Omega-3 fatty-acids modulate symptoms of depressive disorder, serum levels of omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6/omega-3 ratio in children. A randomized, double-blind and controlled trial.

Omega-3 fatty acids (FA) are a promising adjuvant therapy for depressive disorder (DD) in adults. The objective of this single-centre, randomized, double-blind and controlled study was to compare the efficacy of an omega-3 FA fish oil emulsion with a control oil emulsion alongside the standard treatment for depression in children and adolescents suffering from DD or mixed anxiety depressive disorder (MADD) and to analyse serum fatty acid levels and omega-6/omega-3 FA ratio before and after the intervention. 60 children were randomised 1:1 to the intervention (Om3) or active comparator (Om6) groups. Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) ratings were performed at the baseline, every 2 weeks for a 12-week intervention period. Significant reductions in CDI scores were observed after 6 and 12 weeks of intervention in the Om3 group and in the DD subgroup compared to the Om6 and MADD subgroup. Ratio of omega-6/omega-3 decreased in Om3 but not in Om6 from 24.2/1 to 7.6/1 after 6 weeks, EPA, omega-6/omega-3 ratio, but not DHA, correlated with severity symptoms at the baseline. An omega-3 fatty acid rich fish oil emulsion may be an effective adjuvant supplement during the treatment of depressive disorders in children. Trial registration: ISRCTN 81655012.

LC determination of salinomycin in fermentation broths and premixes.

A simple and rapid high performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of salinomycin in fermentation media of Streptomyces albus strains and in premixes has been developed. This method involves reverse-phase separation of the component analysed with UV detection at 210 nm using methanol and 0.2 M acetate buffer pH 5.8 (100:10, v/v) as the mobile phase. The reliability of the method was confirmed by validation. A linear relationship was obtained within range 0.2-2.0 mg ml(-1) (r=0.9999). The relative standard deviation of methods within-laboratory reproducibility was 1.6%. The estimated quantitation limit of assay was about 32.5 microg ml(-1). The method has been successfully used in the determination of salinomycin content in testing production processes and premixes of different commercial brands.