[Examination of Analytical Methods for Methanol, Trichloroethylene, and Tetrachloroethylene to Revise the Official Methods Based on the Act on the Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances]

In Japan, the use of methanol, trichloroethylene, and tetrachloroethylene in aerosol household products is banned under the Act on the Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances. As the official analytical methods for testing for these substances have not been revised for over 35 years, several issues have been pointed out. Thus, we developed a new method to revise the official method in our previous study. In this study, validation of the proposed method for detecting the target substances was conducted using two aerosol-product samples (A and B), which contained methanol, trichloroethylene, and tetrachloroethylene. Sample A comprised regulated values of these compounds, while sample B comprised one-tenth of the regulated amounts. They also contained several volatile compounds that served as interfering substances. Subsequently, the samples were analyzed using head space/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and it was confirmed that the three target substances were separated from the other chemicals on chromatograms. Validation tests were conducted at seven laboratories to evaluate the proposed method using the prepared samples. In one laboratory, the recovery of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in sample B was slightly higher at 120%, while the recoveries obtained from the other tests were between 70% and 120%. Relative standard deviation at each laboratory was less than 10%. Furthermore, the relative standard deviations between the validation tests with respect to each chemical were less than 15%. Therefore, the method validated in this study was considered to be effective as a revised method for testing for methanol, trichloroethylene, and trichloroethylene in household aerosol products.

Gas Chromatographic Determination of Propamocarb in Agricultural Commodities

A simple and efficient gas chromatographic (GC) method is described for quantitative determination of propamocarb in agricultural commodities. Propamocarb is extracted into acetone–water (or acidified solvent for dry products) and then cleaned up by extraction with diethyl ether. The analyte is extracted from the aqueous fraction under basic conditions with diethyl ether and then analyzed by GC with nitrogen–phosphorus detection. The minimum detection limit is 0.01 μg/g in original samples (signal-to-noise ratio > 5). Recovery of propamocarb spiked at 0.1 μg/g into various samples is >75%, except for lettuce (41%).

[Evaluation of the Cytotoxicity of Commercially Available Nail Adhesives]

Nail tips are nail art materials that can be attached to the nail with adhesives. Recently, nail/finger injuries related to nail tips have been reported and one of the causes is considered to be the adhesives used for attaching nail tips. The components of nail adhesives are mostly cyanoacrylate, which is also used as an industrial instant adhesive. During curing, cyanoacrylate adhesives release formaldehyde through hydrolysis. When it is marketed as a nail adhesive, there is no regulation regarding its formaldehyde amount nor obligation to indicate its ingredients in Japan. Additionally, a biological safety test is not required for nail adhesives. Thus, because the safety of nail adhesives is inadequately confirmed, it is necessary to investigate their biological safety. Therefore, we purchased 5 commercially available nail adhesives and 1 medical adhesive and examined their formaldehyde content and cytotoxicity. We examined the cytotoxicity of the adhesives in V79 cells by a colony forming assay. In this test, 5 nail adhesives showed higher toxicity than 1 medical adhesive. Formaldehyde concentrations in the extract of adhesives were as follows: 17.5 to 24.2 μg/mL for nail adhesives and 7.4 μg/mL for medical adhesives. Cyanoacetate did not elicit cytotoxicity at the final concentration up to 1000 μM. However, formaldehyde showed cytotoxicity, with an IC₅₀ of 79 μM (2.4 μg/mL). Taken together, the cytotoxicity of nail adhesives could be due to the formaldehyde generated by the hydrolysis of cyanoacrylate. It seems important that nail adhesives will be regulated by obligation and enhanced safety in the future.

[Examination of analytical method for triphenyltin (TPT) and tributyltin (TBT) to revise the official methods based on "Act on the Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances"]

The use of triphenyltin (TPT) and tributyltin (TBT) in some household products is banned by "Act on the Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances" in Japan. To revise the official analytical method, the method for detecting these organotin compounds was examined in six laboratories using a textile product, water-based adhesive, oil-based paint, which contained known amounts of TPT and TBT (0.1, 1.0, 10 μg/g). TPT and TBT were measured by GC-MS after ethyl-derivation with sodium tetraethylborate. The TBT recoveries in the samples were 70-120%. The TPT recoveries in the water-based adhesive samples were 80-110%, while its concentrations in the textile product and oil-based paint samples decreased because of dephenylation during storage. However, the precision of the method examined was satisfactory because most coefficients of variation for TPT and TBT in the samples were less than 10%. Furthermore, the revised method was able to detect concentrations lower than the officially regulated value. However, the sample matrix and the condition of analytical instrument might affect the estimated TPT and TBT concentrations. Therefore, the revised method may not be suitable for quantitative tests; rather, it can be employed to judge the acceptable levels of these organotin compounds by comparing the values of control sample containing regulated amounts of TPT and TBT with those for an unknown sample, with deuterated TPT and TBT as surrogate substances. It is desirable that TPT in textile and oil-based paint samples are analyzed immediately after the samples obtained because of the decomposition of TPT.

Identification of Aloe Species by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) Analysis

Juice and integument of leaves of 3 Aloe species, Aloe vera, A. ferox and A. africana, are not allowed to be used as food according to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law in Japan. On the other hand, whole leaves of A. arborescens can be used as food. The present study was designed to distinguish Aloe species by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. DNA was isolated from fresh and dried leaves of the 4 Aloe species. Five out of 32 different 10-mer primers examined were useful for analysis. By comparison of the characteristic bands of PCR products on agarose gel, it was possible to distinguish the 4 species. Thus, the botanical species of Aloe in commercial food products can be identified by RAPD analysis.

[Determination of sennoside A and sennoside B in formulation using capillary electrophoresis]

The determination of sennoside A (SA) and sennoside B (SB) by capillary zone electrophoresis was developed. The separation of SA and SB was performed in 100 mM of the 3-[cyclohexylamino]-1-propanesulfonic acid (CAPS) buffer (pH 10.0), and the migration time of SA and SB was found to be both less than 7 min. This method was applied to the analyses of seven commercial formulations containing SA and SB without previous treatment. The statistical comparison of the results obtained from both capillary electrophoresis and HPLC methods revealed an absolute correlation.

Isolation and chemical properties of a haptenic substance from buckwheat dialysate

A haptenic substance was isolated from the dialysate of the aqueous extract of buckwheat. This substance, BWD II 22-3, which was composed of Asp(1), Thr(1), Ser(1), Gly(1), Gly(4), Ala(1), Val(1), Leu(1), Orn(2), Lys(1), Arg(1), Cys(1) and glucose was demonstrated to be homogeneous by gel filtration and paper electrophoretic analyses. The molecular weight was estimated to be 1600 by gel filtration on Sephadex G-50. The haptenic substance apparently has-SH group determinant caused about 50% inhibition at a concentration of 100 micrograms/disc in the RAST procedure using human serum sensitive to buckwheat. An active component, BWD II 22-3, might prove effective in the hyposensitization therapy of buckwheat-sensitive patients.

A double blind controlled trial of N-(3',4'-dimethoxycinnamoyl) anthranilic acid on children with bronchial asthma. N-5' Study Group in Children

A double blind controlled trial of N-(3',4'-dimethoxycinnamoyl) anthranilic acid (N-5') was carried out for treating children with bronchial asthma to determine its efficacy and safety. The results showed that the drug was significantly more effective in the N10 and N5 groups than in the N0 group. Adverse reactions appeared only in one patient in the N10 group who complained of slight anorexia while another patient in the N0 group reported moderate diarrhoea. Moreover there was no indication of abnormality in further laboratory investigations. It can be therefore concluded that this drug is useful for the treatment of children with bronchial asthma.