Evidence of the indirect hormonal activity of prohormones using liver S9 metabolic bioactivation and an androgen bioassay

Prohormones such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are steroid precursors that do not show hormonal activity by themselves. Abuse of these prohormones in cattle fattening is hard to prove because of strong in vivo metabolism and the difficulty to detect metabolites which are not significantly above endogenous levels. The aim of the present work was to develop an in vitro assay capable of detecting the indirect hormonal activity of prohormones that might be present in feed supplements and injection preparations. Sample extracts were incubated with a bovine liver S9 fraction in order to mimic the in vivo metabolic activation. Subsequently incubated extracts were exposed to a highly androgen-specific yeast bioassay to detect hormonal activity. Metabolic activation of DHEA, 4-androstene-3,17-dione (4-adione) and 5-androstene-3,17-diol (5-adiol) resulted in an increased androgenic activity caused by the formation of the active androgen 17ß-testosterone (17ß-T), as shown by ultra-performance liquid chromatography and time-of-flight mass spectrometry with accurate mass measurement. The developed in vitro system successfully mimics the hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD)- and cytochrome P450-mediated in vivo metabolic transitions, thus allowing assessment of both bioactivity and chemical identification without the use of animal experiments. Screening of unknown supplement samples claimed to contain DHEA resulted in successful bioactivation and positive screening results according to the androgen yeast biosenso

Veterinary treatment of cows with isoxsuprine for a caesarian section may temporarily lead to residues in hair of both cow and calf

Isoxsuprine is a beta-agonist that can be used for growth promotion in cattle, but it is also used as registered veterinary medicine. To investigate if veterinary treatment of cows could lead to residues of isoxsuprine in the hair of their newborn calves, an animal experiment was performed. Four cows, treated on veterinary indication with isoxsuprine lactate (Duphaspasmin) before a caesarian section, were included in the experiment. Hair samples from cows and from their calves were analyzed. The animals were shaved every week for 16 weeks and levels of isoxsuprine were measured in hair. In the cows, the levels of isoxsuprine were highest (>15 µg/kg) just after administration of the isoxsuprine lactate. After two weeks in two cows, a sort of plateau was reached and then the levels decreased. After approximately 10-15 weeks the levels were around the CCa level of the method used (0.5 µg/kg). In calves, for the first two weeks after birth, no isoxsuprine was found above CCa level in three of the four animals. At about 20-30 days old, a maximum concentration of 4 µg/kg was found. Then the levels dropped again under the CCa level, after 60 days no levels above CCa level were found. In one animal, the levels never reached CCa level. We conclude that veterinary treatment of cows with isoxsuprine may temporarily lead to low levels of isoxsuprine in the hair of their newborn calves which can be measured for a maximum of 60 days after birth

A qualitative analysis on trends in fruit consumption in four European countries

Abstract The aim of this paper is to present future fruit consumption trends in four European countries using expert interviews. Experts from both outside and within the food fruit sector in Greece, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain were asked to elaborate on the trend factors that have influenced fruit consumption in the past and on the trend factors that are expected to have an impact in the future. Furthermore, they were asked to draw possible future scenarios on fruit consumption. As expected, the most important past trend factor that emerged in all countries was the importance of people¿s health in relation to fruit consumption. Besides the health trend, which is expected to become even more important, convenience is also indicated as an important determinant of fruit consumption in the future. In addition, future scenarios drawn by the experts were concerned with health aspects, convenience and a decreasing impact of economic factors. Moreover, all experts predicted that future fruit consumption in Europe will increase significantly

Capitalizing on trends to tempt the consumer

The consumption of more than 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per person per day as recommended by the World Health Organisation is certainly not archieved everywhere in Europe. therefore, from the health viewpoint of the sector, there is still al lot to gain. To tempt consumers to buy fruit, the sector must understand and respond to the trends associates with fruit consumption. The recently concluded European Isafruit project investigated these trends in four countries

Quality assessments of untreated and washed quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) seeds based on histlogical and foaming capacity investigations

Quinoa seed has a high nutritional value, but has a coating of bitter-tasting saponins, making it unpalatable. Therefore the seeds are usually processed in order to remove the naturally occurring saponins from the seeds. To investigate the impact of processing, untreated and washed seeds of the white and brown types of quinoa were investigated histologically and by foaming capacity evaluations. Reference samples of known origin and treatment were investigated as well as unknown samples. The results revealed a relationship between the presence of saponin containing papillose cells at the outermost layer of the seed hull in the histological sections and the foaming capacity of the seeds. After washing, the papillose cells were severely damaged or completely removed and virtually no foam formation was observed. This investigation indicatedthat washing resulted in an effective removal of the saponin layer, leading to quality improvement of the seeds intended for human and animal consumption. The same features were observed for the unknown samples. These results imply that the treatment of the investigated samples was based on washing. The determination of the type of treatment applied provided useful information for the correct tax classification for Custom purposes

Деякі аспекти методики аналізу сучасної музики

The violated in this article problem of the analysis of the modern music, complicated through the permanent growth of action of music outside factors of the modern music creation and its text transformations and anomalies, complications of communicative nature, is extraordinarily important in a scientifically-methodical plan. All these factors are in dissoluble communication, and it is therefore needed permanent and intent attention from the side of tutor, which forms the pupil's ability to correctly select strategy, tactics and tools of the analytical work