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Fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants are of relevance in health and disease. Current methods to extract these compounds from biological fluids mainly need use of multi-steps and multi organic solvents. They are time-consuming and difficult to apply to treat simultaneously large sample number. We here describe a single-step, one solvent extraction of fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants from biological fluids, and the chromatographic separation of all-trans-retinoic acid, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, all-trans-retinol, astaxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, trans-β-apo-8'-carotenal, γ-tocopherol, β-cryptoxanthin, α-tocopherol, phylloquinone, lycopene, α-carotene, β-carotene and coenzyme Q 10 . Extraction is obtained by adding one volume of biological fluid to two acetonitrile volumes, vortexing for 60s and incubating for 60min at 37°C under agitation. HPLC separation occurs in 30min using Hypersil C18, 100×4.6mm, 5μm particle size column, gradient from 70% methanol+30% H 2 O to 100% acetonitrile, flow rate of 1.0ml/min and 37°C column temperature. Compounds are revealed using highly sensitive UV-VIS diode array detector. The HPLC method suitability was assessed in terms of sensitivity, reproducibility and recovery. Using the present extraction and chromatographic conditions we obtained values of the fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants in serum from 50 healthy controls similar to those found in literature. Additionally, the profile of these compounds was also measured in seminal plasma from 20 healthy fertile donors. Results indicate that this simple, rapid and low cost sample processing is suitable to extract fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants from biological fluids and can be applied in clinical and nutritional studies., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Neuroglobin is a neuron-specific hexacoordinated globin capable of binding various ligands, including O2, NO, and CO, the biological function of which is still uncertain. Various studies seem to indicate that neuroglobin is a neuroprotective agent when overexpressed, acting as a potent inhibitor of oxidative and nitrosative stress. In this study, we evaluated the pathophysiological response of the neuroglobin gene and protein expression in the cerebral tissue of rats sustaining traumatic brain injury of differing severity, while simultaneously measuring the oxidant/antioxidant balance. Two levels of trauma (mild and severe) were induced in anesthetized animals using the weight-drop model of diffuse axonal injury. Rats were then sacrificed at 6, 12, 24, 48, and 120 h after traumatic brain injury, and the gene and protein expression of neuroglobin and the concentrations of malondialdehyde (as a parameter representative of reactive oxygen species-mediated damage), nitrite + nitrate (indicative of NO metabolism), ascorbate, and glutathione (GSH) were determined in the brain tissue. Results indicated that mild traumatic brain injury, although causing a reversible increase in oxidative/nitrosative stress (increase in malondialdehyde and nitrite + nitrate) and an imbalance in antioxidants (decrease in ascorbate and GSH), did not induce any change in neuroglobin. Conversely, severe traumatic brain injury caused an over nine- and a fivefold increase in neuroglobin gene and protein expression, respectively, as well as a remarkable increase in oxidative/nitrosative stress and depletion of antioxidants. The results of this study, showing a lack of effect in mild traumatic brain injury as well as asynchronous time course changes in neuroglobin expression, oxidative/nitrosative stress, and antioxidants in severe traumatic brain injury, do not seem to support the role of neuroglobin as an endogenous neuroprotective antioxidant agent, at least under pathophysiological conditions., (Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Synthesis, antioxidant properties and resistance to carnosinase hydrolysis of histidine-containing dipeptides are reported in this study. Carnosine (beta-alanyl-l-histidine), homocarnosine (gamma-aminobutyryl-l-histidine) and anserine (beta-alanyl-3-methyl-l-histidine) were covalently derivatized with beta-cyclodextrin to form different OH- or NH-bound conjugates. Mass spectroscopic and (1)H NMR data were used to determine the structure and the purity of the various beta-cyclodextrin derivatives. The inhibitory effect towards oxidation of human LDL induced by Cu(2+) ions, was estimated by measuring malondialdehyde formation as a function of increasing concentrations of these newly synthesized compounds (the beta-cyclodextrin-anserine conjugated in 3 had the highest antioxidant effect). All derivatives had higher antioxidant effects than those of the corresponding free histidine-containing dipeptides. Resistance to rat brain carnosinase hydrolysis of the most active derivatives indicated that these compounds are good candidates for further studies in more complex cellular and animal models. Their possible applications for remedies in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, are discussed.

Several in vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that carnosine (beta-alanil-L-histidine) and homocarnosine (beta-aminobutyril-L-histidine) can act as scavengers of reactive oxygen species. beta-Cyclodextrin was functionalized with homocarnosine, obtaining the following new bioconjugate isomers: 6(A)-[(4-{[(1S)-1-carboxy-2-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)ethyl]amino}-4-oxobutyl)amino]-6(A)-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin and (2(A)S,3(A)R)-3A-[(4-{[(1S)-1-carboxy-2-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)ethyl]amino}-4-oxobutyl)amino]-3(A)-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin. Pulse radiolysis investigations show that the beta-cyclodextrin homocarnosine bioconjugates are scavengers of (*)OH radicals because of the formation of stable imidazole-centered radicals and the scavenger ability of glucose molecules of the macrocycle. The ability of these new beta-cyclodextrin derivatives to inhibit the copper(II) driven LDL oxidation was determined in comparison with that displayed by the analogous carnosine derivatives. Both the beta-cyclodextrin carnosine isomers show a higher protective effect than that of free dipeptide and homocarnosine derivatives, bringing into light the role of the beta-CD cavity. The ability of these new beta-cyclodextrin derivatives to inhibit the copper(II) driven LDL oxidation was determined in comparison with that displayed by the analogous carnosine derivatives. Both the beta-cyclodextrin carnosine isomers show a higher protective effect than that of free dipeptide and homocarnosine derivatives, bringing into light the role of the beta-CD cavity.

To date, little is known concerning the circulating levels of biochemically relevant metabolites (antioxidants, oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers, purines, and pyrimidines) in patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF), a rare form of myeloproliferative tumor causing a dramatic decrease in erythropoiesis and angiogenesis. In this study, using a targeted metabolomic approach, serum samples of 22 PMF patients and of 22 control healthy donors were analyzed to quantify the circulating concentrations of hypoxanthine, xanthine, uric acid (as representative purines), uracil, β-pseudouridine, uridine (as representative pyrimidines), reduced glutathione (GSH), ascorbic acid (as two of the main water-soluble antioxidants), malondialdehyde, nitrite, nitrate (as oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers) and creatinine, using well-established HPLC method for their determination. Results showed that PMF patients have dramatic depletions of both ascorbic acid and GSH (37.3- and 3.81-times lower circulating concentrations, respectively, than those recorded in healthy controls, p < 0.0001), accompanied by significant increases in malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitrite + nitrate (4.73- and 1.66-times higher circulating concentrations, respectively, than those recorded in healthy controls, p < 0.0001). Additionally, PMF patients have remarkable alterations of circulating purines, pyrimidines, and creatinine, suggesting potential mitochondrial dysfunctions causing energy metabolism imbalance and consequent increases in these cell energy-related compounds. Overall, these results, besides evidencing previously unknown serum metabolic alterations in PMF patients, suggest that the determination of serum levels of the aforementioned compounds may be useful to evaluate PMF patients on hospital admission for adjunctive therapies aimed at recovering their correct antioxidant status, as well as to monitor patients' status and potential pharmacological treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative/nitrosative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an invariably fatal progressive neurodegenerative disease. Here, as an exploratory arm of a phase II clinical trial (EudraCT Number 2017-005065-47), we used high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) to investigate changes in the metabolic profiles of serum from ALS patients treated weekly for 4 weeks with a repeated sub-cutaneous dose of 1 mg/kg of a proprietary low molecular weight dextran sulphate, called ILB®. A significant normalization of the serum levels of several key metabolites was observed over the treatment period, including N-acetylaspartate (NAA), oxypurines, biomarkers of oxidative/nitrosative stress and antioxidants. An improved serum metabolic profile was accompanied by significant amelioration of the patients' clinical conditions, indicating a response to ILB® treatment that appears to be mediated by improvement of tissue bioenergetics, decrease of oxidative/nitrosative stress and attenuation of (neuro)inflammatory processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]