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In this study, we developed a novel analysis method based on liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to allow the simultaneous identification of 20 coccidiostats in eight matrix categories, including the muscles of chicken, swine, cow, and fish as well as chicken eggs, bovine milk, and porcine viscera. In the pretreatment procedure, acetonitrile/methanol (95:5, v/v) containing 1% formic acid, 5 g of sodium acetate, and 6.0 g of anhydrous magnesium sulfate was used for extraction, followed by a clean-up procedure using n-hexane saturated with ACN to facilitate the elimination of analytes from high lipid samples. Chromatographic separations were achieved using a Poroshell 120SB C18 column and operated with a gradient mobile phase system consisting of methanol (with 0.1% formic acid) and 5 mM ammonium formate, and the MS detection was monitored simultaneously. The method was validated in accordance with the Guidelines for the Validation of Food Chemical Methods by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration. The limit of quantitation among 8 matrices were 0.5–2 ng g−1. The proposed method proved highly effective in detecting the presence of targeted veterinary drugs, providing a high degree of precision and accuracy over a broad range of matrices. Keywords: Coccidiostats, LC–MS/MS, Multi-residue analysis, QuEChERS, Veterinary drugs

Nontarget data acquisition for target analysis (nDATA) workflows using liquid chromatography-high-resolution accurate mass (LC-HRAM) spectrometry, spectral screening software, and a compound database have generated interest because of their potential for screening of pesticides in foods. However, these procedures and particularly the instrument processing software need to be thoroughly evaluated before implementation in routine analysis. In this work, 25 laboratories participated in a collaborative study to evaluate an nDATA workflow on high moisture produce (apple, banana, broccoli, carrot, grape, lettuce, orange, potato, strawberry, and tomato). Samples were extracted in each laboratory by quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS), and data were acquired by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to a high-resolution quadrupole Orbitrap (QOrbitrap) or quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer operating in full-scan mass spectrometry (MS) data-independent tandem mass spectrometry (LC-FS MS/DIA MS/MS) acquisition mode. The nDATA workflow was evaluated using a restricted compound database with 51 pesticides and vendor processing software. Pesticide identifications were determined by retention time (tR, ±0.5 min relative to the reference retention times used in the compound database) and mass errors (δM) of the precursor (RTP, δM ≤ ±5 ppm) and product ions (RTPI, δM ≤ ±10 ppm). The elution profiles of all 51 pesticides were within ±0.5 min among 24 of the participating laboratories. Successful screening was determined by false positive and false negative rates of

Thu occurrence of mycotoxins in foods and feeds has long been recognized as a potential hazard for human and animal health due to its severe toxic and carcinogenic properties. Among various mycotoxins, aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZON) are most important because of many contamination cases in the world. In this study, a simple and rapid multiresidue method to quantify AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, OTA and ZON was developed. The simultaneous determination of these 6 mycotoxins was performed using immunoaffinity column for clean-sp and liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for quantification. Cereal samples were extracted with 80% methanol followed by a Vicam AOZ(superscript TM) immunoaffinity column clean-up. Mycotoxins were eluted from the column with methanol and quantified using Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) mode in LC-VIS/MS with an electrospray ionization (ESI) interface. A mobile phase of methanol-water was used. Average recoveries of AFs, OTA and ZON spiked in cereals ranged 65-95%, 66-83% and 69-86%, respectively. Good accuracy and precision results were also obtained in intra-day and inter-day analysis. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, OTA and ZON were 0.1, 0.2, 0.1, 0.3, 0.03 and 2 ppb, respectively. Thirty-five commercial cereal products including thirteen wheat samples, seven oat samples, six rice samples and nine corn samples were analyzed. The results showed that OTA was detected in four samples ranging from 0.05 to 0.07 ppb, and ZON was detected in two samples ranging front 2.73 to 4.73 ppb. This rapid, easy and highly efficient method was successfully developed. Six common mycotoxins could be analyzed in a single 20-min run. The method could be applied to routine cereal analysis, thus dramatically shortening the analysis time.

Zearalenone is a mycotoxin produced mainly by fungi belonging to the genus Fusarium in foods and feeds. A rapid and accurate method to quantify zearalenone in cereals was described. The determination of zearalenone was performed using immunoaffinity column for clean-up, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/fluorescence for quantification and liquid chromatography/ electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS-MS) for confirmation. Cereal samples were extracted with acetonitrile-water (90:10, v/v) prior to a Vicam ZearalaTest(superscript TM) immunoaffinity column clean-up. Zearalenone was eluted from the column with methanol and quantified by HPLC with fluorescence detection (λ(subscript ex)=274 nm, λ(subscript ex)=440 nm). A mobile phase of acetonitrile-water (50:50, v/v) and a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min^(-1) were used. Average recoveries of zearalenone from cereals spiked at levels of 5, 20, 100 and 200 ppb ranged from 66.4% to 96.1%. The limit of quantitation was 5 ppb. The selective determination of zearalenone was achieved by LC/MS-MS with an electrospray (ESI) ionization interface. Using the negative ion mode, the parent ion of m/z 317 and the product ion of m/z 175 were selected. The quantification limit of 3 ppb was achieved. Seven mixed cereals samples, seven corn samples, five wheat samples, five rice samples and two oat samples were analyzed. The results showed that zearalenone was detected in four corn samples ranging from 7.9 to 9.0 ppb. Using the consumption data from ”Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan 1993~1996”, the zearalenone consumption for Taiwanese adults (male and female are 0.00297 and 0.00478 μg/kg b. w. respectively) was much lower than the tolerable daily intake of 0.5 μg/kg b.w. established by JECFA.

Emerging technologies are playing a major role in the generation of new approaches to assess the safety of both foods and drugs. However, the integration of emerging technologies in the regulatory decision-making process requires rigorous assessment and consensus amongst international partners and research communities. To that end, the Global Coalition for Regulatory Science Research (GCRSR) in partnership with the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) hosted the seventh Global Summit on Regulatory Science (GSRS17) in Brasilia, Brazil on September 18-20, 2017 to discuss the role of new approaches in regulatory science with a specific emphasis on applications in food and medical product safety. The global regulatory landscape concerning the application of new technologies was assessed in several countries worldwide. Challenges and issues were discussed in the context of developing an international consensus for objective criteria in the development, application and review of emerging technologies. The need for advanced approaches to allow for faster, less expensive and more predictive methodologies was elaborated. In addition, the strengths and weaknesses of each new approach was discussed. And finally, the need for standards and reproducible approaches was reviewed to enhance the application of the emerging technologies to improve food and drug safety. The overarching goal of GSRS17 was to provide a venue where regulators and researchers meet to develop collaborations addressing the most pressing scientific challenges and facilitate the adoption of novel technical innovations to advance the field of regulatory science.

Incidents of edible oil adulteration have increased all over the world, and improving analytical methods that are capable of identifying adulterated oils has become more important. In this study, we developed an analytical method that uses 4 target compounds belong to phytosterol family to identify lard that has been adulterated with cooked oils. For this, we used five kinds of animal fat, including lard, tallow, duck fat, goose fat, and chicken fat, to estimate the matrix effect, and lard samples were used to verify this analytical method. Specifically, samples inspected by sanitation authorities in a 2014 lard adulteration incident in Taiwan were saponified, and phytosterols were extracted and analyzed by a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (LC/MS/MS) equipped with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source. Parameters for sample extraction, including temperature, concentration of alkaline solution, and duration of saponification, were optimized. Our proposed method was then validated for linearity, matrix effect, precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantitation (LOQ). After using our proposed method to analyze 28 lard samples, we determined that the phytosterol contents of inspected lard obtained from companies that had been found guilty in the 2014 lard adulteration incident were ranged from 19.5 to 205.3 μg/g in campesterol and 17.3–408.8 μg/g in β-sitosterol, and were at most 270-fold higher than that of homemade lard, commercial lard, and inspected lard (ranged from 4.5 to 29.6 μg/g in campesterol and 1.5–44.2 μg/g in β-sitosterol) obtained from companies that had not been found guilty in the 2014 adulteration incident. Therefore, our proposed method should be useful to discriminate between adulterated and unadulterated animal fats.

The adulteration of olive oil is an important issue around the world. This paper reports an indirect method by which to identify 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) esters in olive oils. Following sample preparation, the samples were spiked with 1,2-bis-palmitoyl-3-chloropropanediol standard for analysis using gas chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry. The total recovery ranged from 102.8% to 105.5%, the coefficient of variation ranged from 1.1% to 10.1%, and the limit of quantification was 0.125 mg/kg. The content of 3-MCPD esters in samples of refined olive oil (0.97–20.53 mg/kg) exceeded those of extra virgin olive oil (non-detected to 0.24 mg/kg). These results indicate that the oil refining process increased the content of 3-MCPD esters, which means that they could be used as a target compound for the differentiation of extra virgin olive oil from refined olive oil in order to prevent adulteration.

Global availability and accessibility of food ingredients and the desire to produce food products at lower costs by industry have led to an increase in the incidents of fraud around the world, and Taiwan is no exception. This review outlines the major cases of food adulteration that occurred in Taiwan between 2011 and 2015, including the adulteration of food additives with plasticizers, starch products with maleic anhydride, olive oil with copper chlorophyll, lard with recycled cooking oil, and processed soymilk curd with dimethyl/diethyl yellow. Governmental responses and the analytical methods developed by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration to address these incidents are also described. These methods were specifically developed to analyze the adulterated ingredients in finished food products. Other analytical methods to detect various adulterants are summarized and compared in this article. In conclusion collective action by regular monitoring along with improved analytical method and regulations will help to minimize adulteration problems in the future.

Lignan glycosides are one of the major bioactive components in sesame meal. In the current study, we evaluated whether the absorption efficiency of lignan glycosides from sesame meal (LGSM) increases after wet milling. The current data show that oral bioavailability of LGSM significantly elevated from 0.18 to 0.26% after nano/submicro-sizing due to the smaller particle size and larger surface area. Oral administration of nano/submicro-sized LGSM (N-LGSM) significantly increased the concentrations of sesaminol triglucoside and sesaminol glucuronide in rat urine compared to administration of LGSM that was not nano/submicro-sized. More importantly, oral administration of N-LGSM increased the concentrations of enterolactone and enterodiol found in the plasma, liver, kidney, small intestine and urine of rats, suggesting that the nano/submicro-sizing process greatly improved the accessibility of intestinal microbiota to LGSM. In addition, oral administration of N-LGSM remarkably alleviated lipid peroxidation and increased antioxidant enzyme activities against tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced oxidative damage in rats.

Multilayer print designs are commonly used in commercial food packaging to attract consumers. UV-curable ink is generally used in this type of printing due to its ease of application, space saving, and rapid drying; however, there have been a number of health alerts related to the contamination of food by photoinitiators in UV-curable ink. In this study, we established a multi-analyte method by which to detect 30 photoinitiators simultaneously. We then applied this method to the analysis of five breakfast cereals and ten types of packaged juice to detect the presence of photoinitiator contamination. Sample treatment was performed using the QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method for the extraction of photoinitiators. Chromatographic separation of two isomers, methylbenzophenone (MBP) and isopropylthioxanthone (ITX), was achieved using a pentafluorophenyl propyl (PFP) column (1.7 µm, 100 × 2.1 mm i.d.) and MeOH: 5 mM formic acid–ammonium formate (pH 4.0) in gradient elution. The average recovery of photoinitiators from cereal was between 62.0 and 120.3%, with a coefficient of variation between 0.4 and 14.4%. The average recovery of photoinitiators from packaged juices was between 84.4 and 122.9% with a coefficient of variation between 0.5 and 9.5%. The contamination results were as follows: 13.1 ng/g triphenyl phosphate (TPP) was detected in one breakfast cereal, and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzophenone (BP-3), 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl-ketone (Irgacure 184), methyl-2-benzoylbenzoate (MOBB), and 2,4-diethyl-9H-thioxanthen-9-one (DETX) were detected in one of the packaged juices at levels ranging from 2.2 to 152.9 ng/g.

Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography using positive electrospray ionization and quadrupole orbital ion trap high-resolution mass spectrometry was evaluated for analyzing mycotoxins in finished cereal and nut products. Optimizing the orbital ion trap mass analyzer in full-scan mode using mycotoxin-fortified matrix extracts gave mass accuracies, δM, of± 2.0 ppm at 70,000 full width at half maximum (FWHM) mass resolution (RFWHM). The limits of quantitation were matrix- and mycotoxin-dependent, ranging from 0.02 to 11.6 μg/kg. Mean recoveries and standard deviations for mycotoxins from acetonitrile/water extraction at their relevant fortification levels were 91 ± 10, 94 ± 10, 98 ± 12, 91 ± 13, 99 ± 15, and 93 ± 17% for corn, rice, wheat, almond, peanut, and pistachio, respectively. Nineteen mycotoxins with concentrations ranging from 0.3 (aflatoxin B1 in peanut and almond) to 1175 μg/kg (fumonisin B1 in corn flour) were found in 35 of the 70 commercial grain and nut samples surveyed. Mycotoxins could be identified at δM± 5 ppm by identifying the precursor and product ions in full-scan MS and data-dependent MS/MS modes. This method demonstrates a new analytical approach for monitoring mycotoxins in finished grain and nut products.

An interlaboratory study was conducted to evaluate stable isotope dilution and LC tandem MS (MS/MS) for the determination of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, and M1 (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, and AFM1) in milk, milk-based infant formula (formula), and feed. Samples were first fortified with five 13C uniformly labeled aflatoxins {[13C]–internal standard (IS)} corresponding to the five native aflatoxins, which were subsequently extracted with acetonitrile–water (50 + 50, v/v), followed by centrifugation, filtration, and LC-MS/MS analysis. In addition to certified milk powder and animal feed, the three participating laboratories also analyzed milk, formula, and feed fortified with the five aflatoxins at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 50 ng/g. The majority of recoveries ranged from 80 to 120%, with RSDs < 20%. Method LOQs were determined by the three laboratories using the three sample matrixes in replicates (n = 8), and the determined LOQs of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, and AFM1 ranged from 0.1 to 0.91, 0.24 to 0.64, 0.28 to 1.52, 0.19 to 3.80, and 0.12 to 0.45 ng/g, respectively. For detected aflatoxins in the certified materials, all measured concentrations were within ±25% of the certified values. Using [13C]–IS eliminated the need for matrix-matched calibration standards for quantitation, simplified sample preparation, and achieved simultaneous identification and quantitation of the aflatoxins in a simple LC-MS/MS procedure.

The binding of organometallic osmium carbonyl clusters onto the surface of gold nanoparticles (10OsCO-Au NPs) greatly enhanced the CO stretching vibration signal at ~2100 cm−1, which is relatively free from interference due to the absorbance of biomolecules. By utilizing the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) mediated hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine to thiocholine where the activity of AChE is inhibited by the presence of organophosphate pesticides (OPPs), the subsequent thiocholine-induced aggregation of 10OsCO-Au NPs can be monitored by the change in color of the NPs solution and the variation in intensity of the SERS CO signal. The change in color offers a fast pre-screening method, whereas monitoring via SERS is used for greater accuracy and lower limit of detection (0.1 ppb) for quantitative detection. Its potential as a quick and accurate method of OPPs monitoring in consumer products was demonstrated in the detection of OPPs in real spiked samples such as beer.

Red yeast rice, produced by the fermentation of red yeast (Monascus purpureus) with white rice, has long been used in food colouring and meat preservation in Asia. Recently, powdered red yeast rice and its formulated products, used worldwide as dietary supplements, have the ability of reducing blood-lipid levels in humans. However, some Monascus strains could produce the mycotoxin citrinin as a secondary toxic metabolite so that commercial Monascus products are of a serious concern to the public now. The aim of this study was to obtain information about the occurrence of citrinin in red yeast rice and various commercial Monascus products in Taiwan from 2009 to 2012. A simple and rapid HPLC-fluorescence method was developed to detect citrinin in red yeast rice and Monascus products. The method's performance was acceptable in terms of recoveries, which ranged from 81.2% to 94.3% for citrinin-spiked samples at levels of 0.1, 1 and 10 mg/kg, and the relative standard deviation ranged from 2.5% to 5.7%. The limit of quantification of 0.05 mg/kg was achieved. The survey results showed that among total 302 samples, the incidences of citrinin contamination were 69.0%, 35.1% and 5.7% for red yeast rice (raw material), dietary supplements and red yeast rice processed products, respectively. The mean contamination levels were 13.3, 1.2 and 0.1 mg/kg for red yeast rice (raw material), dietary supplements and red yeast rice processed products, respectively. Such high citrinin contamination rate and level is worthy of note.

A stable isotope dilution assay and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of 12 mycotoxins, aflatoxins B₁, B₂, G₁, G₂, and M₁, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins B₁, B₂, and B₃, ochratoxin A, T-2 toxin, and zearalenone, in milk-based infant formula and foods. Samples were fortified with 12 ¹³C uniformly labeled mycotoxins ([¹³C]-mycotoxins) that correspond to the 12 target mycotoxins and prepared by dilution and filtration, followed by LC-MS/MS analysis. Quantitation was achieved using the relative response factors of [¹³C]-mycotoxins and target mycotoxins. The average recoveries in fortified milk, milk-based infant formula, milk powder, and baby yogurt of aflatoxins B₁, B₂, G₁, and G₂ (2, 10, and 50 μg/kg), aflatoxin M₁ (0.5, 2.5, and 12.5 μg/kg), deoxynivalenol, fumonisins B₁, B₂, and B₃ (40, 200, and 1000 μg/kg), ochratoxin A, T-2 toxin, and zearalenone (20, 100, and 500 μg/kg), range from 89 to 126% with RSDs of20%. The individual recoveries in the four fortified matrices range from 72% (fumonisin B₃, 20 μg/kg, milk-based infant formula) to 136% (T-2 toxin, 20 μg/kg, milk powder), with RSDs ranging from 2 to 25%. The limits of quantitation (LOQs) were from 0.01 μg/kg (aflatoxin M₁) to 2 (fumonisin B₁) μg/kg. Aflatoxin M₁ was detected in two European Reference materials at 0.127 ± 0.013 μg/kg (certified value = 0.111 ± 0.018 μg/kg) and 0.46 ± 0.04 μg/kg (certified value = 0.44 ± 0.06 μg/kg), respectively. In 60 local market samples, aflatoxins B₁ (1.14 ± 0.10 μg/kg) and B₂ (0.20 ± 0.03 μg/kg) were detected in one milk powder sample. Aflatoxin M₁ was detected in three imported samples (condensed milk, milk-based infant formula, and table cream), ranging from 0.10 to 0.40 μg/kg. The validated method provides sufficient selectivity, sensitivity, accuracy, and reproducibility to screen for aflatoxin M₁ at nanograms per kilogram concentrations and other mycotoxins, without using standard addition or matrix-matched calibration to compensate for matrix effects.

Mycotoxins in foods have long been recognized as potential health hazards due to their toxic and carcinogenic properties. A simple and rapid method was developed to detect 26 mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes, and ergot alkaloids) in corn, rice, wheat, almond, peanut, and pistachio products using high-performance liquid chromatography-triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry. Test portions of homogenized grain or nut products were extracted with acetonitrile/water (85:15, v/v), followed by high-speed centrifugation and dilution with water. Mean recoveries (± standard deviations) were 84 ± 6, 89 ± 6, 97 ± 9, 87 ± 12, 104 ± 16, and 92 ± 18% from corn, rice, wheat, almond, peanut, and pistachio products, respectively, and the matrix-dependent instrument quantitation limits ranged from 0.2 to 12.8 μg/kg, depending on the mycotoxin. Matrix effects, as measured by the slope ratios of matrix-matched and solvent-only calibration curves, revealed primarily suppression and were more pronounced in nuts than in grains. The measured mycotoxin concentrations in 11 corn and wheat reference materials were not different from the certified concentrations. Nineteen mycotoxins were identified and measured in 35 of 70 commercial grain and nut products, ranging from 0.3 ± 0.1 μg/kg (aflatoxin B1 in peanuts) to 1143 ± 87 μg/kg (fumonisin B1 in corn flour). This rapid and efficient method was shown to be rugged and effective for the multiresidue analysis of mycotoxins in finished grain and nut products.

Nanotechnology is an emerging field in the food industry, but the potential hazards and toxicities of nano-sized food ingredients are still not clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mutagenicity and oral toxicity of nano/submicro-sized ingredient, lignan glycosides from sesame meal (N-LGSM), prepared by a wet-milling method to reduce the average particle size to 189 nm. Genotoxicity assays including Ames test, chromosome aberration assay, micronuclei assay and a 28-day subacute oral toxicity assay were employed to evaluate the mutagenicity and oral toxicity. Results of the Ames test showed that neither lignan glycosides from sesame meal (LGSM) nor N-LGSM increased mutagenicity toward Salmonella typhimurium strains TA97, TA98, TA100, TA102 and TA1535. Furthermore, LGSM and N-LGSM were found to have no mutagenic effects on increasing chromosome aberrations in treated Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and the number of micronuclei in mouse erythrocytes. Most importantly, in the 28-day subacute oral toxicity trial, the “no observed adverse effect levels” (NOAELs) of LGSM and N-LGSM were determined to be 1000 and 200 mg/kg/day, respectively for both male and female mice. In conclusion, the nano/submicrosizing process did not cause the mutagenicity and oral toxicity for LGSM, and therefore it is a safe processing method for sesame lignan glycosides.

In the present study, we investigated whether lignan glycosides from sesame meal (LGSM), after nano/sub-microsizing, will exhibit higher transport and absorption efficiencies than LGSM. The average particle size of 1% LGSM aqueous suspension reduced from approximately 2 μm–200 nm after media-milling with zirconia beads. The transport and absorption of LGSM and nano/sub-microsized LGSM (N-LGSM) using Caco-2 human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cells, a model simulating human intestinal absorption was examined. The permeability of sesaminol triglucoside (ST) in N-LGSM and LGSM was 1.41 ± 0.16 and 1.07 ± 0.21 (10 −6 cm/s), respectively, indicating that ST in N-LGSM was more efficiently transported through the monolayer. In addition, N-LGSM exhibited 35.7% higher absorption efficiency than LGSM. The better performance of N-LGSM may be attributed to the (a) smaller particle size and larger surface area; (b) increased mucosal permeability, and (c) improved intestinal absorption due to the formation of nanoemulsion droplets.

Lignan glycosides are important functional compounds in sesame meal. In the present study, we investigated whether the tissue distribution of nano/submicrosized lignan glycosides from sesame meal (N-LGSM) differs from lignan glycosides from sesame meal (LGSM). LGSM was nano/submicrosized with 0.3 mm zirconia beads as the milling media. The average particle size of the 4% LGSM aqueous suspension reduced rapidly from approximately 2 microm to 200 nm after media milling at an agitation speed of 3600 rpm for 30 min. We examined the tissue distribution of sesaminol triglucoside (ST), the main component in LGSM, in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The concentrations of ST were determined in various tissues and plasma within a 24 h period after oral administration of N-LGSM and LGSM (800 mg/kg of body weight). The results showed that higher concentrations of ST and its metabolites (sesaminol, sesaminol sulfate, and sesaminol glucuronide) were found in N-LGSM compared to those in LGSM in most tissues, especially liver and small intestine. Sesaminol glucuronide was the main metabolite in rats. After 3 h of oral administration, around 70% higher concentration of sesaminol glucuronide was found in N-LGSM compared to that in LGSM. This study clearly showed that LGSM is more bioavailable after nano/submicrosizing.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes are wetted in aqueous solution of pure potato amylose and separated into homogenous suspension of nanotubes and sediment of bundled nanotubes. Similarly microcrystalline and colloidal graphite is wetted in the amylose solution whereas C60 fullerenes remained non-wetted. In the micro-Raman spectra of the amylose complexes with single-walled nanotubes, a relatively large shift of the ωD and ωG modes towards a higher wave number was observed. In such a spectra of complexes of microcrystalline and colloidal graphite corresponding shifts were much subtler. These changes in the spectra of nanotubes were accompanied by clear changes in the ratio of the integrated intensities of both the modes. No such changes could be noted in the spectra of amylose complexes with graphite. Optical, SEM and AFM microscopic observations of solidified complexes suggest that small nanotubes could be enveloped by amylose helices.

Granular starches of nine botanical origins were exposed to low-pressure glow plasma generated in the air from either a high voltage DC supply or an AC inductor. Experiments with low energy air-plasma (10−2 Torr) and starches provided insight into some details of their surface structure. Starches were partly oxidized to carboxylic starches and partly depolymerized. Their affinity to plasma depended on their botanical origin. The structure of starch granules seemed to be a crucial factor, which determined the behaviour of starches in plasma. Lipids and/or proteins stabilized polysaccharides to plasma being preferentially decomposed.

Cassava, corn, high amylose corn, potato, rice Indica, rice Japonica, sweet potato, waxy corn, and wheat starches were exposed to low-pressure ammonia, hydrogen, and oxygen plasma. In every case, depolymerization of the starch polysaccharides was noted. The extent of the depolymerization depended on the nature of the starch as well as the type of plasma applied. Among three fractions of polysaccharides distinguished by their molecular weight average, the fraction of the highest molecular weight suffered the most efficient depolymerization. The relative depolymerization for the middle- and low-molecular fractions of polysaccharides was found to be starch and plasma specific. The chemical character of the plasma had very little influence on the starch polysaccharides. Only subtle oxidation effects were observed in oxygen plasma. Low-pressure glow plasma treatment appeared to be a convenient tool for a waste-less dextrinization of starch. Manipulation of the plasma variety and the time of exposure resulted in a wide spectrum of dextrins of various molecular weights and paste-forming properties.

Polymerization of ethylene was initiated by low-pressure glow plasma generated in this gas. Depending on starch present in this plasma polymerization could be considered either as graft-polymerization of ethylene onto starch or homopolymerization. Result of the treatment of cassava, corn, potato, rice Indica, sweet potato, and waxy corn starches with ethylene plasma was analyzed by means of high-performance size exclusion chromatography, X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetry, digestion with β-amylase, and scanning electron microscopy. Analyses suggested that graft-polymerization occurred on sweet potato and rice starch. With other starches homopolymerization of ethylene on granules took place.

Microbiota in the gut are considered an important environmental factor associated with host metabolism and physiology. Although gut microbiota are known to contribute to hepatic lipogenesis and fat storage, little is known about how the condition influences the deposition of glycogen in the liver. To better understand and characterize the host energy metabolism in guts lacking microbiota, we compared the liver metabolome of specific pathogen-free and germ-free mice by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with partial least-squares discriminant analysis. We identified 30 of 52 highly reproducible peaks in chromatograms of liver tissue extracts from the two groups of mice. The two groups showed significant differences in metabolic profile. Changes in liver metabolism involved metabolites such as amino acids, fatty acids, organic acids and carbohydrates. The metabolic profile of germ-free mice suggests that they synthesize glycogen and accumulate it in the liver through gluconeogenesis and glycogenesis. Our findings shed light on a new perspective of the role of gut microbiota in energy metabolism and will be useful to help study probiotics, obesity and metabolic diseases.

Aflatoxins are toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic compounds that contaminate various types of foods and feedstuffs. The aflatoxin levels in various kinds of peanut products in Taiwan were surveyed during the recent decade. A total of 1827 commercial peanut products were collected from different regions of Taiwan from 1997 to 2011. The samples were cleaned by immunoaffinity columns and analyzed for aflatoxins B 1 , B 2 , G 1 , and G 2 by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Aflatoxins were detected in 32.7% of samples with levels ranging from 0.2 μg/kg to 513.4 μg/kg. Peanut butter had the highest aflatoxin-positive incidence, followed by peanut flour, peanut candy, rice syrup, and peanuts. In addition, 6.8% of the samples had total aflatoxin concentrations (i.e., the sum of B 1 + B 2 + G 1 + G 2 ) that were higher than the Taiwan regulatory limit of 15 μg/kg. Among the aflatoxin-positive samples, aflatoxin B 1 had the highest frequency of detection, followed by aflatoxin B 2 , aflatoxin G 2 , and aflatoxin G 1 . This longterm survey provides valuable information on aflatoxin contamination in peanut products marketed in Taiwan.