Introduction: On the eleventh of March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic by the number of cases and deaths worldwide: more than 91.1 million confirmed cases and approx. 1.9 million deaths globally, as of date. The aims of this systematic review were to identify and to evaluate the reports associated on Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 pandemic in America. Methodology: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were adopted for searching reports published from December 2019 to September 2020, regarding “COVID-19 KAP” across six electronic databases. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were taken up to select the articles and focus to the topic. Results: Thirteen scientific papers were finally eligible and included in this systematic review. The surveys were directed to common citizens, healthcare workers and patients with chronic conditions. General public acquired information about COVID-19 mainly through social media; several misconceptions due to falsehoods circulating on-line were identified. The pandemic COVID-19 has severely affected the physical and emotional health of many people in America. Nevertheless, many American citizens do not recognize or have poor knowledge about COVID-19 risks. Conclusions: This systematic review brings information for governments and scientific community that may be useful in the development of official awareness and prevention campaigns aiming mainly at marginated groups of the society.

Due to their antioxidant properties, polyphenolic compounds are considered beneficial for human health. In this work, we investigated the polyphenol profile and antioxidant activity of edible tejocote (Crataegus pubescens) fruit extracts by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and HPLC/UV. The major phenolic compounds in the pulp extracts were (+)-catechin (9.17 ± 0.20 mg/100 mg dry fruit), (−)-epicatechin (4.32 ± 0.11 mg/100 mg dry fruit), and chlorogenic acid (5.60 ± 0.24 mg/100 mg dry fruit). The total phenolic content was 168.6 ± 0.9 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry fruit; the total proanthocyanidin content was 84.6 ± 1.4 mg cyanidin/100 g dry fruit; and the total flavonoid content was 55.89 ± 1.43 mg quercetin/g dry fruit. Interestingly, procyanidins (dimers, trimers, and tetramers of (−)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin) were detected in the extract. This is the first study reporting the presence of polymeric polyphenols in Crataegus pubescens fruit. Accordingly, these fruits demonstrate great potential as a natural source of antioxidant phenolic compounds and could therefore be used as a nutraceutical and functional food.

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Background: Giardia spp. is the most common protozoan found in coproparasitoscopic tests; it is the cause of gastrointestinal discomfort, with a high prevalence in children and in low-income areas. This systematic review updates available literature on molecular identification of Giardia spp. in Latin America during 2017 to 2021. Methodology: The guidelines established in Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) were used; the study covers the period from January 1, 2017 to October 03, 2021; the search focused on the “molecular identification of Giardia spp. in Latin America” in six different scientific databases. The material found was reviewed to select only those papers that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: The search yielded 1036 publications, but only 19 investigations in 6 countries (Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, and Venezuela) met the selection criteria. Most were cross-sectional studies carried out in school-age children, the dominant assemblages were A and B while the most frequent subassemblages were AII, BIII and BIV, the most used target genes were tpi and gdh, the prevalence by molecular methods was higher regarding microscopy, the countries with the highest prevalence percentages for Giardiosis were Brazil and Cuba. Conclusions: More Latin America countries need to generate data of prevalence, incidence, and intensity of Giardiosis. Studies are also needed to estimate the costs of Giardiosis on economic productivity and public health. The present systematic review offers evidence based on the current literature available for the molecular identification of Giardia spp. in Latin America during 2017 to 2021.