Physical and chemical properties of fish and chicken bones as calcium source for mineral supplements

Physical and chemical properties of two bones of two species of fish, hoki (Macruronus novaezelandiae) and giant seaperch (Lates calcarifer Bloch.), were compared with chicken bone to evaluate their composition for use as natural calcium supplement. The information could be useful for waste utilization in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Physical testing and chemical analyses were performed according to the USP 24 and BP 1998 standards under calcium carbonate monograph. Loss on drying found in hoki, giant seaperch and chicken bones was 12.4, 11.3 and 5.9 % w/w, calculated on dried basis, respectively. Total calcium determined by complexometric titration was 31.8, 28.1 and 32.2% w/w in hoki, giant seaperch and chicken bones, respectively. All samples contained carbonate and phosphate anion residues but gluconate, acetate and citrate were absent. The presence of calcium carbonate was confirmed by thermogravimetry. Results from all bones showed that limit tests for heavy metals, arsenic and iron complied with the USP standard, whereas barium, chloride and sulfate conformed to the BP standard. The magnesium and alkali metals in giant seaperch bone were within the BP limit (1.5%), but those of hoki and chicken bone exceeded the limit

Method Development for Separation of Active Ingredients in Cold Medicines by Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography

Separation of nine commonly used active ingredients in cold medicines, were demonstrated by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. The ingredients included paracetamol, chlorpheniramine maleate, diphenhydramine hydrochloride, triprolidine hydrochloride, phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, loratadine, aspirin and caffeine. Effects of buffer concentrations, pH, organic modifiers and capillary length were investigated. The optimum conditions were achieved in 10 mM sodium dihydrogenphosphate-sodium tetraborate buffer, pH 9.0, containing 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 28% v/v acetonitrile using the effective length of 50 cm, the separating voltage of +15 kV and the capillary temperature of 30°C. Separation of all peaks was obtained within 28.4 min with a resolution of 1.2

Evaluation of a Portable Microchip Electrophoresis Fluorescence Detection System for the Analysis of Amino Acid Neurotransmitters in Brain Dialysis Samples

A portable fluorescence detection system for use with microchip electrophoresis was developed and compared to a benchtop system. Using this system, six neuroactive amines commonly found in brain dialysate (arginine, citrulline, taurine, histamine, glutamate, and aspartate) were derivatized offline with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde/cyanide, separated electrophoretically, and detected by fluorescence. The limits of detection for the analytes of interest were 50 – 250 nM for the benchtop system and 250 nM – 1.3 μM for the portable system, both of which were adequate for most analyte detection in brain microdialysis samples. The portable system was then demonstrated for the detection of the same six amines in a rat brain microdialysis sample

Anti-angiogenic effect of curcumin, curcumin ethylenediamine derivative and curcumin ethylenediamine manganese complex

We investigated the anti-angiogenic effect of curcumin, curcumin ethylenediamine derivative (curcumin ED) and curcumin ethylenediamine manganese complex (curcumin EDMn) through the inhibition of the formation of tube-like structures by human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC). Curcumin, curcumin ED, curcumin EDMn did not show cytotoxicity to HUVEC at concentrations equal and lower than 10 μM. At the concentration of 10 μM,curcumin, curcumin ED and curcumin EDMn inhibited the tube formation by approximately 94%, 40% and 65%, respectively. These results suggest that curcumin ED and curcumin EDMn might be useful as anti-angiogenic drugs in addition to their anti-lipid peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities as described in our previous studies. クルクミン(curcumin),クルクミン・エチレンジアミン誘導体(curcumin ED)及びそのマンガン複合体(curcumin EDMn)を用いて,ヒト臍帯静脈内皮細胞の管腔様構造の形成能を指標にして血管新生阻害効果を検討した。10μMのcurcumin, curcumin ED及びcurcumin EDMn は,管腔様構造の形成をそれぞれ94%,40%及び65%程度阻害した。これらの結果は,curcuminとともにcurcumin ED及びcurcumin EDMnが以前に報告した抗脂質過酸化作用やスーパーオキシドジスムターゼ活性を有することに加えて,血管新生の阻害薬として有効であることが示唆された。21st Century COE Program, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical Universit

Potentially antioxidant compounds indicated from Mallotus and Phyllanthus species fingerprints

The genera of Mallotus and Phyllanthus contain several species that are commonly used as traditional medicines in oriental countries. Some species show interesting pharmaceutical activities, such as an antioxidant activity. To produce clinically useful medicines or food supplements (nutraceuticals) from these herbs, the species should be identified and a thorough quality control should be implemented. Nowadays, the integration of chromatographic and chemometric approaches allows a high-throughput identification and activity prediction of medicinal plants. In this study, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were applied and compared to distinguish Mallotus and Phyllanthus species. Moreover, peaks from their chromatographic fingerprints, which were responsible for their antioxidant activity were assigned. For the latter purpose, the relevant information was extracted from the chromatographic fingerprints using linear multivariate calibration techniques, i.e., Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structures (O-PLS). Results reveal that exploratory analysis using PCA shows somewhat diverging clustering tendencies between Mallotus and Phyllanthus samples than HCA. However, both approaches mainly confirm each other. Concerning the multivariate calibration techniques, both PLS and O-PLS models demonstrate good predictive abilities. By comparing the regression coefficients of the models with the chromatographic fingerprints, the peaks that are potentially responsible for the antioxidant activity of the extracts could be confirmed