Determination of Unsaturation and Average Molecular Weight of Natural Fats by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Authentication of beef versus horse meat using 60 MHz 1H NMR spectroscopy

This work reports a candidate screening protocol to distinguish beef from horse meat based upon comparison of triglyceride signatures obtained by 60 MHz (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Using a simple chloroform-based extraction, we obtained classic low-field triglyceride spectra from typically a 10 min acquisition time. Peak integration was sufficient to differentiate samples of fresh beef (76 extractions) and horse (62 extractions) using Naïve Bayes classification. Principal component analysis gave a two-dimensional "authentic" beef region (p=0.001) against which further spectra could be compared. This model was challenged using a subset of 23 freeze-thawed training samples. The outcomes indicated that storing samples by freezing does not adversely affect the analysis. Of a further collection of extractions from previously unseen samples, 90/91 beef spectra were classified as authentic, and 16/16 horse spectra as non-authentic. We conclude that 60 MHz (1)H NMR represents a feasible high-throughput approach for screening raw meat.

Quantitative determination of fatty acid chain composition in pork meat products by high resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy

High resolution (1)H NMR spectroscopy was proposed for the determination of the fatty acid chain profile of lipids in pork meat products during ripening. Two typical Mediterranean PDO salami produced in Calabria, a region in the Southern Italy, were chosen as a case of study. Quantitative NMR analysis provided the fatty acid chain profiles of total lipid extracts. The transesterification of total lipid extracts furnished FAME mixtures that enabled quantitation of fatty acid acyl chains in the acylglycerol and FFA portions. In all cases, oleyl chains were predominant, and high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acid chains were observed. The proposed spectroscopic method allowed also the estimation of the most important nutritional parameters of dry fermented meat products.

Quantitation by (1)H-NMR of dolichol, cholesterol and choline-containing lipids in extracts of normal and phathological thyroid tissue

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 1.9 T was used to quantify dolichols, cholesterols, choline-containing phospholipids and double bonds in unsaturated acyl chains in lipid extracts of four types of thyroid tissue [normal (n = 27), papillary cancer (n = 15), adenoma (n = 13) and Basedow disease (n = 6)]. In normal thyroid the mean concentrations of dolichol, cholesterol and phospholipids were 1.2, 3.6 and 2.1 micromol/g wet weight, respectively. The concentrations of these lipids exhibited positive mutual correlations and positive correlations with patient age. The increase in dolichol in elderly human thyroid may be due to the accumulation of lysosomes and may help to compensate for the decrease in the activity of lysosomal enzymes and in thyroid hormone production and release. Dolichol concentrations were significantly lower in papillary cancer (0.4 micromol/g) and Basedow disease (0.3 micromol/g) compared to normal thyroid (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively), while cholesterol was enhanced only in cancer tissue (10.7 micromol/g). Benign adenoma exhibited normal levels of both dolichol and cholesterol. These results suggest that the synthesis and accumulation of isoprenoids are normal in adenoma but not in cancer.

Novel quinone methides from Salacia kraussii with in vitro antimalarial activity

Three novel quinone methides, i.e., 28-nor-isoiguesterin-17-carbaldehyde (1), 17-(methoxycarbonyl)-28-nor-isoiguesterin (2), and 28-hydroxyisoiguesterin (3), together with the known celastrol (5), pristimerin (6), and isoiguesterol (7), were isolated from the roots of Salacia kraussii (Celastraceae) by bioassay-guided fractionation. The structures of the compounds were determined by DEPT and 2D NMR techniques. The isolates showed antimalarial activity 30-50-fold greater than their cytotoxicity (in HT-29 cells) in vitro, and they showed an additive effect when combined with each other. In vivo, 2 was found to be inactive against blood stages of Plasmodium berghei in mice after oral and parenteral administration, and the compound was toxic with increasing concentrations.

Rapid quantitation of thermal oxidation products in fats and oils by 1H-NMR spectroscopy

This work describes the application of high-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy to the study of the thermal peroxidation of beef tallow and corn oil under standardized conditions. The approach provides a rapid, quantitative method for determining the degree of oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids in animal and vegetable fats and oils by quantitating the decreasing intensities of 1H-NMR peaks for allylic and olefinic protons in unsaturated fatty acid chains of triglycerides and the increasing peak intensities of hydroperoxide and saturated and alpha, beta-unsaturated aldehydic protons in relation to the less labile protons in the triglyceride molecule. Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy analysis of highly oxidized beef tallow (180 degrees C for 24 h) suggested that the unsaturated aldehydes that persisted were apparently associated with carboxy groups.

High-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy--applications to fatty acids and triacylglycerols

During the past two decades, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) has played an ever-increasing role in the structural determination of fatty acids, fatty acid derivatives and analogues, and in the analysis of the structures of triacylglycerols including the quantitative analysis of lipid mixtures. This article discusses some of the results obtained through the application of the NMR technique to lipid molecules and reviews the literature. To maintain brevity, this article does not cover the underlying theory of NMR spectroscopy as numerous books devoted to modern NMR spectroscopy have been published.

Effects of ligation and reperfusion of hepatic afferent vessels on the composition of liver cell membrane in the rat: 1H- and 31P-magnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis

Biochemical changes that occur within hepatic tissue of the rat during ischemia and subsequent reperfusion were investigated using magnetic resonance spectroscopy of liver extracts. Hepatic ischemia was produced in the rat by a continuous clamping of the left branches of the hepatic artery and portal vein. In the reperfusion experiments, the vascular clamps were released after 30 or 120 min of ischemic periods. At the end of the periods of ischemia and/or reperfusion, the left and middle hepatic lobes were dissected and processed for subsequent 1H-MRS and 31P-MRS analyses. Phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylethanolamine contents all showed reduction of about 30% after 120 min of ischemia. In contrast, the content of lysophosphatidylcholine showed relatively small changes following ischemia. Ten minutes after initiation of reperfusion, further decline of the total phospholipid content resulting in as much 42% reduction was observed. Then it recovered to nearly the control level when ischemia was for 30 min, but to only 65% of the control level when ischemia was for 120 min. The cholesterol/-N-(CH3)3 ratio, generally regarded as a parameter for membrane fluidity, showed about a 40% increase when ischemia was for 120 min, a change toward decreased membrane fluidity. These results appear to reflect ischemia/reperfusion-induced changes of membrane phospholipid metabolism.

Quantitative NMR assay for aspirin, phenacetin, and caffeine mixtures with 1,3,5-trioxane as internal standard

The method for (1)H NMR determination of aspirin, phenacetin and caffeine (APC) mixtures has been improved by the use of 1,3,5-trioxane as an internal standard. The trioxane absorption occurs in a peak-free region of the spectrum and produces no interferences with any of the analytes. Compared to the original method with caffeine as an external standard, the present method appears to offer better accuracy and precision. Average errors relative to the correct results were: aspirin, 1.0%; phenacetin, 0.8%; and caffeine 1.8%, for known standard mixtures. Coupling constants, (1)J((13)CH), were determined for the methyl groups of aspirin and caffeine and for the trioxane methylene group to clarify potential (13)C satellite interferences.

Applicability of Henry's law to hydrogen, helium, and nitrogen solubilities in water and olive oil at 37 degrees C and pressures up to 300 atmospheres

The solubilities of pure hydrogen, helium, and nitrogen in water and olive oil were measured at 37 degrees C at gas-saturation pressures from 25 to 300 atmospheres. Rigorous thermodynamic criteria were used to assess the applicability of Henry's law to the pressure dependence of the gas solubility in each system. The solubilities of the three gases in water and helium in olive oil followed Henry's law as given by the Krichevsky-Kasarnovsky equation. In contrast, hydrogen and nitrogen in olive oil each attained concentrations high enough to cause significant concentration-dependent variations of the dissolved gas activity coefficient and/or partial molal volume. The consequent deviations from Henry's law were greatest in the nitrogen-oil system, where mole fraction nitrogen solubilities calculated from the Krichevsky-Kasarnovsky equation exceeded measured values by 8, 14, and 23% at 50, 100, and 250 atm, respectively. Incorporation of results into the critical volume model of nitrogen anesthesia, using olive oil as a model of the physiological anesthetic site and literature data for the anesthetic potency of nitrogen in mice breathing high-pressure He-N2-O2 atmospheres, shows that nonideal solution behavior may become important for gases dissolved in physiological hydrophobic regions at biologically active concentrations, even if dissolved gas binding to proteins or other macromolecules is not involved.

Denervation caused by tullidora (Karwinskia humboldtiana)

Crude homogenate of the seed of the tullidora (Coyotillo, buckthorn; Karwinskia humboldtiana) fruit or a purified neurotoxin extracted from it was administered orally to male Wistar rats. Three to 5 weeks later, gait disturbances and progressive flaccid paralysis of the hindlimbs appeared in these animals which were then submitted to acute experiments. Single twitch and tetanic contractions of the soleus muscle were studied in the tullidora treated rats. The twitch tension elicited by direct stimulation of the muscle was greater than that produced by nerve stimulation. In addition, the tension of nerve-elicited twitches diminished as the stimulating electrode was moved towards the spinal cord, suggesting failure of nerve conduction. When the muscle was directly stimulated, contraction and relaxation were slower than normal and the tetanus/twitch tension ratio was subnormal. These data suggest partial denervation of the soleus muscle under the action of the toxin. Electron microscopy revealed abnormal motor-nerve endings with few synaptic vesicles and denervated end-plates. Degenerative changes of axons and myelin disturbances were frequently seen in the intramuscular branches of the soleus nerve. However, alterations of this type were less severe in the nerve sections closer to the spinal cord and no significant changes were detected at the upper portion of the sciatic nerve. It is concluded that the paralysis produced by the tullidora toxin is the result of both conduction block of the nerve impulses and muscle denervation.

Nuclear magnetic resonance measurement of oil "unsaturation" in single viable corn kernels

High-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been used to demonstrate the feasibility of determining iodine value and average molecular weight of oil in individual corn kernels. The procedure is rapid and nondestructive. Depending on heritability of individual fatty acids, this technique may greatly increase selection efficiency in breeding programs to alter the fatty acid composition of corn oil.