Presence of Caffeic Acid in Flaxseed Lignan Macromolecule

Phenolic compounds were extracted from defatted flaxseeds using ethanol-dioxane (1:1, v/v). The crude extract obtained was purified using Amberlite XAD-16 column chromatography with water and methanol as mobile phases. RP-HPLC and SE-HPLC showed a lignan macromolecule (LM) as a dominant phenolic compound in the purified extract. After the alkaline hydrolysis of LM caffeic acid glucoside (CaAG) was isolated using a semi-preparative HPLC and its structure was confirmed by LC-ESI-MS. In LM of the investigated flaxseed, one molecule of caffeic acid corresponded with five molecules of p-coumaric acid and two molecules of ferulic acid. The presence of caffeic acid in the lignan molecule might be very beneficial due to its high antioxidant activity

Interlaboratory Coverage Test on Plant Food Bioactive Compounds and their Metabolites by Mass Spectrometry-Based Untargeted Metabolomics.

Bioactive compounds present in plant-based foods, and their metabolites derived from gut microbiota and endogenous metabolism, represent thousands of chemical structures of potential interest for human nutrition and health. State-of-the-art analytical methodologies, including untargeted metabolomics based on high-resolution mass spectrometry, are required for the profiling of these compounds in complex matrices, including plant food materials and biofluids. The aim of this project was to compare the analytical coverage of untargeted metabolomics methods independently developed and employed in various European platforms. In total, 56 chemical standards representing the most common classes of bioactive compounds spread over a wide chemical space were selected and analyzed by the participating platforms (n = 13) using their preferred untargeted method. The results were used to define analytical criteria for a successful analysis of plant food bioactives. Furthermore, they will serve as a basis for an optimized consensus method

Placenta is Capable of Protecting the Male Fetus from Exposure to Environmental Bisphenol A

Embryo-fetal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) could be related to poor male reproductive parameters in rodents, but this concept has not been convincingly confirmed in humans. We investigated the association of environmental BPA exposure of pregnant women with selected endocrine and anthropometric parameters of male newborns. We analyzed plasma BPA from pregnant mothers, umbilical cord, and placental tissues (n = 117/each group) by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. LH, FSH, AMH, TGF beta 2, inhibin B, and selected sex steroids were measured in cord plasma. The infant anthropometric parameters included anogenital distance, stretched penile length, head circumference, birthweight, and length. The median BPA concentrations in maternal and umbilical cord plasma, and in placental tissue were 19.0, 8.0, and 22.2 nmol/L, respectively, the levels thus being over twofold lower in the fetal circulation than in the mother or placenta. The BPA concentrations measured were 100-1000-fold lower than those demonstrated in animal experiments to have endocrine disrupting effects. Multivariable regression analysis indicated no significant correlations between the maternal/fetal/placental BPA concentrations and any of the hormone levels or anthropometric parameter measured. Plasma concentrations of BPA confirmed both maternal, placenta, and fetal exposure to environmental BPA, but the concentrations were orders of magnitude lower than those with documented endocrine disrupting activity. Moreover, the maternal/fetal concentration gradient as well as the lack of correlations of BPA levels with any major endocrine or anthropometric parameters measured in the newborns suggest a protective role for the placenta in reducing fetal exposure to the environmental BPA

Ocena wystepowania Pneumocystis carinii u chorych zakazonych wirusem HIV w oparciu o wyniki trzech metod diagnostycznych

The frequency of Pneumocystis carinii occurrence in BAL of 38 HIV-infected patients was determined with three different method. BAL sediments were stained with Giemsa method, silvered according to Gomori-Grocott method and studied with indirect immunofluorescence assay. Using Giemsa method staining Pneumocystis carinii was diagnosed in 81,6% of patients, in Gomori-Grocott method - in 31,6% of patients, but results of indirect immunofluorescence assay were positive only in 23,7%. In our study staining BAL sediments with Giemsa method allowed to detect Pneumocystis carinii in the highest percentage of examined patients

THE ESTIMATION OF PNEUMOCYSTIS CARINII IN HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS OCCURRENCE BASED ON THREE DIFFERENT METHODS

The frequency of Pneumocystis carinii occurrence in BAL of 38 HIV-infected patients was determined with three different method. BAL sediments were stained with Giemsa method, silvered according to Gomori-Grocott method and studied with indirect immunofluorescence assay. Using Giemsa method staining Pneumocystis carinii was diagnosed in 81,6% of patients, in Gomori-Grocott method - in 31,6% of patients, but results of indirect immunofluorescence assay were positive only in 23,7%. In our study staining BAL sediments with Giemsa method allowed to detect Pneumocystis carinii in the highest percentage of examined patients