Functional and structural alterations of the rat kidney induced by the naturally occurring organonitrile 2S-1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3,4-epithiobutane.

The organonitriles, 2S-1-Cyano-2-hydroxy-3,4-epithiobutane (erythro and threo) (CHEB), isolated from the seed of Crambe abyssinica were administered by gavage to male Fischer-344 rats. Rats given 50 mg/kg/day were killed at 24, 48, and 72 hr. The rats given 100 mg/kg/day were killed at 48 and 72 hr. Serum urea nitrogen and creatinine were increased by 48 hr and further elevated by 72 hr. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of the 50 mg/kg CHEB rats was elevated at 24 hr but fell to subnormal values by 72 hr. The GFR of the 100-mg/kg group was decreased at 48 and 72 hr. Urine output of the 50-mg/kg group increased continuously through 72 hr, while urine output of the 100-mg/kg group was increased to a lesser degree. Urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity (nmol/hr/mg creatinine) was significantly elevated in both groups by 48 hr, and further increased by 72 hr. Twenty-four hours after administration of 50 mg/kg, renal proximal tubular epithelial cells of some rats had fine cytoplasmic vacuolation. At 48 and 72 hr, necrosis and coarse vacuolation of proximal tubular epithelial cells occurred in both dose groups. The necrosis was most severe at the apexes of the medullary rays and the coarse vacuolation extended deeply toward the outer stripe of the outer zone of the medulla. Higher doses and/or longer times of CHEB administration resulted in a more extensive lesion distribution. It is concluded that CHEB induces nephrotoxicity in rats characterized by nonoliguric, acute renal failure, and morphological lesions preferentially involving the pars recta of the proximal tubules.

Glucosinolates and derived products in cruciferous vegetables: total glucosinolates by retention on anion exchange resin and enzymatic hydrolysis to measure released glucose.

Details are given for determining total glucosinolates in Cruciferae plants by a procedure measuring released glucose. The glucosinolates are separated from about 90% of other material in the plant extract by adsorption on an anion exchange resin. Then, by a selective thioglucosidase hydrolysis of the glucosinolates retained on the exchange resin, the glucose and aglucons are separated from other substances retained by the resin. Glucose is released into an aqueous medium and is equivalent to the total glucosinolates. The aglucons formed by the hydrolysis are extracted into methylene chloride and determined by gas-liquid chromatography. Based on 29 determinations of the glucose from sinigrin, analyzed under different conditions, accuracy of the total glucosinolate determination was 94.8 +/- 7.3%. The coefficient of variation, determined by duplicate analyses on extracts from 58 cabbage samples, was 4.6%.

Glucosinolates and derived products in cruciferous vegetables: gas-liquid chromatographic determination of the aglucon derivatives from cabbage.

A procedure is described for identifying and quantitatively determining the glucosinolates found in edible cabbage. The intact glucosinolates are extracted and their aglucons are released into solvent after a special enzymatic hydrolysis step. The resulting isothiocyanates and oxazolidinethiones are separated by a gas-liquid chromatographic procedure that allows the individual aglucons to be identified and their amounts to be estimated by comparison with an internal reference.