalho é verificar os possíveis efeitos adversos dos CEMs em humanos e animais, que foram publicados nos últimos anos, através de uma revisão da literatura disponível em Medline, revistas nacionais e internacionais e catálogos de obras de referência na área dos CEM (50/60 Hz). Como resultado foi observado que o CEM (50/60 Hz) é capaz de produzir diversos efeitos adversos em humanos e animais, como por exemplo: distúrbios na reprodução, doenças degenerativas, efeitos psiquiátricos e psicológicos, alterações citogenéticas, alterações no sistema cardiovascular, nervoso e neuroendócrino, bem como nos parâmetros biológicos e bioquímicos. Apesar de todas estas constatações e devido a muitas controvérsias entre vários autores, faz-se necessário um estudo mais específico e aprofundado sobre o assunto.

The purpose of this research was to test the main anthelmintic drugs, such as Avermectins, Benzimidazoles, Imidazothiazoles, Tetrahydropyrimidines and Salicylanilides, used for the control of gastrointestinal nematodes in bovines on cattle ranches in the semiarid region of the state of Paraíba, Brazil. This study involved 40 animals per ranch, making a total of 200 animals of mixed breeds, varying in age from 12 to 36 months, with eggs per gram of faeces (EPG) >500. The anthelmintics were administered to the animals on day zero in a single dose, following the manufacturers' instructions. To determine the Fecal Egg-Count Reduction Test (RFEG), fecal samples were collected directly from the rectum on day zero and fourteen days after the beginning of the experiment. Among the various tested drugs, only Doramectin exhibited efficient performance (95.5%), surpassing that of ivermectin (81.5%). The results achieved with the other drugs were considered insufficient, since their efficiency was lower than 80%. The highest parasitic load was presented by the genus Haemonchus spp., with an average of 87%±0.06 on day zero and 90±0.04% after 14 days.Palavras-chave: Anthelmintic resistance, nematode, bovine, Haemonchus Múltiplas resistências de nematóides gastrintestinais aos grupos de antihelmínticos em bovinos do Semiárido da Paraíba, BrasilResumo Objetivo da pesquisa foi testar os principais anti-helmínticos utilizados para o controle de nematóides gastrintestinais de bovinos como as avermectinas, benzimidazóis, imidozotiazóis, tetrahidropirimidinas e, salicilanilidas em fazendas produtivas da mesorregião sertaneja do estado da Paraíba. Foram utilizados 40 bovinos por propriedade, totalizando 200 animais, com idades variando entre 12 e 36 meses, sem padrão racial definido, com OPG > 500. Os anti-helmínticos foram administrados aos animais no dia zero, em dose única, de acordo com a dosagem pré-estabelecida pelos fabricantes. Para a determinação da Redução da Contagem de Ovos Fecais (RCOF), amostras de fezes foram coletadas diretamente da ampola retal dos animais no dia zero e quatorze dias após o início do experimento. Dentre as drogas testadas, apenas a doramectina foi a única que apresentou resultado efetivo (955%) superando ao da ivermectina (81,5%). As demais drogas testadas apresentaram resultados considerados insuficientes, por apresentar eficiência inferior a 80%. O gênero Haemonchus spp. foi o parasita que apresentou maior prevalência da carga parasitária com média de 87% ±0,06 no dia zero e 90%±0,04 após 14 dias.

The present study aimed to evaluate the anthelmintic effect of Carapa guianensis (andiroba) on gastrointestinal nematodes in sheep naturally infected in the Western Amazon. Toxicity tests with Artemia salina identified that the ethanolic extracts of the root and stem of andiroba showed an LC50% equal to 530 μg ml-1 and 170 μg ml-1, respectively. As concentrations 1.06mg / ml (andiroba root) and 0.34mg ml-1 (andiroba stem) were tested in groups of crossbred sheep, eaten from four to six months and weighing approximately 19.9 kg naturally infected by gastrintestinal nematodes. In addition, there will be a total of two treated groups and two control groups (negative and positive - 7.5% closantel). Foram extracts applied orally in a single treatment days 1,2,3,4,15,16,17,18. Or treatment lasted 30 days. Samples of fezes and blood foram collected at intervals of seven and 15 days respectively to assess the parasitic and hematological profile. The results showed a reduction in parasitic load of 86% and 59%, respectively, for the root and stem of andiroba in egg count per gram of feces, while in the group treated with closantel 7.5% the reduction was 66%. Regarding the number of third stage larvae recovered from sheep after treatment, it was observed that the groups treated with andiroba root and stem differed (p < 0.05) from the control group, with a reduction in the percentage of larvae from 70 and 55%, respectively. The phytochemical tests in the present study revealed the presence of bioactive metabolites that may be responsible for the anthelmintic activity. As for the hematocrit, there was no statistical difference in its values in the groups treated with andiroba root and stem, that is, in some way there was interference on the adult forms of the nematodes that compromised the hematophagism. Therefore, the extract of Carapa guianensis has anthelmintic potential, being a good alternative in the control of sheep endoparasitosis.

No abstract

The aim of the present study was to observe how the exposition of the pregnant rats to the electromagnetic field (EMF), with frequency of 60 Hz, magnetic field of 3 microT for 2 h per day and/or using the so-called regional basic diet (RBD) influenced the reflex maturation in their offspring. Four groups were formed: Group A (casein), B (casein and EMF), C (RBD) and D (RBD and EMF). The diet manipulation occurred during the pregnancy. The reflexes--assessed daily between 12:00 and 14:00--were: palm grasp (PG), righting reflex (RR), cliff avoidance (CA), vibrissae placing (VP), negative geotaxis (NG), auditory startle (AS) and free-fall righting (FFR). The association between EMF and deficient diet caused a delay in all reflexes when compared with Group A. When the diets were compared with both groups exposed to EMF, the delay occurred in the RR, VP, NG and CA in Group D. In the Groups C and A, the delay was observed in RR, CA, VP, NG, AS and PG. In relation to the EMF, Group B differed from Group A in CA, AS, FFR and PG and Group D differed from C in the PG. In conclusion, all the reflexes studied in this research were delayed by the association of the EMF with undernutrition during pregnancy.