The analgesic and anticonvulsant effects of piperine in mice

Piperine, is the major active principal of black pepper. In traditional medicine, black pepper has been used as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory agent and in the treatment of epilepsy. This study was conducted to evaluate the in vivo analgesic and anticonvulsant effects of piperine in mice. The analgesic and anticonvulsant effects of piperine were studied in mice using acetic acid-induced writhing, tail flick assay, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)- and picrotoxin (PIC)-induced seizures models. The intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of piperine (30, 50 and 70 mg/kg) significantly inhibited (P\u3c0.01) the acetic acid-induced writhing in mice, similar to the effect of indomethacin (20 mg/kg i.p.). In the tail flick assay, piperine (30 and 50 mg/kg, i.p.) and morphine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) caused a significant increase (P\u3c0.01) in the reaction time of mice. Pre-treatment of animals with naloxone (5 mg/kg i.p.), reversed the analgesic effects of both piperine and morphine in the tail flick assay. Piperine (30, 50 and 70 mg/kg, i.p.) and standard drugs, valproic acid (200 mg/kg, i.p.), carbamazepine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) and diazepam (1 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly (P\u3c0.01) delayed the onset of PTZ-and PIC-induced seizures in mice. These findings indicate that piperine exhibits analgesic and anticonvulsant effects possibly mediated via opioid and GABA-ergic pathways respectively. Moreover, piperine being the main constituent of black pepper, may be contributing factor in the medicinal uses of black pepper in pain and epileps

Microwave Energy Increases Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Yield in Human Whole Blood Due to Increased Sphingomyelin Transesterification

Dried blood spots (DBS) by fingertip prick collection for fatty acid profiling are becoming increasingly popular due to ease of collection, minimal invasiveness and its amenability to high-throughput analyses. Herein, we assess a microwave-assisted direct transesterification method for the production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) from DBS. Technical replicates of human whole blood were collected and 25-μL aliquots were applied to chromatography strips prior to analysis by a standard 3-h transesterification method or microwave-assisted direct transesterification method under various power (variable vs constant), time (1-5 min) and reagent (1-10% H2SO4 in methanol) conditions. In addition, a standard method was compared to a 5-min, 30-W power microwave in 1% H2SO4 method for FAME yield from whole blood sphingomyelin, and sphingomyelin standards alone and spiked in whole blood. Microwave-assisted direct transesterification yielded no significant differences in both quantitative (nmol/100 µL) and qualitative (mol%) fatty acid assessments after as little as 1.5- and 1-min reaction times, respectively, using the variable power method and 5% H2SO4 in methanol. However, 30-W power for 5 min increased total FAME yield of the technical replicates by 14%. This increase appears largely due to higher sphingomyelin-derived FAME yield of up to 109 and 399% compared to the standard method when determined from whole blood or pure standards, respectively. In conclusion, microwave-assisted direct transesterification of DBS achieved in as little as 1-min, and 5-min reaction times increase total fatty acids primarily by significantly improving sphingomyelin-derived fatty acid yield

The proximate composition of three marine pelagic fish: blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), boarfish (Capros aper) and Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus)

peer reviewedThis study presents data from an in-depth proximate compositional analysis of three marine fish species: blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), boarfish (Capros aper) and Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). These fish contained significant amounts of protein (16–17%), lipids (4–11%) and minerals (2–6% ash). The proteins, particularly from boarfish, had close to optimum amino acid profiles for human and fish nutrition. They compared favourably with other fish species in terms of total lipids and relative concentration of the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid (11.8–13.3% and 5.9–8.1% in triacylglycerols [TG] and 24.6–35.4% and 5.8–12.0% in phospholipids [PL]). Atlantic herring had the highest lipid content among the three fish and was found to contain high levels of PL poly-unsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3 fatty acids. Minerals detected in the fish included calcium (272–1,520 mg/100 g), phosphorus (363–789 mg/100 g), iron (1.07–2.83 mg/100 g), magnesium (40.70–62.10 mg/100 g), potassium (112.00–267.00 mg/100 g), selenium (0.04–0.06 mg/100 g), sodium (218.00–282.00 mg/100 g) and zinc (1.29–5.57 mg/100 g). Boarfish had the highest ash fraction and also the highest levels of all the minerals, except potassium. Atlantic herring had considerably lower mineral content compared with the other two species and, levels detected were also lower than those reported in previously published studies. Heavy metals contents were quantified, and levels were significantly below the maximum allowable limits for all elements except arsenic, which ranged from 1.34 to 2.44 mg/kg in the three fish species. Data outlined here will be useful for guiding product development. Future studies would benefit from considering catch season, sex and developmental stage of the fish

Determination of total trans fat content in Pakistani cereal-based foods by SB-HATR FT-IR spectroscopy coupled with partial least square regression

The purpose of this study was to determine the total trans fat content from the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra of neat fats extracted from cereal-based foods using a single-bounce horizontal attenuated total reflectance (SB-HATR) sampling accessory. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was employed for the development of calibration models. A trans fat calibration curve was prepared by adding trielaidine gravimetrically to trans free canola oil. Regression of the FT-IR/PLS-predicted trans contents was 0.999 with a root-mean-square error of calibration (RMSEC) and root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) 0.07% and 0.07%, respectively. Amongst the samples examined, the fat content was in the range of 8.2–27.2%, whilst most samples contained more than 10% trans fat; the highest trans fat content was 16.3%. The FT-IR results were comparable with gas chromatography (GC)

Application of a spectroscopic method to estimate the olive oil oxidative status

A rapid Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopic method coupled with partial least squares (PLS), was developed to estimate the oxidation degree of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). The reference values of EVOO oxidation for the FTIR calibration were obtained by the specific absorptions at 232 and 270 nm, due to the presence of conjugated diene (CD) and conjugated triene (CT) groups, as monitored by the UV spectrophotometric determination. Specific washing procedures were applied to the EVOO to obtain EVOOP and EVOOTP samples, without phenolic compounds and without tocopherols and phenols, respectively. To obtain different oxidation degrees covering wide CD and CT ranges, EVOO, EVOOP, and EVOOTP samples were subjected to a forced oxidation at 608C for 20 days and aliquots of the oils were daily analyzed. Regression of the FTIR/PLS predicted CD and CT of individual oxidized oils EVOO, EVOOP, EVOOTP, and all combined oils (EVOOALL) against UV–Visible reference values demonstrated the good quality of the models in terms of R2 and RMSECV values. The results of the study indicated that a strong correlation existed between FTIR and UV–Visible peak intensities

DSC EVALUATION OF OLIVE OIL DURING ACCELERATED OXIDATION

Changes in differential scanning calorimetry cooling thermal properties of an extra virgin olive oil in the presence and absence of its phenolic fraction were evaluated at different times of accelerated storage treatment (up to 4 weeks at 60\ub0C under air) and related to lipid oxidation molecules (measured with k232 and k270 indices) and total phenol content. Phenols did not appear to directly influence crystallization of extra virgin olive oil as neither cooling profiles nor thermal properties differed significantly between the two oils at the beginning of storage. However, oil samples deprived of phenols showed more significant changes at the longest storage time in comparison with untreated oil. Cooling transitions were all deconvoluted into three peaks. Changes in thermal properties were more evident for the two transition peaks at the highest temperature in both oil samples. Thus, a marked influence of lipid oxidation products on the crystallization pattern of these two peaks may be hypothesized

DSC evaluation of olive oil during an accelerated oxidation

Changes in differential scanning calorimetry cooling thermal properties of an extra virgin olive oil in the presence and absence of its phenolic fraction were evaluated at different times of accelerated storage treatment (up to 4 weeks at 60 degrees C under air) and related to lipid oxidation molecules (measured with k(232) and k(270) indices) and total phenol content. Phenols did not appear to directly influence crystallization of extra virgin olive oil as neither cooling profiles nor thermal properties differed significantly between the two oils at the beginning of storage. However, oil samples deprived of phenols showed more significant changes at the longest storage time in comparison with untreated oil. Cooling transitions were all deconvoluted into three peaks. Changes in thermal properties were more evident for the two transition peaks at the highest temperature in both oil samples. Thus, a marked influence of lipid oxidation products on the crystallization pattern of these two peaks may be hypothesized