Determination of 18 water-soluble artificial dyes by LC-MS in selected matrices.

A multi-residue method based on two different extraction procedures was developed and compared with liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry analysis of eighteen water-soluble artificial colours including Tartrazine (E102), Chrysoine (E103), Quinoline Yellow (E104), Yellow 2G (E107), Sunset Yellow (E110), Azorubine (E122), Amaranth (E123), Ponceau 4R (E124), Erythrosine (E127), Red 2G (E128), Allura Red (E129), Patent Blue V (E131), Indigo Carmine (E132), Brilliant Blue (E133), Green S (E142), Fast Green (E143), Brilliant Black (E151), and Black 7984 (E152) in sugar and gummy confectionary, ice-cream, and chocolate sweets. Sample preparation included SPE clean-up and liquid-liquid extraction for ice-cream and chocolate sweets. Accuracy was evaluated by recovery experiments. Correlation between response and concentration was obtained with R(2)>0.98 for all but six colours. Limits of quantification were within the 10-50 µg/kg range for E129; 20-200 µg/kg for E152; 10-250 µg/kg for E103; 10-500 µg/kg for E102, E104, E107, E110, E122, E123, E124, E127, E128, E131, E133; 20-800 µg/kg for E132, 142, 151; and 10-1000 µg/kg for E143. CV for repeatability ranged from 4.0% to 51.0%, while the CV for intermediate reproducibility ranged from 5.8% to 41.4%. Finally, recoveries varied from 84.3% to 166.0%. Together, these demonstrate that the method has been validated for complex matrices and is, thus, fit-for-purpose.

Simultaneous quantification of 21 water soluble vitamin circulating forms in human plasma by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

This manuscript reports a validated analytical approach for the quantification of 21 water soluble vitamins and their main circulating forms in human plasma. Isotope dilution-based sample preparation consisted of protein precipitation using acidic methanol enriched with stable isotope labelled internal standards. Separation was achieved by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and detection performed by tandem mass spectrometry in positive electrospray ionization mode. Instrumental lower limits of detection and quantification reached <0.1-10nM and 0.2-25nM, respectively. Commercially available pooled human plasma was used to build matrix-matched calibration curves ranging 2-500, 5-1250, 20-5000 or 150-37500nM depending on the analyte. The overall performance of the method was considered adequate, with 2.8-20.9% and 5.2-20.0% intra and inter-day precision, respectively and averaged accuracy reaching 91-108%. Recovery experiments were also performed and reached in average 82%. This analytical approach was then applied for the quantification of circulating water soluble vitamins in human plasma single donor samples. The present report provides a sensitive and reliable approach for the quantification of water soluble vitamins and main circulating forms in human plasma. In the future, the application of this analytical approach will give more confidence to provide a comprehensive assessment of water soluble vitamins nutritional status and bioavailability studies in humans.

First chemical synthesis and in vitro characterization of the potential human metabolites 5-o-feruloylquinic acid 4'-sulfate and 4'-O-glucuronide.

Feruloylquinic acids are a major class of biologically active phenolic antioxidants in coffee beans, but their metabolic fate is poorly understood. The present study investigated the phase II metabolism of feruloylquinic acids with selected human sulfotransferases (SULT1A1 and SULT1E1) and uridine 5'-diphosphoglucuronosyltransferases (UGT1A1 and UGT1A9). For unequivocal metabolite identification, the chemical synthesis of two potential human metabolites of 5-O-feruloylquinic acid, the 4'-sulfated and 4'-O-glucuronidated conjugates, has been performed for the first time. Following incubation with human SULT1A1 or SULT1E1, formation of 5-O-feruloylquinic acid 4'-O-sulfate was confirmed by matching its HPLC and MS data with those of the authentic standard. On the other hand, no glucuronide conjugates were detected after incubation with human uridine 5'-diphosphoglucuronosyltransferases. These results suggest that sulfation can take place on the ferulic acid moiety of feruloylquinic acids and may be a major metabolic pathway for feruloylquinic acids in humans.

First synthesis, characterization, and evidence for the presence of hydroxycinnamic acid sulfate and glucuronide conjugates in human biological fluids as a result of coffee consumption.

A systematic investigation of the human metabolism of hydroxycinnamic acid conjugates was carried out. A set of 24 potential human metabolites of coffee polyphenols has been chemically prepared, and used as analytical standards for unequivocal identifications. These included glucuronide conjugates and sulfate esters of caffeic, ferulic, isoferulic, m-coumaric and p-coumaric acids as well as their dihydro derivatives. A particular focus has been made on caffeic and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid derivatives, especially the sulfate conjugates, for which regioselective preparation was particularly challenging, and have so far never been identified as human metabolites. Ten out of the 24 synthesized conjugates have been identified in human plasma and/or urine after coffee consumption. A number of these conjugates were synthesized, characterized and detected as hydroxycinnamic acid metabolites for the first time. This was the case of dihydroisoferulic acid 3'-O-glucuronide, caffeic acid 3'-sulfate, as well as the sulfate and glucuronide derivatives of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid.

Synthesis and evaluation of new alkylamides derived from alpha-hydroxysanshool, the pungent molecule in szechuan pepper.

Szechuan pepper is widely used in Asia as a spice for its pleasant pungent and tingling sensations, produced by natural alkylamides called sanshools. alpha-Hydroxysanshool, the main alkylamide found in the pericarp of the fruit, stimulates sensory neurons innervating the mouth by targeting two chemosensitive members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, TRPV1 and TRPA1. As it was previously found that configuration of the unsaturations in the alpha-hydroxysanshool alkyl chain is required for TRPA1 but not TRPV1 selectivity, this study aimed at obtaining more potent and selective TRPA1 agonists using alpha-hydroxysanshool as a starting material. This paper reports the preparation of new alkylamides derived from sanshool and their efficacy in stimulating TRPA1 and TRPV1 receptors. The data provide knowledge of the main sanshool chemical functionalities required for TRP channel activation, but they also evidence new selective and potent TRPA1 agonists based on alpha-hydroxysanshool.

A novel efficient and versatile route to the synthesis of 5-O-feruloylquinic acids.

A novel synthesis of 5-O-feruloylquinic acid, a polyphenolic compound found in coffee beans, and its methyl ester derivative has been optimized. The sequence involves 6 steps and is compatible with the preparation of potential human metabolites of these compounds. The key reaction is a Knoevenagel condensation of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde and a malonate ester of quinic acid.