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Houttuynia cordata (H. cordata) is a popular vegetable in Asian countries and is also used extensively as herbal medicine in treating various diseases. H. cordata contains aristolactams, which have a similar Chinese name as aristolochic acids (AAs); hence, an emerging concern in the greater China region has arisen about the potential linkage between H. cordata and aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). However, only a single study has tested for the presence of AAs in H. cordata samples, and the analysis was limited by the analytical sensitivity of the method. Thus, further analysis of AAs in H. cordata using analytical method of higher sensitivity is needed to alleviate public anxiety over the use of this popular vegetable. In this study, a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method was used to analyze H. cordata samples for the natural existence of aristolochic acid I (AA‐I) and aristolochic acid II (AA‐II), which are the most carcinogenic and nephrotoxic compounds in the AA family. After evaluating the method performance by fortifying blank samples with three concentrations of AAs, the validated method was applied to identify AA‐I and AA‐II in both fresh and sun‐dried H. cordata samples (n = 20) collected from different cities in China. The LC–MS/MS method achieved method detection limits (MDLs) as low as 2 ng/g of AAs in H. cordata. Analysis of the collected fresh and sun‐dried H. cordata samples revealed that AA‐I and AA‐II either do not exist naturally in H. cordata or exist at concentrations below the MDLs. Therefore, it is not very likely that consumption of H. cordata will result in AAN because AA‐I and AA‐II, the nephrotoxic and carcinogenic culprits of AAN, are not produced naturally in the plant or are produced at levels that do not pose a risk of AAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of Lewy bodies, which primarily composed of misfolded alpha-synuclein (αS). The development of LBD and APOE4 subtypes is thought to be associated with disorders of lipid metabolism. In this study, we investigated the causal relationship between serum lipids, liposomes and LBD using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) method., Methods: A TSMR analysis of genome-wide association study (GWAS) data for 8 serum lipids, 179 lipidomes components, LBD and its subtypes was performed, using inverse variance weighted as the primary outcome. To ensure robustness, the sensitivity analyses including MR Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier, Cochran's test, leave-one-out method and funnel plots were performed., Results: In this study, we found that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (OR=1.45, 95% CI=1.19-1.77, P<0.001) and remnant cholesterol (RC) (OR=2.64, 95% CI=1.64-4.28, P<0.001) had significant positive causal effects on LBD, and RC also had a positive effect on LBD in carriers of the APOE4 gene. The results of lipidome analysis showed that phosphatidylcholine (PC) (O-16:0&#95;20:4) levels (OR=0.86, 95% CI=0.75-0.98, P=0.02) and PC (O-18:1&#95;20:4) levels (OR=0.76, 95% CI=0.65-0.89, P <0.001) had negative causal effects on LBD, whereas phosphatidylinositol (PI) (18:1&#95;20:4) levels had a positive causal effect on LBD (OR=1.19, 95% CI=1.02-1.39, P=0.03). For LBD with APOE4 carriers, high levels of PC (16:1&#95;18:0) and PC (O-18:2&#95;18:1) had a significant positive effect, while high levels of PC (O-16:1&#95;18:0), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (O-18:2&#95;18:1), sphingomyelin (SM) (d38:2), and triacylglycerol (TAG) (56:5) significantly reduced the risk. No heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy were observed in sensitivity analysis., Conclusion: Elevated LDL-C and RC levels are significant risk factors for LBD, with RC also impacting APOE4-carrying LBD. Glycerophospholipids play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of LBD, but the specific components that play a role differ from those with the APOE4 carries. These findings highlight the importance of lipid metabolism in LBD and APOE4 subtypes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Fu, Pan, Yu, Liu, Shen, Ma and Jiang.)

Houttuynia cordata (H. cordata) is a popular vegetable in Asian countries and is also used extensively as herbal medicine in treating various diseases. H. cordata contains aristolactams, which have a similar Chinese name as aristolochic acids (AAs); hence, an emerging concern in the greater China region has arisen about the potential linkage between H. cordata and aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). However, only a single study has tested for the presence of AAs in H. cordata samples, and the analysis was limited by the analytical sensitivity of the method. Thus, further analysis of AAs in H. cordata using analytical method of higher sensitivity is needed to alleviate public anxiety over the use of this popular vegetable. In this study, a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was used to analyze H. cordata samples for the natural existence of aristolochic acid I (AA-I) and aristolochic acid II (AA-II), which are the most carcinogenic and nephrotoxic compounds in the AA family. After evaluating the method performance by fortifying blank samples with three concentrations of AAs, the validated method was applied to identify AA-I and AA-II in both fresh and sun-dried H. cordata samples (n = 20) collected from different cities in China. The LC-MS/MS method achieved method detection limits (MDLs) as low as 2 ng/g of AAs in H. cordata. Analysis of the collected fresh and sun-dried H. cordata samples revealed that AA-I and AA-II either do not exist naturally in H. cordata or exist at concentrations below the MDLs. Therefore, it is not very likely that consumption of H. cordata will result in AAN because AA-I and AA-II, the nephrotoxic and carcinogenic culprits of AAN, are not produced naturally in the plant or are produced at levels that do not pose a risk of AAN., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)