Page 19 - PR 2014 2016 07 Nuclear Science and Technology

Nuclear Science and Technology | Progress Report 161

Determination of iron supplementation nus occurs throughout Neotropics. In Brazil,
in food fortification using X-ray it is found in the northeastern, mainly in the
fluorescence technique Barra do Corda County (Maranhão). A Tubi
hive has around ten thousand bees; at least
Anemia, due to iron-deficiency in the World, is double the population found in hives of other
a public health problem that affects especially Brazilian species. They are not large producers
poor women and children (~ 8.8 % of the popu- of honey, but they are very efficient produc-
lation). If it occurs in early childhood and infan- ers of pollen (8 kg/year) and propolis (1.5 kg/
cy, it causes impair cognitive performance in year). Specifically, the propolis produced by
language skill, motor ability and coordination. this bee has several medical applications: it
Anemia in Brazil is a public health problem due is used in the healing of wounds with an in-
to iron-deficiency. In the last decade, according flammatory process, in treatment of prostate
to National Health Surveillance Agency (AN- tumors and has activity against herpes and
VISA), several strategies have been adopted for rubella viruses. Considering its importance
preventing iron deficiency in the Brazilian pop- in medicinal use and the great variability in
ulation, such as, the food fortification. However, relation to botanical origin, its standardization
this dysfunction is still a public health problem: in relation to the dosage of inorganic elements,
the prevalence among children under 5 years’ it is important to meet the different medical
old and pregnant women is in a range of 20-40 applications. The objective of this investigation
%. Recent studies have shown that Fe supple- was to perform its multielemental charac-
mentation is still inappropriately used: much terization using Neutron Activation Analysis
iron fortified food does not reach the minimum and X-ray fluorescence technique techniques.
amount (8md/day) or exceed the recommend- Several collections were performed after each
ed limit (44mg/day). Among the food highly flowering, because several factors influence the
consumed by the Brazilian population, wheat composition of propolis, such as: the collection
flour is a target of nutritional interest (forti- site, the season, plants (trees and / or flowers)
fied food with Fe). The application of a fast and if the bee makes use of the land. These
and precise methodology to iron evaluation data increase the knowledge of its inorganic
becomes necessary. In this research, various components and can introduce improvements
brands commercially available were evaluated in the production of these extracts of propolis,
using X-ray fluorescence technique (EDFRX). mainly as regards to toxicity.
The results were compared with the minimum
amount recommended and with the tolerable Applied Nuclear Physics,
intake limit. The results obtained show that in Instrumentation and
some cases it is in serious disagreement with
the established limits. Scientific Computing

Elemental characterization of the extract Instrumentation
of propolis produced by Scaptotrigona
Aff. postica bee from Brazil The measurement of short-lived isotopes often
requires a compromise: either the source is
The Scaptotrigona Aff Postica bee (Tubi) spe- placed close to the detector, implying in pile-
cies is an insect stingless belonging to Apidae up problems in the first half-lives, or farther,
family and subfamily Meliponinae. This ge- but then the count rates decrease quickly after