LC-APCI-MS/MS analysis of urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine.

8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG) is regarded as an important biomarker of oxidative DNA damage and it may be estimated by using different techniques in various biological matrices, most notably DNA and urine. In the case of DNA, artifactual oxidation may take place during the isolation of DNA, its hydrolysis and possible derivatization (as for GC-MS), invalidating the measurement of 8OHdG. Therefore, the direct analysis of 8OHdG excreted into urine was preferred. Interferences from the urine matrix were excluded by applying LC-APCI-MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The abundant fragment ion at m/z 168 arising from 8OHdG was monitored in the urine sample of volunteers supplemented with tomato concentrate for different times. The procedure allowed the detection of levels of 8OHdG as low as 1 ng/ml in urine sample.

Polyphenol pattern and antioxidant activity of different tomato lines and cultivars.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Besides antioxidant vitamins and minerals, fruits and vegetables contain flavonoids and related phenolics. The biological activities of these polyphenols have become well known in recent years evidencing their beneficial effects on human health. In this context, the characterization of the flavonoids present in tomatoes is of great interest. Thus the polyphenol pattern (including flavonols, flavanones and cinnamate derivatives), lycopene and beta-carotene concentrations and the total antioxidant activity (TAA) of the phenolic fraction from different tomato lines and cultivars have been determined. METHODS: The characterization was obtained by means of spectrophotometry and HPLC analyses. RESULTS: Mean values for single flavonoids were 0.68 +/- 0.16 for naringenin, 0.74 +/- 0.12 for rutin and 0.32 +/- 0.06 for a rutin-pentoside. Mean total polyphenol content was 13.15 +/- 1.15 mg/100 g and mean TAA value was 1.3 +/- 0.10 mmol/g. The obtained TAA values resulted in good accordance with the total polyphenol content (R(2) = 0.7928). The main phenolic acids were chlorogenic (mean +/- SE 0.20 +/- 0.03) and caffeic acid (mean +/- SE 0.03 +/- 0.01). Mean levels of lycopene and beta-carotene were 5.38 +/- 0.90 and 1.18 +/- 0.40 mg/100 g, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Almost all the lines characterised by low carotenoid content produce high levels of polyphenols, and consequently have the most powerful antioxidant potential.

[Comparison between killed subunit influenza vaccines and whole virion preparations: study of reactions and protective efficacy in children and adults]. / Confronto tra vaccini antiinfluenzali inattivati contenenti sub-unita' e preparazioni A virioni interi: studio della reattogenicita' e del potere immunizzante in bambini ed adulti.

Three hundred eight subjects (of whom 103 children aged 6-12 years) were vaccinated with trivalent--A/USSR/90/77 (H1N1), A/Texas/1/77 (H3N2), B/Hong Kong/8/73 strains--influenza virus vaccines, two of them sub-unit and the third whole-virus preparation. Children and adolescent received two doses with an interval of 4 weeks, adults one dose only. The results of the determination by single radial diffusion test of the hemagglutinin amount for each of the three vaccinal strains and the data of the mouse immunogenicity test show that the antigenic content of A/USSR/90/77 strain in the sub-unit preparations was lower than expected from the concentration in I.U. reported by the vaccine manufacturers. Therefore it is pointed out the necessity to control the antigenic content of inactivated influenza virus vaccines with methods more adequate than those currently adopted. Sub-unit vaccines were much less reactogenic than the whole-virus preparation particularly in the youngest group of vaccinees. The immunogenicity (assessed by serum h.i.a. titers) of sub-unit vaccines, even after a single dose, turned out to be good and equal to that of the whole-virus preparation in primed subjects. In unprimed individuals, as it is shown by the data relative to the A/USSR/90/77 strain in sero-negative children, a two dose regimen is required. In these vaccines the whole-virus vaccine was more immunogenic than the sub-unit preparations, probably because of the lower content in the H1N1 strain of the latter. The increase from 1 ml (1 dose) to 1.6 ml the amount of vaccine, as experimented in adults with one sub-unit preparation, was not followed by an increase in reactogenicity. The larger dose did not influence the antibody response of primed subjects. On the contrary in unprimed vaccinees, as the youngest under 24 years without preexisting antibodies to the H1N1 strain in the present trial, the higher antigenic content produced a marked positive effect.