Abstract Airborne fungi are dispersed through the air. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of airborne fungi in Brazil and understand the relationship between fungal growth and respiratory diseases and infections. We conducted an integrative literature review of studies conducted in Brazil based on searches of the PubMed, MEDLINE-BIREME, SciELO, and LILACS databases for full-text articles published between 2000 and 2022. The searches returned 147 studies, of which only 25 met the inclusion criteria. The most prevalent genera of airborne fungi in Brazil are Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Curvularia, and Fusarium. The studies were conducted in the states of Maranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Sergipe, Mato Grosso, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais. The findings also show the relationship between fungi and meteorological factors and seasonality, the sensitivity of atopic individuals to fungi, and the main nosocomial mycoses reported in the literature. This work demonstrates the importance of maintaining good microbiological air quality to prevent potential airborne diseases.

Resumo Fungos anemófilos se dispersam na natureza através do ar atmosférico. O presente estudo objetivou caracterizar a prevalência da microbiota fúngica anemófila no Brasil e correlacionar o crescimento fúngico com doenças respiratórias e quadros infecciosos. Este trabalho é uma revisão integrativa de literatura construída a partir da busca nas bases de dados PubMed, BIREME, SciELO e LILACS, com inclusão de trabalhos brasileiros publicados entre 2000 e 2022, em língua portuguesa ou inglesa com texto online integral. O universo do estudo foi constituído por 147 publicações, das quais 25 compuseram a amostra por atenderem aos critérios de inclusão. Os gêneros de fungos aerotransportados mais prevalentes no Brasil são: Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp., Curvularia sp. e Fusarium sp. Os locais de origem dos estudos incluem Maranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Sergipe, Mato Grosso, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais. Além disso, foi possível determinar a relação dos fungos com parâmetros meteorológicos e sazonalidade, a sensibilização de indivíduos atópicos aos fungos e as principais micoses nosocomiais relatadas na literatura. Assim, o trabalho destaca a importância da manutenção da qualidade microbiológica do ar com vistas a se prevenir possíveis doenças transmitidas pelo ar.

Abstract Airborne fungi are dispersed through the air. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of airborne fungi in Brazil and understand the relationship between fungal growth and respiratory diseases and infections. We conducted an integrative literature review of studies conducted in Brazil based on searches of the PubMed, MEDLINE-BIREME, SciELO, and LILACS databases for full-text articles published between 2000 and 2022. The searches returned 147 studies, of which only 25 met the inclusion criteria. The most prevalent genera of airborne fungi in Brazil are Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Curvularia, and Fusarium. The studies were conducted in the states of Maranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Sergipe, Mato Grosso, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais. The findings also show the relationship between fungi and meteorological factors and seasonality, the sensitivity of atopic individuals to fungi, and the main nosocomial mycoses reported in the literature. This work demonstrates the importance of maintaining good microbiological air quality to prevent potential airborne diseases.

Resumo Fungos anemófilos se dispersam na natureza através do ar atmosférico. O presente estudo objetivou caracterizar a prevalência da microbiota fúngica anemófila no Brasil e correlacionar o crescimento fúngico com doenças respiratórias e quadros infecciosos. Este trabalho é uma revisão integrativa de literatura construída a partir da busca nas bases de dados PubMed, BIREME, SciELO e LILACS, com inclusão de trabalhos brasileiros publicados entre 2000 e 2022, em língua portuguesa ou inglesa com texto online integral. O universo do estudo foi constituído por 147 publicações, das quais 25 compuseram a amostra por atenderem aos critérios de inclusão. Os gêneros de fungos aerotransportados mais prevalentes no Brasil são: Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp., Curvularia sp. e Fusarium sp. Os locais de origem dos estudos incluem Maranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Sergipe, Mato Grosso, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais. Além disso, foi possível determinar a relação dos fungos com parâmetros meteorológicos e sazonalidade, a sensibilização de indivíduos atópicos aos fungos e as principais micoses nosocomiais relatadas na literatura. Assim, o trabalho destaca a importância da manutenção da qualidade microbiológica do ar com vistas a se prevenir possíveis doenças transmitidas pelo ar.

ABSTRACT Geopropolis is produced by some stingless bee species such as Melipona fasciculata and consists of a mixture of plant resins, salivary secretions of the bee, wax, and soil. This study evaluated the antileishmanial activity in vitro, cytotoxicity and chemical composition of geopropolis produced by M. fasciculata in the savannah region of Maranhão, Brazil. The geopropolis extract was obtained through maceration using in 70% ethanol. The hydroalcoholic extract of geopropolis after liquid–liquid partition yielded the hexane, chloroformic, ethyl acetate and hydroalcoholic fractions. Antileishmanial activity was evaluated against promastigote and intracellular amastigote of Leishmania amazonensis. Cytotoxic was realized in BALB/c mice peritoneal macrophages. Chemical analysis was performed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography coupled to an ultraviolet–visible detector. The geopropolis inhibited the L. amazonensis promastigotes growth and was effective in reducing the infection of murine macrophages since the number of internalized amastigotes were smaller in cells treated with the geopropolis extract in relation to the untreated group. The ethyl acetate fraction was the most active and showed the highest index of selectivity as antileishmanial product. The geopropolis from M. fasciculata had an antileishmanial effect, mainly after the obtention of the ethyl acetate fraction that improved the activity without increasing the cytotoxicity against murine macrophages. Analysis for gas chromatography-mass spectrometer identified as main compounds the gallic and ellagic phenolic acids, either in the extract or in the active fraction. The results obtained by high performance liquid chromatography it was possible to confirm the presence and quantify the concentration gallic and ellagic acid either in the extract or in the active fraction. These results suggest that the antileishmanial activity of geopropolis is related to the presence of derivatives of these phenolic acids, mainly gallic and ellagic acids.