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In June 2021, Brazil has become the 130th member of the Nagoya Protocol (NP). This brings both challenges and opportunities. Despite being a megadiverse country with approximately 50 thousand documented flora species, its biodiversity remains virtually untapped due to insufficient mapping and research programs, inefficient governmental support and lack of cooperation with emerging biodiversity markets. Here, we explore opportunities and challenges for Brazil as a new member of the NP. We present ways forward for Brazil to shift from an unprocessed native species resource provider to a developer of new products based on the genetic resources from the wide range of its native species. We stress the need for finding a balance between material and immaterial values of biodiversity. In addition, we call for investments to develop knowledge (taxonomy, conservation, sustainable use), alternative market niches, infrastructure, skills, regulatory frameworks and efficient operational structures. As science and technology continue to develop novel modes for the use of biodiversity, it is important to monitor those developments to ensure that benefits are returned and reinvested in the wellbeing of traditional communities where the biodiversity knowledge originated. To achieve this goal, the country must develop its National Benefit Sharing Fund aimed at supporting the roots of biodiversity knowledge.

Significant research efforts have been devoted to characterizing smallholding productive systems and assessing the relative contribution of small-scale farming to global food production. However, there is a noted paucity of studies addressing the determinants of and contributors to income generation of smallholders around the world, particularly in the Amazon forest. Moreover, while road development in the Amazon has been heavily discussed, the impacts of infrastructure projects, such as road paving, on smallholders’ livelihoods remain uncertain. Here we explore the relevance of agriculture, livestock rearing and collection of non-timber forest products (NTFP) as income providers of smallholders in the Amazon forest in Madre de Dios-Peru, after the paving of Interoceanic South Highway (ISH), a large infrastructural project connecting Acre state in Brazil with Cusco in Peru. We interviewed 62 smallholder families in an area of 403 km2 along the road from Inapari to Mazuko near the tri-national border of Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. We applied a multinomial statistical model to estimate the proportion of annual net revenue related to each productive system from selected predictor variables. Our results show that smallholders’ net revenue originates from a mix of productive systems including agriculture (rice, corn), livestock rearing (cows) and others (poultry, pigs, sheep) as well as NTFP extractivist activities (Brazil nut). Average net revenue is of USD 35.2 ± 25.7 ha−1yr−1 suggesting that economic returns to smallholders remain low even after the paving of ISH. This indicates that connection with markets alone is not sufficient to increase rents of smallholder families.

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) contribute to the livelihoods of more than 6 million households in the Brazilian Amazon. Of the three most important NTFPs in the Brazilian Amazon – rubber, Brazil nut, and acai – the latter is the least known, but the one with the most potential and fastest growing markets. Here we map the socioecology of acai extractive systems in the Western Amazon state of Acre, Brazil. We interviewed 49 extractivists in settlements and in the emblematic Extractivist Reserve Chico Mendes (RCM) to model ecology (tree density, productivity) and production chain of acai (prices, costs and net revenues) for an area of 164,000 km2. We estimate a potential annual production of 850 thousand tons for the entire Acre State, which could generate net revenues of US$ 71 million/yr. This is well above the average production of 136 thousand tonnes (over the last 25 years). Net revenues average US$ 57 ha−1.yr−1, with acai contributing, on average, to 17% of the annual household income. In two case studies, we found a diversity of livelihoods comprising agriculture, NTFP collection, and livestock rearing that were grouped in two broad types of extractivist livelihoods: “old” and “new” settlers. Our results suggest that old settlers tend to focus on cattle ranching as their main economic activity, even inside extractive reserves (RESEX). The shift from extractivist activities to cattle ranching undermines the conservation role of this type of protected area. We conclude that without significant financial support in the forms of subsidies and other development programs NTFPs will continue to struggle against the economics of cattle ranching.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate different methodologies for peptide quantification in the supernatant of chitosan nanoparticles by removing the unliked polymer in the suspension. The ionic gelation method was used to prepare the chitosan nanoparticles encapsulating a 5.3 kDa peptide. Three different methodologies for the processment of the solutions were compared before subjecting the samples to the Bradford protocol or Qubit® kit for protein detection. For the quantification, it was necessary to create a standard peptide curve using different peptide concentrations. The suitable standard curve would be one in which the peptide was diluted in the empty chitosan supernatant (obtained after nanoparticles centrifugation) or in the filtrate of the empty chitosan supernatant. Our results indicated the safest methodology tested for peptide quantification in the supernatant chitosan nanoparticles was filtering the solution before subjecting the sample to the Bradford assay.

In this paper we use large scale spatially explicit modelling and case study based analyses to assess the links between recreational ecosystem services and the benefits for wellbeing of traditional livelihoods in the Brazilian Amazon. Our results show that, at the scale of the Brazilian Amazon, associations between recreational ecosystem services and extractivist activities of Brazil nut and rubber are very weak with no significant differences regarding Brazil nut (p = 0.61) and rubber (p = 0.41) income across the different tourism development classes. However, qualitative analysis of the case studies reveals that where there are multifunctional livelihoods, recreational ecosystem services are indeed helping to enhance non timber forest product extractivist social values that otherwise would be suppressed by prevailing “cattle ranching” lifestyles. We therefore support innovative ways to make both recreational ecosystem services and non timber forest products extraction not merely a juxtaposition of activities, but integrated into multifunctional livelihoods.

Made available in DSpace on 2022-05-01T11:07:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2022-01-01 An analysis was made of the frequency of Cryptosporidium spp. in fecal samples from horses raised on farms in the Teresópolis city, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the risk factors that favored this infection. Between 2019 and 2020, 314 samples of equine feces were collected, 287 of which came from English Thoroughbred horses and 27 from ponies. Information on the horses and their management were retrieved from a stud book and forms filled out by trainers. The fecal samples were subjected to macroscopic analysis, modified Sheather's and Lutz parasitological techniques, safranin staining, and to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of coproantigens. All the samples that tested positive by these techniques underwent partial sequence analysis of the 18S rRNA gene to characterize the protozoan species. Cryptosporidium spp. was identified in 35 (11.1%) of the samples, 34 from English Thoroughbred horses and one from a pony. Based on a logistic regression model, it was found that the presence of dogs and small ruminants on the farms, and drinking water from a spring, were significantly associated with the animals' infection by the protozoan (p < 0.05). Eight of the English Thoroughbred horse samples underwent molecular characterization, which revealed the presence of Cryptosporidium felis in one sample and Cryptosporidium parvum in seven. The seven samples containing C. parvum were subjected to gp60 gene analysis, based on which nucleotide sequences typical of the IIa family were identified, which are usually transmitted from animals to humans. In addition, the genotype IIaA15G2R1, which is considered to have the highest profile of zoonotic transmissibility, was identified in one Thoroughbred horse. This is the first study conducted in the state of Rio de Janeiro that molecularly characterized Cryptosporidium spp. in horses, and the first on the American continent to detect C. felis in the feces of these animals. Universidade Federal Fluminense Instituto Biomédico Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Rua Hernani de Mello, 101, São Domingos, Niterói Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas Laboratório de Parasitologia, Avenida Brasil, 4365, Manguinhos Universidade Estadual Paulista Campus Araçatuba, Rua Clóvis Pestana, 793, Bairro Dona Amélia Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Laboratório de Toxoplasmose e outras Protozoooses, Avenida Brasil, 4365, Manguinhos Centro Universitário Serra dos Órgãos Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária Campus Quinta do Paraíso Estrada Wenceslau José de Medeiros, 1045, Prata, Teresópolis Universidade Estadual Paulista Campus Araçatuba, Rua Clóvis Pestana, 793, Bairro Dona Amélia

Rubber extraction in the Amazon faces enormous ecological and economic challenges. We modeled the ecology (tree density and forest yields) and the production chain, including rents of the three major rubber products: Pressed Virgin Rubber (PVR), Liquid Latex (LL), and Liquid Smoked Sheet (LSS) from native forests and from plantations in Southern Acre, including the emblematic Chico Mendes Reserve. Our estimates show that, in native forests, tree density ranges from 0 to 4 trees/ha (average = 1.67 trees/ha), while productivity varies from 1 to 3 l/tree/year (average = 2.26 l/tree/year) with yields between 1 and 6 l/ha/year. Our model estimates a potential annual production of 890 tons of dry rubber in the 2.5 million ha of forests of Southern Acre (average = 0.36 kg/ha/year). Rubber extraction in native forests is not economically viable without government subsidies. Mean Equivalent Annual Annuity (EAA) for LL is US$ 3.24 ha/year in a scenario with subsidies and of 75% of potential annual harvest. LSS from plantations reaches an EAA of US$ 270 ha/year if costs of formation are subsidized. Public subsidies or Payments for Ecosystem Services are essential to sustain, at least temporally, rubber tapper identity – an important Cultural Ecosystem Service of the Amazon.

There is a noted lack of information on the effectiveness of investments in forest fire management in Brazil. Here, we quantify the budget expenditures of one private and one public fire-management program. We then compare burned areas within conservation units (CUs) and private rural properties (PPs) with and without investments in fire management in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Investments in fire management in CUs total US$ 0.51 ha−1 yr−1 in the Amazon and US$ 5.32 ha−1 yr−1 in the Cerrado. Roughly, 94% of the public investment in fire management in CUs is only assigned to suppression activities, although seven CUs in Cerrado have undertaken innovative Integrated Fire Management (IFM) that includes prevention practices. Cerrado CUs with brigades for fire suppression have reduced burned area by 12%, on average, compared with CUs without brigades. Further, CUs that also included prevention practices as part of IFM reduced burned areas by an additional 6% from CUs with only fire suppression practices. Investments in both fire prevention and suppression on private lands amounted to US$ 15.89 ha−1 yr−1. We identify a reduction of 50%, on average, in burned areas after PPs joined the fire mitigation program of Alianca da Terra. In face of increasingly disruptive wildfires alongside finite financial resources, we call for the need of a mix of cost-effective private and public fire management programs with strong emphasis on prevention practices.

We report a case of a patient with lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis in the right upper limb. The fungus was identified as Sporothrix schenckii senso stricto by calmodulin gene sequencing. The initial treatment was itraconazole (200 mg/day), but in vitro antifungal susceptibility demonstrated high resistant to this and another six antifungals, with exception to terbinafine. The lesions did not regress with itraconazole treatment. Thus, 500 mg/day of terbinafine was prescribed and clinical cure was obtained after four months

In this work, we studied the synthesis and properties of SnS thin films and platelets obtained by vapor phase deposition under controlled pressure. Two morphological types are obtained in the same process depending on the absolute temperature and the temperature gradient inside the reactor. The growth of isolated platelets is favored by a small temperature gradient between the sublimation and deposition regions of the deposition chamber. Films are formed when there is a large temperature gradient. Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis were used to identify the phase of the synthesized samples, and polarized Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis helped us confirm the crystallographic orientation of the isolated platelets. We have carried out studies on the crystallographic shape and orientation of orthorhombic isolated platelets using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and surface energies of the crystalline planes of SnS.

The constant advances in the use of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) bring the need of developing practical tests for quality control programs. The double punch test (DPT) is a promising alternative technique in relation to the flexural test of notched beams as proposed by the fib Model Code 2010. In that sense, this work aims to investigate the possibility of finding repeatability and reproducibility of the crack and residual loads determined by DPT. For the repeatability study, an experimental program was developed in a single laboratory, involving two steel fiber contents (30 kg/m3 and 55 kg/m3) in three equivalent concrete batches. For the reproducibility study, an interlaboratory program was developed, involving the same fiber and contents and the same concrete matrix, tested in six different laboratories. In both parts, analysis of variance and the ASTM E691 method were used to compare average and variance values. In addition, the minimum number of specimens necessary to provide adequate results of average and variance was determined. The results showed that the DPT is sensitive to variations in the mechanical properties after cracking of the FRC that are of special interest for structural application. In addition, it is possible to find repeatability and reproducibility of residual loads in terms of average values with a limited number of specimens. The crack load was repeatable in the same fiber content, but not reproducible. Despite this, DPT can be considered as efficient for the ordinary control of the quality of the FRC.

Effectively implementing landscape-scale forest restoration on the ground is particularly challenging. Available decision-support tools particularly lack the ability to comprehensively incorporate biophysical, social and institutional dimensions in a spatially explicit manner from the pixel to the whole landscape. In order to contribute to fulfilling this gap, this paper has two major objectives. The first is to present a spatially explicit decision-support tool for mapping Forest Restoration Vocation (FRV) that includes socio-economic and institutional aspects in forest landscape restoration. The second is to discuss the ways in which the FRV has been applied in the Brazilian decision-making context. The FRV was used to prioritize areas for three different restoration modalities: assisted natural regeneration (passive restoration), forest plantation with native trees to conserve biodiversity and forest plantation for agroforestry systems (active restoration). The FRV is already being adopted as a planning tool to invest R$ 1.2 billion (approx. US$ 300 million) to restore 40,000 ha in the Rio Doce, Brazil—an area corresponding to 0.05% of the area of watershed. Due to the high level of degradation of the basin, there is a need to restore 1.6 Mha via forest plantations in riparian Areas of Permanent Preservation (APPs) while 30% of APPs can be effectively restored using natural regeneration. The FRV can be effective for gauging progress and monitoring forest restoration implementation metrics across the landscape and through time. There are however still problems in effectively assessing if the investment in forest restoration will generate impact in the long term and deliver the ecosystem services society depends on.

The aim of this work was to prepare chitosan nanoparticles containing insulin and to evaluate its therapeutic activity during wound healing in diabetic rats. The hypothesis that guided this study was that the combination of insulin within chitosan nanoparticles could stimulate the signaling pathway for wound healing. The chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by the ionotropic gelation method presenting average size of 183.3 ± 8.32 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) 0.397 ± 0.07 and zeta potential of 33.7 ± 2.45 mV for empty chitosan nanoparticles (EC) and 245.9 ± 25.46 nm and PDI 0.463 ± 0.01, and zeta potential of 39.3 ± 4.88 mV for chitosan nanoparticles containing insulin (IC). The insulin association efficiency was 97.19% ± 2.18. These nanoparticles and free insulin (FI) were incorporated within a hydrogel (Sepigel®) for topical application in the wound of 72 diabetic rats distributed in four groups: Sepigel® (S, control), free insulin (FI), empty chitosan nanoparticles (EC), and chitosan nanoparticles containing insulin (IC). The animals in each group were reorganized into three subgroups (n = 6) to assess their clinical signs after days 3, 7, and 14 from the beginning of treatments. Intense fibroplasias were observed in the free or insulin-chitosan nanoparticles groups. In the latter, a large number of blood vessels were observed at day 7th. Our data indicated that both empty and insulin-containing chitosan nanoparticles were able to stimulate inflammatory cell proliferation, and angiogenesis, followed by wound maturation.

Mapping and modeling non-material benefits such as scenic beauty, heritage, leisure and its associated subjective dimensions raise numerous challenges. There is thus the need to forge new methodological approaches in order to include people's preferences into tourism planning and management. This work presents a spatially explicit modeling approach to assess and map Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) in landscapes with a tourist vocation. The results show that landscape users (local residents, entrepreneurs and tourists) prefer land covers such as rocky outcrops and Atlantic Forest, which are associated with CES such as aesthetics and recreation/ecotourism. Our results also show that Araucaria and Atlantic Forest are associated to CES hotspots with high degree of multifunctionality. The method we propose likely contributes to advancing the modeling of CES based on the preferences of landscape users. This method can be applied for better management and spatial planning of tourist destinations.

Objective: To analyze the perception of parents about secondhand smoking in their children's health. Methods: Ethnographic qualitative and quantitative study. We sought the point of view and understanding of the parents who were active smokers in relation to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and secondhand smoking. Mothers and fathers who are active smokers and that live with their children from seven different public schools in the city of Anápolis, Midwest Brazil, were interviewed in the first semester of in a reserved room in the schools. A descriptive and qualitative analysis was carried out through the ethnography. Results: 58 parents with an average time of smoking of 15.3 years and an average quantity of cigarettes smoked per day of 2 were interviewed. Among them, 59% did not know what ETS was, and 60% stated knowing what a secondhand smoker was. However, when questioned about their children as secondhand smokers, 52% did not consider them to be. Some parents knew some of the effects of secondhand smoking in the health of their children. However, the majority (52%) of them did not believe that their children would suffer any respiratory impairment or did not know about these impairments. Conclusions: Children were exposed to environmental tobacco pollution in their residence if one considers parental duration of smoking and average of cigarettes smoked per day. There was a lack of knowledge of the parents about ETS, secondhand smoking and the evils that cigarettes could cause in the health of their children.

Strategies for controlling gastrointestinal nematodes have been developed based on the use of numerous alternative methods, including the use of phytotherapy. New formulations of essential oils with anthelmintic activity have been proposed as a means to optimize their biological effects. Thus, the objective of this study was to formulate a nanoemulsion to optimize the nematicide effect of Eucalyptus staigeriana essential oil (EsEO). Initially, physico-chemical analyses were performed to verify the stability of the E. staigeriana nanoemulsion (EsNano). In vitro tests were conducted to evaluate the ovicidal and larvicidal activities of both EsNano and EsEO against Haemonchus contortus, and toxicology tests were then performed on rodents. The EsEO content in the nanoemulsion was 36.4% (v/v), and the mean particle size was 274.3 nm. EsNano and EsEO inhibited larval hatching by 99% and 96.3% at 1 and 2mg/ml concentrations, respectively, and inhibited larval development by 96.3% and 97.3% at 8 mg/ml concentrations. The acute toxicity test revealed that the EsNano and EsEO doses required to kill 50% of the mice (LD50) were 1,603.9 and 3,495.9 mg/ml, respectively. EsNano did not alter the hematological parameters in the rats after treatment.

This paper explores which physical landscape components relate to subjective landscape dimensions. The ways in which people describe their surrounding cultural landscape was analyzed through an assessment of their representations of it. A special focus was placed on assessing the role of land cover as a means to communicate landscape meanings regarding a specific geographical region. The methodological framework was built on the basis of a questionnaire survey, multivariate statistical analysis and mapping approaches. This research shows that there is a set of physical landscape components that relate to subjective landscape dimensions which can be disclosed through the assessment of social representations. Enhancing and safeguarding those physical landscape components associated with the subjective landscape dimensions are important aspects in both framing and targeting land cover/use policies and decision making. Results also suggest that land cover can be understood as an important asset for describing landscapes as more than 30% of respondents referred to it when asked to represent the case study region of Alentejo in southern Portugal. This might mean that in addition to objective ecological and biological functions, land cover is also an important asset for evaluating subjective landscape dimensions in line with place attachment and landscape identity. Finally, the ways in which the empirical material gathered here can be used to inform policy and planning are explored.

Integrating social demands into landscape management has been proven difficult because of a lack of suitable measures. In order to address this issue this article describes the development of the Index of Function Suitability (IFS). This offers an integrated conceptual tool for incorporating social demands into landscape management. The IFS links preferences to land cover spatial patterns as it uses quantitative indicators for gauging differences between the preferred landscape patterns by users, for a certain activity related to an amenity function (e.g. hunting), and the land cover patterns of a given rural area (either at the present or from scenarios developed for the future). Introducing the measurement of the difference between the preferred spatial patterns and the landscape patterns occurring in a given landscape is a fundamental conceptual development represented in the IFS. By using the same set of indicators to quantify different land cover patterns, the IFS gauges quantitatively the differences between their spatial patterns, thus providing landscape managers with an indication of the suitability of changing land covers to support the selected amenity functions. In this paper, the conceptual aspects, as well as the methodological steps of the IFS were explained and further applied to one empirical case study in the Alentejo region of Portugal. This paper also examines both the strengths and weaknesses of the IFS approach along with a discussion for improvement.

There is an extensive body of empirical research focusing on public preferences for forest landscapes. However, it is also recognised that visually appealing landscapes may not be ecologically healthy and these differences may cause tensions as indirect ecosystem services become an increasingly important focus for forest management. This study used a questionnaire survey to investigate the extent to which public preferences for characteristics such as forest cover and stand structure varied when framed in terms of attractiveness or good management objectives. The research took place in northern Portugal and also examined the implications of using verbal prompts or visual stimuli (e.g. photographs) as means of eliciting preferences. Key results from the study were: 1) public preferences regarding forest cover and stand structure do not, in general, differ under attractiveness and management criteria, 2) there were statistically significant differences in preferences for forest cover and stand structure amongst user groups 3) because ground cover vegetation was not regarded as attractive or good then strategies for future whole catchment management may face some tension, and 4) there were some inconsistencies identified in the preferences derived from verbal prompts and visual stimuli. By contrasting preferences for attractiveness and management criteria the research presents a simple quantitative approach that provides a basis for interventions through design or knowledge exchange to help align aesthetic and ecological goals. However, it also suggests that research approaches able to provide a deeper engagement with the public regarding the indirect ecosystem services from forests via qualitative approaches such as focus groups and incentive mechanisms are likely to be important.

If there is a strong argument in favour of multifunctional forest management, there is also controversy regarding the types of multifunctionality able to instil virtuous circles across landscapes. Managing forests in such a way that user groups, sustainability practitioners and forestry institutions all agree to, is not easy. For any reliable consensus to occur, via viable landscape design procedures, through which multiple functions (production, environmental protection and recreation) may be coordinated by means of innovative planning, there is a need to negotiate a set of common objectives and shared responsibilities. This paper examines the policy dimensions of multifunctional forest management, and, through an exploratory case study, proposes an approach for cooperative planning and institutional design. The case study involved two parishes in the Minho region of Portugal (Gavieira and Entre Ambos-os-Rios) combining the local communities, the National Park, and local forestry officers. The case study created, developed and validated two scenario storylines through a series of participatory processes (two focus group meetings, one comprehensive workshop, and one expert meeting). One scenario focussed on continuity of the traditional management patterns, with an emphasis on direct goods such as timber and livestock grazing (traditional multifunctionality). The other concentrated on indirect ecological services, such as soil and water protection, as well as carbon sequestration (new multifunctionality). An attempt was also made to implement the scenario storylines through initiating a pilot project in both of the case study areas. However, there were neither robust planning mechanisms nor adaptive governance systems with the capacity to put into place forest management “futures” likely to deliver more sustainable landscape-scale uses in these areas. This paper illustrates the difficulties in forging governance systems that have the capacity and the vision to be able to put sustainable development concepts into practice, even when a coherent package of planning measures are tried out, given a policy setting that is confused, contradictory, and where the “status quo” tends to be given prominence.

Acai, the fruit of a palm native to the Amazonian basin, is widely distributed in northern South America, where it has considerable economic importance. Whereas individual polyphenolics compounds in acai have been extensively evaluated, studies of the intact fruit and its biological properties are lacking. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to investigate the in vivo genotoxicity of acai and its possible antigenotoxicity on doxorubicin (DXR)-induced DNA damage. The acai pulp doses selected were 3.33, 10.0 and 16.67 g/kg b.w. administered by gavage alone or prior to DXR (16 mg/kg b.w.) administered by intraperitoneal injection. Swiss albino mice were distributed in eight groups for acute treatment with acai pulp (24 h) and eight groups for subacute treatment (daily for 14 consecutive days) before euthanasia. The negative control groups were treated in a similar way. The results of chemical analysis suggested the presence of carotenoids, anthocyanins, phenolic, and flavonoids in acai pulp. The endpoints analyzed were micronucleus induction in bone marrow and peripheral blood cells polychromatic erythrocytes, and DNA damage in peripheral blood, liver and kidney cells assessed using the alkaline (pH >13) comet assay. There were no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) between the negative control and the groups treated with the three doses of acai pulp alone in all endpoints analyzed, demonstrating the absence of genotoxic effects. The protective effects of acai pulp were observed in both acute and subacute treatments, when administered prior to DXR. In general, subacute treatment provided greater efficiency in protecting against DXR-induced DNA damage in liver and kidney cells. These protective effects can be explained as the result of the phytochemicals present in acai pulp. These results will be applied to the developmental of food with functional characteristics, as well as to explore the characteristics of acai as a health promoter.

The levels of water, HMF, free proline, total acidity, diastase activity, fructose and glucose in 74 different floral type honeys from four Brazilian regions are reported. The majority of the samples showed adequate water and HMF contents indicating the use of good practices by beekeepers in Brazil. Large variation in the contents of proline (389–520 mg/kg) was found in the honeys from the four regions studied. These findings are presumably due to the more intensive labor of the bees on the collected nectar by adding gland secretions. The high amount of diastase (40–120°G) found in some honeys from the northeast region could be due to the visit of the bees to Manhiot sp. (cassava) flour factories to collect starch-rich food, consequently increasing the diastase activity in the honey. Xerotolerant yeasts may be responsible for higher total acidity and ratios below 1 for fructose/glucose found in some samples. The majority of the analysed honeys (82%) were within the limits of the European Codex Honey Standards and Brazilian legal regulations.