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“Scientific and technological development brings benefits and advantages to our modern lifestyle. Innovation is currently a necessity due to the great demand for new consumer products, but this also brings serious consequences to the current and future generations due to factors such as air, soil and water pollution as related to the release of several chemicals potentially harmful to the environment and human health. Amongst these compounds are the brominated flame retardants (BFRs) that represent a class of contaminants widely used in consumer products due to their high GDC-0980 efficiency in inhibiting or minimizing the effects caused by fires, and their low cost; representing 25% of the world market of flame

retardants (Hardy, 1999). However it has been shown that they persist in the environment and show high bioaccumulation potential, Romidepsin clinical trial being classified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Polybrominated

Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) are a class of BFRs used as additives in plastics, textiles, electronic circuits and equipments, building materials and many other consumer goods. They are added during the manufacture of various products in daily use, but no effective chemical bonds occurred during the process which would cause their release into the environment during manipulation or improper disposal (Mcdonald, 2002). The bioaccumulation potential of PBDEs and their persistence in the environment are due to their lipophilicity, and high levels of these compounds have been detected in samples of animal fats, blood, placenta and breast milk. (Covaci et al., 2009, Hites, 2004, Li et al., 2008, Ma et al., 2012, Shen et al., 2010, Letcher et al., 2010 and Toms et al., 2007). The selleck products main contamination routes for humans are house dust and contaminated foods (Branchi et al., 2003 and Talsness, 2008). Amongst the effects described as caused by exposure to PBDEs, there is evidence of a neurotoxic potential (Branchi et al., 2003, Madia et al., 2004 and Verner et al., 2011) and changes in the endocrine system, by acting

on hormone receptors such as estrogen and progesterone, and decreasing the levels of the thyroid hormones (Costa and Giordano, 2007, Costa et al., 2008, Madia et al., 2004, McDonald, 2002 and Zhang et al., 2008). They have also being related to the development of liver toxicity and thyroid cancer (Albina et al., 2010, Hu et al., 2007 and Zhang et al., 2008), but the mechanisms underlying these effects are still not completely understood. 2,2′,4,4′ Tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) and 2,2′,4,4′,5 pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-99) are the most commonly found congeners in environmental samples and biological systems, and show high levels of toxicity. In vitro investigations have shown that some PBDE congeners, such as BDE-47 and BDE-209, present cytotoxic potential in several cell lines such as HepG2 ( Madia et al., 2004, Jing et al., 2010, Weihong et al., 2008, Hu et al., 2007, Hu et al.