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Copyright of MESO is the property of Zadruzna Stampa D.D. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In sports, curcumin, a substance derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa (turmeric) plant with antioxidant effect 8 times greater than vitamin E, has attracted the attention of scientists because of its potent antioxidant action, since in athletes subjected to intense exercise the—endogenous mechanisms of neutralization of reactive species are saturated. However, the pharmacokinetic characteristics of curcumin do not favor its medicinal use due to its low absorption, accelerated metabolism and rapid systemic elimination. Thus, the determination of plasma levels in supplemented patients is a crucial step in their pharmacodynamic evaluation. Therefore, the objective of this work was to develop and validate an analytical method by HPLC-FLD for curcumin evaluation in plasma of supplemented athletes. Luna column (C18; 150 × 4 mm; 3 µm), acetonitrile: acetic acid pH 3.2 (45:55 to 60:40) as mobile phase, flow rate of 1 mL min−1, excitation at 429/285 nm and emission at 529 nm and injection of 10 µL were the chromatographic conditions used. Plasma samples were extracted using ethylacetate and methanol (95: 5, 500 µL) and estradiol (30 µg mL−1) as internal standard, with subsequent stirring (3 min) and centrifugation (8 min) (triple extraction). The organic fraction was evaporated under N 2 (20 min) and the dried residue reconstituted in acetonitrile. The method was linear between 44 and 261 ng mL−1, showing intra-day (2.05.6%) and inter-day (4.0–5.1%) precision with accuracy and selectiveness (curcumin t R = 8.7 min and internal standard t R = 13.9 min with relative recovery of 83.2%). So, it can be successfully used for curcumin evaluation in plasma samples from supplemented athletes, as well as being an alternative and advantageous method to UV–Vis and MS/MS in bioavailability studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of MESO is the property of Zadruzna Stampa D.D. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Aflatoxins (AFS) are toxic and carcinogenic fungal metabolites. Aflatoxin B1 is the most toxic and has been classified as a Group I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Samples of imported rice were analyzed for their AFS content. Finley ground rice subsamples were extracted with water/methanol (100:150 v/v) followed by purification with Immunoaffinity columns (IAC). AFS purified from extracts were determined with RP-HPLC-FLD using post column electrochemical derivatization with a Kobra Cell. Concentrations of aflatoxin B1 and total AFS in test rice samples were ≤0.123 and ≤2.58 µg/kg, respectively. Tween 80 improved recoveries (86 and 106%) of aflatoxin B1 and aflatoxin G1 from brown rice. Recoveries of Aflatoxin B2 and aflatoxin G2 were substantially reduced (non-detected to 27%) by Tween 80 used in IAC cleanup of brown rice extracts. Visible dense growth of Aspergillus parasiticus (food isolate) occurred at 25 °C but higher aflatoxin B1amounts (23.9–39.3 µg/kg) accumulated when the mold grew at 37 °C in rice seeds stored for three weeks. It could be concluded that levels of aflatoxin B1 and total AFS in rice samples were within the permissible amounts of the EU and other international legislations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic mycotoxin and one of the common contaminants of various foodstuffs. OTA contamination of ginger, turmeric, liquorice and nutmeg was determined using HPLC-fluorescence technique after immunoaffinity column clean-up. Limit of quantification (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) for OTA were 0.05 and 0.015 µg/kg, respectively. Nine out of 13 (69.2%) ginger samples, four out of 7 (57.1%) liquorice samples twelve out of 12 (100%) turmeric samples and seven out of 7 (100%) nutmeg samples contained OTA in the ranging from 0.05 to 2.1, 0.7 to 121.3, 0.2 to 16.3 µg/kg and 0.1 to 43.7 µg/kg, respectively. Overall, one liquorice (121.3 µg/kg), one turmeric (16.3 µg/kg) and two nutmeg (32-43.7 µg/kg) samples were contaminated with OTA exceeded the permisble limits established by EU. Overall, this is the first report on the OTA contamination of botanical products and we observed preliminary results which would contribute to the further studies in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic mycotoxin and one of the common contaminants of various foodstuffs. OTA contamination of ginger, turmeric, liquorice and nutmeg was determined using HPLC-fluorescence technique after immunoaffinity column clean-up. Limit of quantification (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) for OTA were 0.05 and 0.015 µg/kg, respectively. Nine out of 13 (69.2%) ginger samples, four out of 7 (57.1%) liquorice samples twelve out of 12 (100%) turmeric samples and seven out of 7 (100%) nutmeg samples contained OTA in the ranging from 0.05 to 2.1, 0.7 to 121.3, 0.2 to 16.3 µg/kg and 0.1 to 43.7 µg/kg, respectively. Overall, one liquorice (121.3 µg/kg), one turmeric (16.3 µg/kg) and two nutmeg (32-43.7 µg/kg) samples were contaminated with OTA exceeded the permisble limits established by EU. Overall, this is the first report on the OTA contamination of botanical products and we observed preliminary results which would contribute to the further studies in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports the occurrence of some endocrine disrupting chemicals in red mullet samples and sediments collected in two representative sites of the northern Sicilian coast (Italy). For this purpose, an improved method, using solid extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography analyses for the simultaneous determination of bisphenol A (BPA), 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) and 4-t-octylphenol (4-t-OP) in fish tissues and sediments, has been developed and validated. Method performance was demonstrated over the concentration range 0.1–200 ng/mL, with detection limits from 0.06 to 0.1 ng/mL. Recoveries ranged from 83.4% to 102.6%, with relative standard deviations of 7.7–14.0% for the entire procedure. Results showed that BPA, 4-t-OP and 4-NP were detected in all fish samples and sediments from two sampling sites, indicating that these chemicals have contaminated Mediterranean aquatic ecosystem and have accumulated in fish. The study provided more comprehensive fundamental data for risk assessment and contamination control of phenolic EDCs in aquatic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bee pollen is currently one of the most widely consumed dietary supplements due to its high nutritional value and its potentially beneficial effects on health. Unfortunately, in recent years an increase in the fraudulent marketing of this product has been detected, mainly in terms of adulteration with pollen from other sources. This has made it necessary to seek new tools to ensure its authentication. Therefore, this study investigates the use of free amino acids as markers of the geographical origin and harvesting period of bee pollen. To demonstrate their potential as biomarkers, 72 samples from four apiaries (Pistacho, Tío Natalio, Monte and Fuentelahiguera), located in the same geographical area (Marchamalo, Guadalajara, Spain), were analyzed by liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection, with the data obtained undergoing canonical discriminant analysis. Variable amounts and numbers of free amino acids were found in the samples analyzed; proline predominated in all of them, in a concentration range of 298–569989 mg/kg. The differences observed in amino acid composition could be attributed to the flowering plants from which the bee pollen samples originated. In addition, it was possible to statistically assign over 75% of the samples to the corresponding apiary of origin, the best results being obtained for the Fuentelahiguera and Tío Natalio apiaries (100%); this classification was even superior in the case of the harvesting periods, as more than 90% of the samples were correctly assigned, and in one period (June) a 100% rate was obtained. [Display omitted] • Free amino acid content was determined in 72 bee pollen samples by HPLC-FLD. • Proline was the predominant free amino acid in all samples. • Bee pollen samples were classified using a CDA and free amino acid content. • Satisfactory classification rates (75%–100%) were observed regarding apiary of origin. • Excellent classification rates (90%–100%) were reported regarding harvesting periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]