Plant-based beverages as good sources of free and glycosidic plant sterols

To address the ever-growing group of health-conscious consumers, more and more nutritional and health claims are being used on food products. Nevertheless, only very few food constituents, including plant sterols, have been appointed an approved health claim (European Commission and Food and Drugs Administration). Plant sterols are part of those limited lists of approved compounds for their cholesterol-lowering properties but have been praised for their anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties as well. Despite this indisputable reputation, direct quantitative data is still lacking for naturally present (conjugated) plant sterols in beverages. This study aimed to fill this gap by applying a validated extraction and UPLC-MS/MS detection method to a diverse range of everyday plant-based beverages. B-sitosterol--D-glucoside (BSSG) showed to be by far the most abundant sterol in all beverages studied, with concentrations up to 60–90 mg per 100 mL in plant-based milk alternatives and fresh fruit juices. Ergosterol (provitamin D2) could be found in beers (0.8–6.1 g per 100 mL, from the yeast) and occasionally in juices (17–29 g per 100 mL). Overall, the results demonstrated that the concentrations of water-soluble sterol conjugates have been underestimated significantly and that specific plant-based beverages can be good, low-fat sources of these plant sterols

Mass Spectrometry for the Detection of Endogenous Steroids and Steroid Abuse in (Race) Horses and Human Athletes

The higher the pressure to win, the more athletes are inclined to take steps to improve one’s performance through questionable means. To minimize this, strict anti‐doping and medication rules are being enforced. All human and equine athletes are regularly subjected to doping analysis to prevent abuse of forbidden substances from affecting their performance. Anabolic‐androgenic steroids (AASs) have been part of the forbidden substances list for years, because of their muscle building and performance‐enhancing capacities and possible side effects. For most of the AAS, zero‐tolerance is held. However, some AASs can be endogenous to the athletes, such as for example testosterone in males. These endogenous steroids can render it very difficult to reveal steroid abuse. Specific mass spectrometric (MS) methods, including ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography‐MS (UHPLC‐MS/MS), high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and gas chromatography–combustion‐isotope ratio MS (GC‐C‐IRMS), have been put forward to overcome these analytical difficulties. Currently, high‐tech metabolomic methods are being used to build athlete specific biological passports. In the near future, these passports might allow putting a stop to abuse, by staying ahead of the cheats. These are bright prospects, leading towards clean and fair sports competitions worldwide

First successful radiofrequency ablation of focal atrial tachycardia in a horse guided by a high density 3D electro-anatomical mapping system (Rhythmia®)

Transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC) has a 95% success rate for cardioversion of atrial tachyarrhythmia but recurrence rate is about 35%. A 5-year-old showjumper stallion with regular atrial tachyarrhythmia was treated successfully with TVEC twice but showed early recurrence each time. An electrophysiological study suggested a right sided atrial tachycardia and the option for ablation was taken. In the standing horse, a decapolar catheter and two TVEC catheters, in case atrial fibrillation would occur during the procedure, were inserted in the left jugular vein and placed in the coronary sinus, right atrium and left pulmonary artery, respectively. Subsequently, under general anesthesia, an electro-anatomical mapping catheter (Intellamap Orion, Boston Scientific) was inserted into the right jugular vein and used to create a 3D electro-anatomical map (Rhythmia, Boston Scientific) of right atrium and venae cavae. Activation mapping, whereby the coronary sinus signal served as time reference, revealed a focal atrial tachycardia with a cycle length of 400ms with earliest activity at the caudodorsal interatrial wall. An ablation catheter (Intellanav OI, Boston Scientific) was guided towards the site of earliest activation using the Rhythmia mapping system and targeted for ablation. During the 5th application (temperature-controlled 60W, maximal temperature 60°C), the atrial tachycardia terminated and became non-inducible. Total ablation time was 366 seconds. Recovery was uneventful. This is the first time that the exact origin of an atrial arrhythmia is identified by 3D electro-anatomical mapping and is successfully treated by radiofrequency ablation. This study proves that both techniques are technically feasible in adult horses

At-line boar taint classification by means of Rapid Evaporative Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (REIMS)

Increasing awareness of animal welfare has led to a European incentive to ban the surgical castration of piglets. A valid alternative for castration is the rearing of entire male pigs, but this allows the (re)occurrence of boar taint, an off-odour in meat from entire boars (1). Hence, due to adverse consumer reactions to pork with boar taint, the rearing of entire boars requires valid boar taint mitigation strategies. However, the introduction of Rapid Evaporative Ionisation MS (REIMS) offers compelling perspectives for the rapid as well as accurate at-line detection of boar taint by significantly reducing analysis time and workload, yet enhancing research output and efficiency (2). In this study, REIMS was used as a direct analysis technique to train predictive models for identification of boar taint above the odour threshold (based on sensory (soldering iron method) as well as chemical analysis (UHPLC-HRMS analysis of indole, skatole and androstenone levels) 3. Adipose tissue was sampled using a prototype bipolar handheld sampling device connected directly to a Xevo G2-XS Q-TOF system equipped with REIMS source (Fig. 1). The results demonstrate that untargeted mass spectrometric profiling in negative ionisation mode enables the construction of predictive models using LiveID, AMX and Simca (Q2 = 0.547, R2Y = 0.652 and p = 0) for the classification of carcasses according to boar taint status based on alterations in lipid profiles. As REIMS eliminates sample pre-treatment with analysis taking < 10 seconds, it offers significant potential as the first technique enabling accurate in-situ detection of boar taint. REIMS is a promising and highly innovative tool for several types of food quality and safety applications, furthermore allowing us to move state-of-the-art equipment and applications from bench to production site. Acknowledgments: This research was partly funded by the Flemish Government, department of animal welfare (LNE/STG/DWZ/16/11). References: [1] K. Verplanken, Ghent University PhD dissertation, (2018) 1-15. [2] K. Verplanken et al., Talanta, 169 (2017) 30–36. [3] K. Bekaert et al., Journal of Chromatography A, 1239 (2012) 49-55