Recent evidence suggests that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat is beneficial for cardiovascular health. This study compared the effects of Brazil nut oil (BNO) and soybean oil (SO) supplementation for 30 days on anthropometric, blood pressure, biochemical, and oxidative parameters in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS). Thirty-one patients with MS were randomly allocated to receive 30 sachets with 10 mL each of either BNO (n = 15) or SO (n = 16) for daily supplementation. Variables were measured at the beginning of the study and after 30 days of intervention. No change in anthropometric and blood pressure variables were observed (p > 0.05). Total (p = 0.0253) and low-density lipoprotein (p = 0.0437) cholesterol increased in the SO group. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased (p = 0.0087) and triglycerides increased (p = 0.0045) in the BNO group. Malondialdehyde levels decreased in the BNO group (p = 0.0296) and total antioxidant capacity improved in the SO group (p = 0.0110). Although the addition of oils without lifestyle interventions did not affect anthropometric findings or blood pressure and promoted undesirable results in the lipid profile in both groups, daily supplementation of BNO for 30 days decreased lipid peroxidation, contributing to oxidative stress reduction.

Malaria infection can cause high oxidative stress, which could lead to the development of severe forms of malaria, such as pulmonary malaria. In recent years, the role of reactive oxygen species in the pathogenesis of the disease has been discussed, as well as the potential benefit of antioxidants supplementation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or mushroom Agaricus sylvaticus supplementation on the pulmonary oxidative changes in an experimental model of malaria caused by Plasmodium berghei strain ANKA. Swiss male mice were infected with P. berghei and treated with NAC or AS. Samples of lung tissue and whole blood were collected after one, three, five, seven or ten days of infection for the assessment of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), nitrites and nitrates (NN) and to assess the degree of parasitaemia. Although parasitaemia increased progressively with the evolution of the disease in all infected groups, there was a significant decrease from the seventh to the tenth day of infection in both antioxidant-supplemented groups. Results showed significant higher levels of TEAC in both supplemented groups, the highest occurring in the group supplemented with A. sylvaticus. In parallel, TBARS showed similar levels among all groups, while levels of NN were higher in animals supplemented with NAC in relation to the positive control groups and A. sylvaticus, whose levels were similar to the negative control group. Oxidative stress arising from plasmodial infection was attenuated by supplementation of both antioxidants, but A. sylvaticus proved to be more effective and has the potential to become an important tool in the adjuvant therapy of malaria.