Effects of L-Carnitine on Sucrose-Induced Hyperlipidaemia

L-Carnitine, L-(−)-β-hydroxy-γ-trimethylaminobutyrate, plays an important role as a factor necessary for the transport of long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria. In order to investigate the influence of L-carnitine on hyperlipidaemias, the experimental model of the sucrose-induced hypertriglyceridaemia of the rat was used. In these experiments L-carnitine in the dose of 11 mg per day and 100 g body weight (over the period of 1 week) was able to antagonize the sucrose-induced hypertriglyceridaemia and the increase of serum free fatty acid level in female rats of the Wistar strain. Carnitine administration did not change the activities of lipogenic enzymes and fatty acid synthesis in the liver. However, L-carnitine increases the rate of hepatic fatty acid oxidation. Our results indicate a hypotriglyceridemic and free fatty acid lowering effect of L-carnitine, and suggest the use of this compound in the therapy of hyperlipidaemias.     

Effects of L-Carnitine Supplementation in Sows

In recent years L-carnitine has been used increasingly in animals. This review gives an overview of the effects of dietary L-carnitine supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on the reproductive performance of sows. In one investigation L-carnitine supplementation during pregnancy increased the number of piglets born to sows. Other studies showed heavier litters in sows supplemented with L-carnitine compared with control sows, and litters of L-carnitine supplemented sows gained more weight during the suckling period than litters of control sows. This effect might be due to more vigorous suckling by piglets of L-carnitine supplemented sows, causing the sows’ milk production to rise. At negative energy balance during lactation L-carnitine supplemented sows are able to mobilize more energy from adipose tissue, which can be used for the production of surplus milk. In conclusion, recent studies clearly show that dietary L-carnitine supplementation increases the reproductive performance of sows. This finding suggests that the amount of L-carnitine synthesized endogenously does not cover the requirement for maximum sow performance during pregnancy and lactation.     

Large Scale Bioprocess for the Production of Optically Pure L-Carnitine

A competitive production method using the biotransformation of 4-butyrobetaine to enantiomerically pure L-carnitine was developed and scaled-up by Lonza. The process produces L-carnitine in 99.5% yield, and >99.9% enantiomeric excess (ee). Continuous and discontinuous processes were developed but the fed-batch process was found to be economically the most favourable process mode.     

L-Carnitine Supplementation: A New Paradigm for its Role in Exercise

Early research investigating the effects of L-carnitine supplementation has examined its role in substrate metabolism and in acute exercise performance. These studies have yielded equivocal findings, partially due to difficulties in increasing muscle carnitine concentrations. However, recent studies have proposed that L-carnitine may play a different role in exercise physiology, and preliminary results have been encouraging. Current investigations have theorized that L-carnitine supplementation facilitates exercise recovery. Proposed mechanism is as follows: 1) increased serum carnitine concentration enhances capillary endothelial function; 2) increased blood flow and reduced hypoxia mitigate the cascade of ensuing, destructive chemical events following exercise; 3) thus allowing reduced structural damage of skeletal muscle mediated by more intact receptors in muscle needed for improved protein signaling. This paradigm explains decreased markers of purine catabolism, free radical formation, and muscle tissue disruption after resistance exercise and the increased repair of muscle proteins following long-term L-carnitine supplementation.     

What to Learn from a Comparative Genomic Sequence Analysis of L-Carnitine Dehydrogenase

In contrast to eukaryotic cells certain eubacterial strains have acquired the ability to utilize L-carnitine (R-(–)-3-hydroxy-4-(trimethylamino)butyrate) as sole source of energy, carbon and nitrogen. The first step of the L-carnitine degradation to glycine betaine is catalysed by L-carnitine dehydrogenase (L-CDH, EC 1.1.1.108) and results in the formation of the dehydrocarnitine. During the oxidation of L-carnitine a simultaneous conversion of the cofactor NAD⁺ to NADH takes place. This catabolic reaction has always been of keen interest, because it can be exploited for spectroscopic L-carnitine determination in biological fluids – a quantification method, which is developed in our lab – as well as L-carnitine production.Based on a cloned L-CDH sequence an expedition through the currently available prokaryotic genomic sequence space began to mine relevant information about bacterial L-carnitine metabolism hidden in the enormous amount of data stored in public sequence databases. Thus by means of homology-based and context-based protein function prediction is revealed that L-CDH exists in certain eubacterial genomes either as a protein of approximately 35 kDa or as a homologous fusion protein of approximately 54 kDa with an additional putative domain, which is predicted to possess a thioesterase activity. These two variants of the enzyme are found on one hand in the genome sequence of bacterial species, which were previously reported to decompose L-carnitine, and on the other hand in gram-positive bacteria, which were not known to express L-CDH. Furthermore we could not only discover that L-CDH is located in a conserved genetic entity, which genes are very likely involved in this L-carnitine catabolic pathway, but also pinpoint the exact genomic sequence position of several other enzymes, which play an essential role in the bacterial metabolism of L-carnitine precursors.     

L-Carnitine, Immunomodulation, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-related Disorders

The use of pharmacologic doses of the conditionally-essential nutrient L-carnitine (LC) has been associated with positive effects on the immune system. We have recently suggested that this property of LC could be mediated through activation of the glucocorticoid receptor alpha. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals, especially those on antiretroviral therapy, may become LC-deficient. This evidence, together with the immunomodulatory properties of LC, its known major role in lipid and energy metabolisms, and its proposed antiapoptotic and neuroprotective actions, have encouraged the use of LC supplementation as a potential treatment for HIV-related disorders, such as lipodystrophy and peripheral neuropathy. Preliminary results, mostly from small-scale uncontrolled studies are conflicting, whilst larger controlled trials are warranted.     

Protective Effects of L-Carnitine on Myocardium of Experimentally Diabetic Rats with Additional Ischaemia and Reperfusion

We investigated the protective effects of L-carnitine against damage to the heart caused by diabetes-induced alterations and additional ischaemia and reperfusion in diabetic BB/OK rats using histological techniques, morphometry, biochemical parameters of oxidative stress, and SOD expression. The results revealed that diabetes-induced morphological changes were partly improved or nearly prevented by substitution of L-carnitine, which also seemed to improve the reduced tolerance of diabetic myocardium towards ischaemia/reperfusion with respect to morphological parameters. Immunohistochemical and biochemical parameters of oxidative stress such as SOD protein expression as well as SOD and GPx activity indicate increased free oxygen radical level in the ischaemic/reperfused diabetic myocardium, which is clearly decreased by L-carnitine treatment. We suggest that L-carnitine may be an adequate “causal” agent in the protection of myocardial alterations in diabetes with additional ischaemia and reperfusion, as it stabilizes mitochondrial and cellular function and acts through its antioxidative or radical scavenging potential. Further investigations are necessary to determine an approach towards adjuvant treatment of diabetic myocardial complications using L-carnitine.     

Current Methods for Determination of <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis>-Carnitine and Acylcarnitines

Summary. L-Carnitine as endogenous compound plays an important role within several metabolic pathways and a deficiency of L-carnitine can cause adverse effects in physiological and/or mental state of health and disease. The prevention of diseases related to carnitine deficiency requires, first of all, the exact determination of L-carnitine and its esters in biological material at pmol/cm³ level. A series of analytical procedures based on biochemical assays as well as on physical methods are available today. Determination of free and total carnitine is sometimes sufficient for a clinical diagnosis, but in most cases, such as in newborn screening for genetic disorders, detailed qualitative and quantitative L-carnitine/acylcarnitine profiling is needed. Technological progress has also revolutionized the determination of carnitines. Today, comprehensive and diagnostically relevant information can be obtained by mass spectrometry. An overview is given of the technical and methodological developments in carnitine analysis and some applications, such as in neonatal screening, diabetes mellitus, and cardiomyopathy.     

L p-estimates for Schr?dinger operators

L ^p-estimates of the resolvent for a large class of Schr?dinger operators are proved. Combining this with the almost analytic continuations, we obtainL ^p-estimates for functions of Schr?dinger operators.     

Method to evaluate empirical photoionisation cross-sections for L3 magnetic sub-states

A method to evaluate empirical values of L3 magnetic sub-state photoionisation cross-sections has been reported. Preliminarily, the method requires scanning of the existing experimental data on L X-ray fluorescence (XRF) cross-sections for energy dependence of L/Lℓ cross-section ratio. After assuring the energy dependence of L/Lℓ cross-section ratio, the ratio is used for the determination of the alignment parameter A2. Thus, the determined A2 value, along with the available data on the sub-shell photoionisation cross-sections σ_Li and the Coster–Kronig transition probabilities f_ij, is used to evaluate magnetic sub-state photoionisation cross-sections σ_Li(m) for and . The method has been used to evaluate L3 magnetic sub-state photoionisation cross-sections for four elements with Z82, from the measured L XRF cross-sections. To the best of our knowledge, until this date neither theoretical nor semi-empirical data on magnetic sub-state photoionisation cross-sections for these elements has been available, for comparison with such cross-section values and to establish the superiority of one data set over the others.     

GLC and Colorimetric Methods for the Determination of Capsaicin

Abstract

GLC and colorimetric methods for Capsaicin and its dosage forms are investigated. They offer an improvement in ease, speed and accuracy. The first GLC method is based on the formation of methyl derivative of capsaicin. The colorimetric procedure is based on the formation of O-nitroso-derivative between the drug and sodium nitrite.     

Different Validated Methods for Determination of Cefditoren Pivoxil

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Six, sensitive, precise and accurate methods have been developed for the determination of cefditoren pivoxil (CP). The first two...     

NMR Methods for Optical Purity Determination of Pharmaceuticals

Abstract

Although enantiomers normally have identical spectra, several methods for measurement of optical purity using NMR are possible: forming diastereomeric derivatives using chiral solvents and complexation with chiral reagents especially lanthanide shift reagents. The major limitation of these techniques as quantitative methods is the small chemical shift differences observed. However, with the availability of a wide range of lanthanide shift reagents, this problem is overcome. Several examples are cited for optical purity determinations of several pharmaceuticals using lanthanide shift reagents.     

Spectrophotometric Methods for the Determination of Nelfinavir Mesylate

Three visual spectrophotometric methods are described for the assaying of nelfinavir mesylate (NEL) in either bulk form or dosage forms. Methods A-C are based on the oxidation of NEL with an excess of oxidant (N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in methods A&B or chloramine-T (CAT) in method C) in acidic medium. The unreacted oxidant is then estimated colorimetrically using an oxidisable dye (Celistine blue (CB) in method A or Gallocyanine (GC) in method C) or p-N-methyl aminophenol sulphate (PMAP)-sulphanilamide (SA) reagent (in method B). These methods obey Beer's law and give reproducible results. Recoveries range from 99.3–100.5%.     

稀土元素分离检测技术新进展

对2003年以来稀土元素分离检测技术的新进展进行了评述，重点集中于各种新型分离技术、新型检测技术及其在稀土元素分析中的应用。对于离子液体、纳米材料、离子印迹聚合物等新型材料以及浊点萃取、膜萃取、毛细管电泳等新型技术在稀士元素分离中的应用进行了详细讨论，并对中子活化分析、等离子体原子发射光谱和等离子体质谱在稀土元素检测中的应用进行了综述，重点讨论了等离子体质谱技术的应用。在回顾稀土元素分离检测技术进展的同时，对其在未来几年的发展趋势进行了评述。     

H–L curve: A novel 2D graphical representation for DNA sequences

By assigning to four kinds of basic nucleotide A, T, G and C, respectively, four different two-component vectors, in which the first elements are constant (equal to 1) and the second elements are different from each other, we presented a 2D graphical representation of DNA primary sequences, which is mathematically proven to be not any circuit and associated with DNA sequences in a one-to-one manner and whose advantage is that it helps in identifying major difference among similar DNA sequences. Making use of the presented graphical representation, we analyzed DNA mutations between sequences.     

Amperometric and Conductimetric Methods for Simultaneous Determination of Captopril and Bendroflumethiazide

Abstract

The mixture of captopril (antihypertensive) and bendroflumethiazide (diuretic) was assayed using conductimetric and amperometric methods. Each method was applied for the analysis of laboratory-made sample mixtures in authentic and dosage forms. For captopril, the amperometric and conductimetric methods gave mean percent recoveries of 100.2 ± 1.2 and 99.6 ± 1.2, respectively. These results have shown good agreement when compared with other methods in the literature. When applied to bendroflumethiazide the conductimetric method gave percent recovery of 98.5 ± 1.6 which agreed closely with the spectrophotometric pharmacopoeial method.

The pK₁ for captopril was determined potentiometrically at room temperature (25°C) in aqueous medium. The calculated value, based on Henderson equation was 3.78.