The effects of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) water leaf extract and arbutin upon kidney function and primary DNA damage in renal cells of rats

Abstract

Although strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) leaves have long been used as a herbal remedy, insufficient information is available on their nephrotoxicity. We assessed the safety of strawberry tree water leaf extract and its key component arbutin, administered per os to Lewis rats of both genders at 200?mg/kg b.w./day for 14 and 28 days. The effects of the tested compounds on DNA integrity in renal cells was evaluated using alkaline comet assay, while kidney function was studied using serum creatinine and urea levels. Strawberry tree water leaf extract showed high biocompatibility with kidney tissue. It did not impair DNA integrity of renal cells and kidney function, either in male or female rats. However, exposure to single arbutin affected the levels of primary DNA damage in renal cells which could be related to metabolic conversion of arbutin into hydroquinone, whose nephrotoxicity has previously been proven.     

Effects of process parameters on supercritical CO2 extraction of total phenols from strawberry (Arbutus unedo L.) fruits: An optimization study

The aim of this work was to optimize total phenolic yield of Arbutus unedo fruits using supercritical fluid extraction. A Box–Behnken statistical design was used to evaluate the effect of various values of pressure (50–300 bar), temperature (30–80°C) and concentration of ethanol as co‐solvent (0–20%) by CO₂ flow rate of 15 g/min for 60 min. The most effective variable was co‐solvent ratio (p<0.005). Evaluative criteria for both dependent variables (total phenols and radical scavenging activity) in the model were assigned maximum. Optimum extraction conditions were elicited as 60 bar, 48°C and 19.7% yielding 25.72 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) total phenols/g extract and 99.9% radical scavenging capacity, which were higher than the values obtained by conventional water (24.89 mg/g; 83.8%) and ethanol (15.12 mg/g; 95.8%) extractions demonstrating challenges as a green separation process with improved product properties for industrial applications.     

An RP-HPLC determination of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in honey The case of strawberry tree honey

The use of the RP-HPLC official method of the International Honey Commission (IHC) for the determination of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in strawberry tree honey (Arbutus unedo, a typical Sardinian honey) has brought to light a specific and heavy chromatographic interference that prevents accurate quantification. The interference has been identified as homogentisic acid (HA), i.e. the marker of the botanical origin of the honey. For this reason, an alternative RP-HPLC method is proposed. The bias-free method allows a complete separation of HMF from HA to the baseline level and is faster and more precise than the RP-HPLC official method: the detection and quantification limits are 1.9 and 4.0 mg kg⁻¹, respectively, whereas the repeatability is ca. 2% in the HMF concentration range of 5-140 mg kg⁻¹.     

Wild strawberry (Arbutus unedo): Phytochemical screening and antioxidant properties of fruits collected in northern Morocco

The aim of this study was to determine the polyphenolic compounds and the antioxidant ability of Arbutus unedo fruits, collected from three regions of northern Morocco, using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection. The proper extraction method has been selected to achieve this objective. After delipidation, the three harvests were extracted by sonication using two solvents with increased polarity ethyl acetate and MeOH:water, 80:20 (v/v). Total polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins and anthocyanins were respectively: 108.41 ± 9.29 mg GAE/g (w/w) dry weight (DW), 101.07 ± 5.6 mg QE/g (w/w) (DW), 0.45 ± 0.48 mg EC/g (w/w) (DW) and 0.35 ± 0.48 mg Pg-3-glu/g (w/w) (DW). EC50 values for reducing power and DPPH radical scavenging activities were between 1.37 ± 0.2 and 17.82 ± 0.12 µg/mL (w/v). A total of 75 compounds were tentatively identified and some of these had never been found until nowadays in Arbutus unedo. The average amount of antioxidant compounds obtained by semi-quantitative analyses was 120.35 ± 32.05 mg/100 g (w/w) (DW). The attained results clearly highlight the potential of A. unedo as a source of healthy compounds, which could be advantageously added to the daily diet, making it a potential candidate for the cure for many emerging diseases.     

Improved liquid chromatographic method for determination of carotenoids in Taiwanese mango (Mangifera indica L.)

An HPLC method was developed to determine the various carotenoids in Taiwanese mango (Mangifera indica L.). Initially, the peel and seed of mangoes were removed, the pulps were cut into pieces, freeze-dried, ground into powder, extracted and subjected to HPLC analysis. A mobile phase of methanol-isopropanol (99:1, v/v) (A) and methylene chloride (100%) (B) with the following gradient elution was developed: 100% A and 0% B in the beginning, maintained for 15 min, decreased to 70% A in 45 min, maintained for 15 min and returned to 100% A in 65 min. A total of 25 carotenoids were resolved within 53 min by using a C-30 column with flow rate at 1 mL/min and detection at 450 nm. alpha-Carotene was used as an internal standard to quantify all the carotenoids. All-trans-beta-carotene was present in largest amount (29.34 microg/g), followed by cis isomers of beta-carotene (9.86 microg/g), violaxanthin and its cis isomers (6.40 microg/g), neochrome (5.03 microg/g), luteoxanthin (3.6 microg/g), neoxanthin and its cis isomers (1.88 microg/g), zeaxanthin (1.16 microg/g) and 9- or 9'-cis-lutein (0.78 microg/g).     

A rapid gas chromatographic method for the determination of chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid in plasma and urine.

A rapid gas chromatographic method is described for the determination of chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid (the active metabolite of clofibrate) in plasma and urine. The assay involves an extraction into toluene and back-extraction of the chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid and the internal standard (2-naphthoic acid) into the methylating reagent (trimethylanilinium hydroxide). Concentrations of 1 mug/ml in plasma and urine can easily be measured; the precision of the method is 3.3 +/- 0.7% for plasma and 2.7 +/- 0.4% for urine. There is no interference from endogenous compounds or from drugs commonly prescribed together with clofibrate.     

Stability-indicating chromatographic methods for the determination of some oxicams

Two sensitive and selective methods were developed for the determination of some oxicams, namely, lornoxicam (LOX), tenoxicam (TEX), and meloxicam (MEX), in the presence of their alkaline degradation products. The first method is based on the thin-layer chromatographic separation of the 3 drugs from their alkaline degradation products, followed by densitometric measurement of the intact drug spots for LOX, TEX, and MEX at 380, 370, and 364 nm, respectively. The developing systems used for separation are ethyl acetate-methanol-26% ammonia (17 + 3 + 0.35, v/v/v) for LOX and TEX and chloroform-n-hexane-96.0% acetic acid (18 + 1 + 1, v/v/v) for MEX. The linear ranges were 0.25-6.0 microg/spot for LOX and TEX and 0.5-10 microg/spot for MEX, with mean recoveries of 99.80 +/- 1.32, 100.57 +/- 1.34, and 100.71 +/- 1.57%, respectively. The second method is based on the liquid chromatographic separation of the 3 drugs from their alkaline degradation products on a reversed-phase C18 column, using mobile phases of methanol-acetonitrile-acetate buffer, pH 4.6 (4.5 + 0.5 + 5.0, v/v/v) for LOX and MEX and methanol-acetonitrile-acetate buffer, pH 4.6 (1.9 + 0.1 + 3.0, v/v/v) for TEX at ambient temperature. Quantification is achieved by UV detection at 280 nm, based on peak area. The linear ranges were 0.5-20 microg/mL for LOX and TEX and 1.25-50 microg/mL for MEX, with mean recoveries of 99.81 +/- 1.01, 98.90 +/- 1.61, and 100.86 +/- 1.55%, respectively. The methods were validated according to guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonization. The developed methods were successfully applied to the determination of LOX, TEX, and MEX in bulk powder, laboratory-prepared mixtures containing different percentages of degradation products, and pharmaceutical dosage forms.     

Chromatographic-based methods for pesticide determination in honey: An overview

Nowadays the control of pesticides in honey is an issue of primary health importance as consequence of the increasing content of these chemicals in the aforementioned matrix. This poisoning has led to the worldwide increasing loss of bees since 1995. From Europe to Canada, scientist, beekeepers and chemical companies disagree about the reasons that have led to colony losses higher than 50% in some areas. This problem has become a public health issue due to the high honey worldwide consumption. The presence of pesticides in honey has been directly related to bees’ mortality by some researchers through pesticide presence in (1) pollen, (2) honeycomb walls, (3) own bees and (4) honey. In this work we describe the actual state-of-the-art for pesticides determination in honey along with a review in this subject focused on sample treatments and instrumentation. Finally, future trends are also commented.     

Multiresidue method for the gas chromatographic determination of pesticides in honey after solid-phase extraction cleanup

A new multiresidue method is described for the determination of pesticides in honey. The method involves dissolution of the honey in a methanol-water mixture, followed by solid-phase extraction cleanup and gas chromatographic determination. Twenty-six pesticides used on flowering field crops, on flowering fruit and vegetables, or as acaricides to control Varroa jacobsoni in beehives are determined by the method. Recoveries from honey, spiked at 0.02-1.6 mg/kg, ranged from 85 to 127% with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2-16%, except for the RSD of 27% for captan at 0.05 mg/kg.     

Gas chromatographic determination of acrinathrine and 3-phenoxybenzaldehyde residues in honey

A procedure involving an extraction step and further gas chromatographic analysis with flame ionization detection to determine residues of acrinathrine and its main metabolite, 3-phenoxybenzaldehyde, in honey is proposed. Residues can be isolated from the matrix by means of liquid-liquid extraction with a mixture of benzene-isopropanol, by solid-phase extraction with octadecylsilane cartridges or Florisil packed columns, the latter method giving higher recoveries. Assays on spiked honey samples are carried out to test the procedures that are afterwards applied to honey samples from treated beehives.     

Application of HPLC-PBMS to the identification of unknown components in a triterpenoid fraction of Arbutus unedo fruits

An extract fraction fruits of Arbutus unedo, L., was cleaned-up by column chromatography and shown by NMR to be a mixture of isomers that resists further attempts at separation by conventional chromatographic methods. High resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HRGC-MS) confirms the presence of triter-penoid isomers but does not allow separation of all the components. This can be improved by trimethylsilylation but the absence of molecular ions and the complex spectra are difficult to interpret. Complete separation can be achieved by high pressure liquid chro-matography (HPLC) coupled to a mass spectrometer by means of a particle beam interface (HPLC-PBMS). Four triterpene com-pounds are identified through analysis of the corresponding mass spectra: α-amyrin, β-amyrin, and Lupeol, have for the first time been identified in Arbutus unedo, L. Fruits. A new natural triterpene tentatively identified as olean-12-en-3β, 23-diol is described for the first time.     

Direct and simultaneous high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for the determination of p-aminobenzoic acid and its conjugates in human urine

Procedures based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were developed for identifying and measuring p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and its conjugate metabolites in human urine after oral doses of PABA. p-Aminohippuric acid (PAH), PABA, p-acetamidohippuric acid (PAHA) and p-acetamidobenzoic acid (PADB) in urine were resolved and determined by HPLC simultaneously and directly without extraction. A mobile phase consisting of 3% (v/v) acetonitrile in distilled water containing 0.005 M 1-heptanesulphonic acid in glacial acetic acid (PIC-B7) at pH 3.3 was eluted at 1 ml/min through a C18 Spherisorb column, followed by UV detection at 280 nm. After hydrolysis of urine samples at 37 degrees C for 3 h with beta-glucuronidase, the amounts of PABA-glucuronide and PADB-glucuronide were also determined. The retention times of PAH, a dominant peak which disappeared after hydrolysis, PABA, DABA (3,5-diaminobenzoic acid, as the internal standard), PAHA and PADB were 11.8, 14, 15, 18, 24 and 46 min, respectively. The 24-h urinary recoveries of PAH, PAHA, PADB, PADB-glucuronide, PABA and PABA-glucuronide after separate oral doses of 200 and 800 mg of PABA in one healthy subject were 43.4 and 48.1, 7 and 29.1, 11.2 and 11.8, 34.8 and 6.6, 0.2 and 0.3, and 1.0 and 2.4%, respectively. It is interesting that at high dose (800 mg) saturation of glucuronidation of PADB (N-acetylated PABA) appeared to occur, which resulted in an increase in the formation of PAHA, the glycine conjugate of PADB. Over 90% of the oral dose was accounted for by 8 h after administration.     

High-performance liquid and gas chromatographic methods for the determination of cicloprolol

Two methods, one based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the other on gas chromatography (GC), were developed for the quantification of the partial adrenergic receptor antagonist cicloprolol. In the GC method, samples are cleaned up by back-extraction, then derivatized with heptafluorobutyric anhydride and separated on a capillary cross-linked methylsilicone column. This GC method is time-consuming but, with electron-capture detection, cicloprolol can be quantified at levels down to 1 ng/ml. The HPLC method, using a reversed ODS stationary phase and fluorimetric detection, is less sensitive (5 ng/ml) but, with a single-step extraction, is faster and simpler. The determination of cicloprolol in human blood samples by the two methods gave comparable results. Routine monitoring of cicloprolol can be done easily with the HPLC method, whereas the time-consuming GC method may be reserved for pharmacokinetic studies where late-sampled tubes, with low concentrations, must be analysed.     

Thin-layer chromatographic scanner, spectrophotometric and high-performance liquid chromatographic methods for the determination of colchicine

One high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) and two thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) methods are proposed for the determination of colchicine in crude drugs and pharmaceutical preparations. The TLC scanner method is based on measurement of the absorbance of the separated colchicine spot; alternatively, after scraping the spot from the plate and elution the absorbance can be measured spectrophotometrically. The HPLC assay was carried out isocratically on a reversed-phase column using MeOH-H2O (60 + 40). The recoveries were 99.2 +/- 1.23, 99.1 +/- 1.12 and 99.1 +/- 2.01% for the TLC scanner, spectrophotometric and HPLC methods, respectively. The methods were shown to be sensitive and specific and can be used as an alternative to the pharmacopoeial methods having been applied to the determination of colchicine in corms of Merendera persica and in three pharmaceutical preparations.     

A rapid two-step chromatographic method for the quantitative determination of vitellogenin in fish plasma

By combining anion-exchange membrane purification with high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) analysis, a two-step chromatographic method was developed for the determination of vitellogenin (Vtg) in fish plasma. Most plasma protein interferences can be removed during anion-exchange membrane purification process. Vtg is eluted from the size-exclusion chromatography column with a retention time of about 9 min and is characterized based on the native molecular weight, with a limit of quantification of 20 g Vtg mL^–1 plasma. The spiked recovery and interassay variability were better than 80% and 4.8%. This method was successfully applied to analyze the plasma Vtg levels of loach (Misgurnus angaillicaudatus) and sea catfish (Enchelyopus elongatus). In addition to all the female fish, Vtg is detected in 75% of male loaches and 100% of male sea catfish. The result indicates that some chemicals or unknown factors with estrogenic activity have induced male fish to produce Vtg.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of cymiazole in honey with UV and electrochemical detection

Chromatographia - An HPLC method for determination of cymiazole in honey using a narrow bore C18 column is described. Preconcentration and sample cleaning were achieved by using solid-liquid...