Traceability of food products and pharmaceutical products in relation to chemical investigation

Approaching issues related to the traceability of food and pharmaceutical products at the 26th International Symposium on Analytical and Environmental Problems, would like to point out the fact that the analytical chemistry investigations and their applications target both natural and processed products in the food and pharmaceutical industry (some raw materials being taken from the environment). In this context, the paper presents summary data on the traceability systems (integrated and differentiated). Thius, in order to highlight the scientific, technical and economic importance of traceability some data about the identification tools are summarized

Fortified foods with mineral elements - conceptual and applicative data

In the last decade food business operators are selling more and more foods to which vitamins and minerals were added. The reason is to restore their content where this has been reduced during processing, storage or handling procedures. Beside the mentioned micronutrients, other ingredients might be used in food manufacturing, too. Among such substances one can mention : amino acids, essential fatty acids, fibre, various plants and herbal extracts. At the Community level the Regulation (EC) 1925/2006 harmonises the effective functioning of the internal market as regards the addition of vitamins and minerals and certain other substances to foods. For an efficient monitoring of foods to which vitamins and minerals and other substances have been added the manufacturer or the person placing such foods on the market must notify the competent authority of that placing on the market or on the withdrawal of the product from the market

Analytical investigation of adducts formed by deoxyribonucleic acid with chemical xenobiotics of food interest

Investigation of chemical xenobiotics of food interest is of major importance for food safety and for public health. In this context classes of substances, specific reactions of biotransformation (with the xenobiodegradation and xenobiosynthesis phases) and the harmful effects of xenobotics on the organism are presented. With reference to the analytical methods applied in the investigation of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-food xenobiotics adducts, the physico-chemical methods used, the facilities offered by them and the applicability in the genomic technologies are discussed succinctly. Also, the predictive character of data for pathological risk assessment is highlighted

Aspects of the homeostasis changes induced by the gallium complex C(24) in experiments on rats

The action of the Ga complex C(24) on some serum biochemical parameters in rats was studied in two different day times, i.e. morning and evening. There were analyzed : total serum proteins (PRO); serum albumin (ALB); serum non-protein nitrogenous compounds, i.e. uric acid (UA), creatinine (CRE), blood ureea nitrogen (BUN); calcemia and magnesiemia. The obtained values and calculation of differences made possible to evidence homeostasis changes occurring in two direction: conditioned by time (choronobiochemistry) and conditioned by the administered xenobiotic (i.e. the studied Ga complex)

Peculiarities of the comparative metallograms of the uroconcrements having urates as dominant component and phosphates as dominant component

Investigations were made on uroconcrements collected from two groups of subjects (patients) with kidney stones and admitted in the hospital. In the first step, using Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) the types of uroconcrements were defined. Further on, a limited number of uroconcrements were analyzed by means of atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in order to determine the concentration of the some alkaline (Na, K) and alkaline-earth (Ca, Mg) metals in their composition. From the first group only the uroconcrements having urates as dominant components and from the second group only the uroconcrements having phosphates as dominant components were selected. The comparison of the obtained metallograms revealed aspects about the types of lithiasis and their specificity

Selenium in food and food supplements

The bioelements detected in the lithosphere and biosphere have aroused major interest in geology and biology. It was detected in minerals but also in tissues taken from plants, animals and humans. Among the bioelements, the natural distribution of selenium (Se) was studied, following the quantity in food, the structural specificity of the components. Along with these, the biological activity was studied, following its integration in food supplements

Effects of ethanol on the hepatic DNA in materno-fetal complex and on the serum proteins in pregnant female rats

Experimental investigations on the action of ethanol were performed on pregnant female rats and their fetuses. The Wistar strain pregnant rats were included into an experimental (E) and a control (C) group. Animals of experimental group received ethanol and thecontrol group consumed tap water. At the end of the experiment blood samples and liver samples were taken for analysis. In the present study there were pursued values of some biochemical parameters, i.e. maternal and fetal hepatic DNA concentration, maternal serumproteins and electrophoretic fractions (albumins as well as α-, β- and γ-globulins). The obtained data revealed a statistically non-signifiant increase of hepatic DNA both in mothers and fetuses of experimental group. Serumproteins concentration in the pregnant rats showed a significant increase. Regarding the electrophoretic fractions, a decrease of albumins and increase of globulins were observed . As to globulin subfractions a hyper-α-globulinemia, hypo-β- and hypo-γ-globulinemia were revealed

Chronobiological changes induced by the gallium complex C(24) in some hematological parameters in rats

In the present research the authors proposed to monitor possible chronobiological changes in some hematological parameters (erythrocytes, leukocytes and thrombocytes) of Wistar strain rats induced by the novel gallium complex - C(24). For this purpose a morning (m) and an evening (e) animal series were designed, each including a control (Cp) and an experimental (E) group. Animals of the control groups (Cp-m, Cp-e) were injected intraperitoneally with polyethylene glycol and those from the experimental groups (E-m, E-e) with the novel gallium complex in the morning and in the evening. At 48 hours after the administration of substances the animals were anesthetized and blood samples were collected for biochemical and hematological analysis. Erythrocytes, leukocytes and thrombocytes parameters were determined. The resulted values showed an increase in most of erythrocytes parameters in E-m group and a slight decrease of all parameters in E-e group. As to leukocytes parameters an increase of most values both in E-m and E-e groups was recorded. Platelets parameters indicated decrease both in E-m and E-e groups, being more evident in case of platelets number

Assessment of serum metallograms in patients with purine urolithiasis before and after treatment

Investigations on the homeostasis of the hydroelectrolytic metabolism is important in the assessment of the uroconcrements’ biogenesis and of the therapeutic effects (based on diverse procedures). Our investigations have been performed on patients with purine urolithiasis included in two groups, according to the applied treatment for the removal of the uroconcrements. A group included 23 patients who underwent surgical treatment and the other group included 18 patients treated with Extracorporeal Shock-Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL). Before and after the therapeutic procedure the serum metallograms of the main alkaline (Na, K) and alkaline-earth (Ca, Mg) metals were determined by using spectrophotometry. The obtained results revealed post-treatment changes in the serum metallogram as follows: increase of natriemia and calcemia; decrease of kaliemia and magnesiemia in both groups. The find data show the dyshomeostasis of the main alkaline and alkaline-earth metals after the treatment underlying their implication in urolithogenesis

Titanocene / cyclodextrin supramolecular systems: a theoretical approach

Abstract Background Recently, various metallocenes were synthesized and analyzed by biological activity point of view (such as antiproliferative properties): ruthenocenes, cobaltoceniums, titanocenes, zirconocenes, vanadocenes, niobocenes, molibdocenes etc. Two main disadvantages of metallocenes are the poor hydrosolubility and the hydrolytic instability. These problems could be resolved in two ways: synthetically modifying the structure or finding new formulations with enhanced properties. The aqueous solubility of metallocenes with cytostatic activities could be enhanced by molecular encapsulation in cyclodextrins, as well as the hydrolytic instability of these compounds could be reduced. Results This study presents a theoretical approach on the nanoencapsulation of a series of titanocenes with cytotoxic activity in α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrin. The HyperChem 5.11 package was used for building and molecular modelling of titanocene and cyclodextrin structures, as well as for titanocene/cyclodextrin complex optimization. For titanocene/cyclodextrin complex optimization experiments, the titanocene and cyclodextrin structures in minimal energy conformations were set up at various distances and positions between molecules (molecular mechanics functionality, MM+). The best interaction between titanocene structures and cyclodextrins was obtained in the case of β- and γ-cyclodextrin, having the hydrophobic moieties oriented to the secondary face of cyclodextrin. The hydrophobicity of titanocenes (logP) correlate with the titanocene-cyclodextrin interaction parameters, especially with the titanocene-cyclodextrin interaction energy; the compatible geometry and the interaction energy denote that the titanocene/β- and γ-cyclodextrin complex can be achieved. Valuable quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) were also obtained in the titanocene class by using the same logP as the main parameter for the in vitro cytotoxic activity against HeLa, K562, and Fem-x cell lines. Conclusions According to our theoretical study, the titanocene/cyclodextrin inclusion compounds can be obtained (high interaction energy; the encapsulation is energetically favourable). Further, the most hydrophobic compounds are better encapsulated in β- and γ-cyclodextrin molecules and are more stable (from energetically point of view) in comparison with α-cyclodextrin case. This study suggests that the titanocene / β- and γ-cyclodextrin complexes (or synthetically modified cyclodextrins with higher water solubility) could be experimentally synthesized and could have enhanced cytotoxic activity and even lower toxicity.</p