Health Sciences Research Centre

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Plant-Based Beverages: Consumption Habits, Perception and Knowledge on a Sample of Portuguese Citizens

Publication . Anjos, Ofélia; Pires, Patrícia C.; Gonçalves, Joana D.; Estevinho, Leticia M.; Mendonça, António G.; Guiné, Raquel P.F.

Plant-based beverages (PBB) consumption has increased significantly worldwide due to an interest in vegetarian/vegan diets, taste preferences, health and ethical and environmental issues. Therefore, this study intends to investigate consumption habits, consumer preferences and consumers’ level of knowledge about PBB. In this study, a voluntary, anonymous questionnaire survey was applied to a sample of participants from Portugal. The sample was recruited by convenience, and therefore, the distribution among the groups was not even. Data analysis involved different statistical techniques: basic statistics, chi-square tests, factor analysis, cluster analysis and tree classification analysis. The results indicated that the most consumed PBB were almond, soy and oat beverages. The majority of consumers chose these beverages for nutritional and health reasons, while a smaller number consumed them as part of a vegetarian or vegan diet. The main motivations for consuming PBB are mainly associated with sustainability and health benefits. The results regarding the respondents’ knowledge about PBB revealed that a health-related profession was the most significant predictor. These results allowed us to conclude that the factors of nutrition, health, ethics and practice of a vegetarian/vegan diet influence the consumption of PBB. It was also concluded that being in a healthcare profession, along with age and professional status within this field, were significant factors influencing the level of knowledge about PBB.

2024Journal article

Open access

Antibiotic resistance in the drinking water: old and new strategies to remove antibiotics, resistant bacteria, and resistance genes

Publication . Duarte, Ana Catarina; Rodrigues, Sílvia; Afonso, Andrea Luísa Fernandes; Nogueira, António José M.; Coutinho, Paula Isabel

Bacterial resistance is a naturally occurring process. However, bacterial antibiotic resistance has emerged as a major public health problem in recent years. The accumulation of antibiotics in the environment, including in wastewaters and drinking water, has contributed to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria and the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Such can be justified by the growing consumption of antibiotics and their inadequate elimination. The conventional water treatments are ineffective in promoting the complete elimination of antibiotics and bacteria, mainly in removing ARGs. Therefore, ARGs can be horizontally transferred to other microorganisms within the aquatic environment, thus promoting the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. In this review, we discuss the efficiency of conventional water treatment processes in removing agents that can spread/stimulate the development of antibiotic resistance and the promising strategies for water remediation, mainly those based on nanotechnology and microalgae. Despite the potential of some of these approaches, the elimination of ARGs remains a challenge that requires further research. Moreover, the development of new processes must avoid the release of new contaminants for the environment, such as the chemicals resulting from nanomaterials synthesis, and consider the utilization of green and eco-friendly alternatives such as biogenic nanomaterials and microalgae-based technologies.

2022Journal article

Open access