Fate of Sulfonamides and Tetracyclines in Meat during Pan Cooking: Focus on the Thermodegradation of Sulfamethoxazole.

Although antimicrobials are generally found in trace amounts in meat, the human health risk they bear cannot be ignored. With the ultimate aim of making a better assessment of consumer exposure, this study explored the effects of pan cooking on sulfonamides and tetracyclines in meat. Screening of these antimicrobials in cooked meat was first performed by the European Union Reference Laboratory on the basis of HPLC-MS/MS analyses. A proof of concept approach using radiolabeling was then carried out on the most cooking-sensitive antimicrobial-sulfamethoxazole-to assess if a thermal degradation could explain the observed cooking losses. Degradation products were detected thanks to separation by HPLC and monitoring by online radioactivity detection. HPLC-Orbitrap HRMS analyses completed by 1D and 2D NMR experiments allowed the structural characterization of these degradation compounds. This study revealed that cooking could induce significant antimicrobial losses of up to 45% for sulfamethoxazole. Six potential degradation products of 14C-sulfamethoxazole were detected in cooked meat, and a thermal degradation pattern was proposed. This study highlights the importance of considering the cooking step in chemical risk assessment procedures and its impact on the level of chemical contaminants in meat and on the formation of potentially toxic breakdown compounds.

Lactose and Fructo-oligosaccharides Increase Visceral Sensitivity in Mice via Glycation Processes, Increasing Mast Cell Density in Colonic Mucosa.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, and erratic bowel habits. A diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs) can reduce symptoms of IBS, possibly by reducing microbial fermentation products. We investigated whether ingestion of FODMAPs can induce IBS-like visceral hypersensitivity mediated by fermentation products of intestinal microbes in mice. METHODS: C57Bl/6 mice were gavaged with lactose, with or without the antiglycation agent pyridoxamine, or saline (controls) daily for 3 weeks. A separate group of mice were fed a diet containing fructo-oligosaccharides, with or without pyridoxamine in drinking water, or a normal chow diet (controls) for 6 weeks. Feces were collected and analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and bacterial community analyses. Abdominal sensitivity was measured by electromyography and mechanical von Frey filament assays. Colon tissues were collected from some mice and analyzed by histology and immunofluorescence to quantify mast cells and expression of advanced glycosylation end-product specific receptor (AGER). RESULTS: Mice gavaged with lactose or fed fructo-oligosaccharides had increased abdominal sensitivity compared with controls, associated with increased numbers of mast cells in colon and expression of the receptor for AGER in proximal colon epithelium. These effects were prevented by administration of pyridoxamine. Lactose and/or pyridoxamine did not induce significant alterations in the composition of the fecal microbiota. Mass spectrometric analysis of carbonyl compounds in fecal samples identified signatures associated with mice given lactose or fructo-oligosaccharides vs controls. CONCLUSIONS: We found that oral administration of lactose or fructo-oligosaccharides to mice increases abdominal sensitivity, associated with increased numbers of mast cells in colon and expression of AGER; these can be prevented with an antiglycation agent. Lactose and/or pyridoxamine did not produce alterations in fecal microbiota of mice. Our findings indicate that preventing glycation reactions might reduce abdominal pain in patients with IBS with sensitivity to FODMAPs.

Clay-Na as a sorbent for the extraction of anti-inflammatory compounds in water samples.

In this work, clay-Na particles are used as the adsorbent for the solid-phase extraction of acidic compounds. The novel sorbent under study is based on high-specific surface area, cation-exchange capacity designed specifically to offer ion-exchange properties with the goal being to selectively extract a group of acidic compounds. The effects of the extraction parameters including extraction elution solvent, sample volume and pH. In optimum conditions, the repeatability for one fiber (n = 3), expressed as % relative standard deviation, was between 0.3 and 4.3% for the acid compounds. The detection limits for the studied acidic compounds were between 0.1-0.6 µg/L. The developed method offers the advantages of being simple to use and having a low cost of equipment.

Gut microbiota drives colon cancer risk associated with diet: a comparative analysis of meat-based and pesco-vegetarian diets.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is strongly affected by dietary habits with red and processed meat increasing risk, and foods rich in dietary fibres considered protective. Dietary habits also shape gut microbiota, but the role of the combination between diet, the gut microbiota, and the metabolite profile on CRC risk is still missing an unequivocal characterisation. METHODS: To investigate how gut microbiota affects diet-associated CRC risk, we fed Apc-mutated PIRC rats and azoxymethane (AOM)-induced rats the following diets: a high-risk red/processed meat-based diet (MBD), a normalised risk diet (MBD with α-tocopherol, MBDT), a low-risk pesco-vegetarian diet (PVD), and control diet. We then conducted faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from PIRC rats to germ-free rats treated with AOM and fed a standard diet for 3 months. We analysed multiple tumour markers and assessed the variations in the faecal microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing together with targeted- and untargeted-metabolomics analyses. RESULTS: In both animal models, the PVD group exhibited significantly lower colon tumorigenesis than the MBD ones, consistent with various CRC biomarkers. Faecal microbiota and its metabolites also revealed significant diet-dependent profiles. Intriguingly, when faeces from PIRC rats fed these diets were transplanted into germ-free rats, those transplanted with MBD faeces developed a higher number of preneoplastic lesions together with distinctive diet-related bacterial and metabolic profiles. PVD determines a selection of nine taxonomic markers mainly belonging to Lachnospiraceae and Prevotellaceae families exclusively associated with at least two different animal models, and within these, four taxonomic markers were shared across all the three animal models. An inverse correlation between nonconjugated bile acids and bacterial genera mainly belonging to the Lachnospiraceae and Prevotellaceae families (representative of the PVD group) was present, suggesting a potential mechanism of action for the protective effect of these genera against CRC. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the protective effects of PVD while reaffirming the carcinogenic properties of MBD diets. In germ-free rats, FMT induced changes reminiscent of dietary effects, including heightened preneoplastic lesions in MBD rats and the transmission of specific diet-related bacterial and metabolic profiles. Importantly, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing that diet-associated cancer risk can be transferred with faeces, establishing gut microbiota as a determinant of diet-associated CRC risk. Therefore, this study marks the pioneering demonstration of faecal transfer as a means of conveying diet-related cancer risk, firmly establishing the gut microbiota as a pivotal factor in diet-associated CRC susceptibility. Video Abstract.

Development of a liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure photo-ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry analytical method for the simultaneous determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and their metabolites: application to BDE-47 metabolism in human hepatocytes.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants widely used in electronic and domestic goods. These persistent pollutants are present in the environment and in humans, and their toxicological properties are of growing concern. PBDEs can be metabolised into compounds suspected to be responsible for their toxicity. These metabolites have been characterised quite well in rodents and fish, but available information in humans remains scarce. For their identification, an efficient method for the simultaneous analysis of PBDEs, hydroxylated PBDEs (OH-PBDEs), and other PBDE metabolites in a single run was needed and has been developed in this work. Atmospheric pressure ionisation modes were compared, and Atmospheric Pressure Photo-Ionization (APPI) was selected. After careful setting of APPI parameters such as dopant and operating temperature, the optimised method was based on APPI ionization coupled to High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry operating in the full scan mode at a resolution of 60 000. This provided excellent sensitivity and specificity, allowing the discrimination of signals which could not be resolved on a triple quadrupole used as a reference. The full-scan high-resolution acquisition mode allowed monitoring of both parent PBDEs and their metabolites, including hydroxylated PBDEs, with detection limits ranging from 0.1 pg to 4.5 pg injected on-column based on the investigated standard compounds. The method was applied to the study of BDE-47 metabolism after incubation with human primary cultures of hepatocytes, and proved to be efficient not only for monitoring the parent compound and expected hydroxylated metabolites, but also for the identification of other non-targeted metabolites. In addition to hydroxy-BDE-47, several conjugated metabolites could be located, and the formation of a dihydrodiol derivative was evidenced for the first time in the case of PBDEs in this work.

Maternal heme-enriched diet promotes a gut pro-oxidative status associated with microbiota alteration, gut leakiness and glucose intolerance in mice offspring.

Maternal environment, including nutrition and microbiota, plays a critical role in determining offspring's risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes later in life. Heme iron requirement is amplified during pregnancy and lactation, while excessive dietary heme iron intake, compared to non-heme iron, has shown to trigger acute oxidative stress in the gut resulting from reactive aldehyde formation in conjunction with microbiota reshape. Given the immaturity of the antioxidant defense system in early life, we investigated the extent to which a maternal diet enriched with heme iron may have a lasting impact on gut homeostasis and glucose metabolism in 60-day-old C3H/HeN mice offspring. As hypothesized, the form of iron added to the maternal diet differentially governed the offspring's microbiota establishment despite identical fecal iron status in the offspring. Importantly, despite female offspring was unaffected, oxidative stress markers were however higher in the gut of male offspring from heme enriched-fed mothers, and were accompanied by increases in fecal lipocalin-2, intestinal para-cellular permeability and TNF-α expression. In addition, male mice displayed blood glucose intolerance resulting from impaired insulin secretion following oral glucose challenge. Using an integrated approach including an aldehydomic analysis, this male-specific phenotype was further characterized and revealed close covariations between unidentified putative reactive aldehydes and bacterial communities belonging to Bacteroidales and Lachnospirales orders. Our work highlights how the form of dietary iron in the maternal diet can dictate the oxidative status in gut offspring in a sex-dependent manner, and how a gut microbiota-driven oxidative challenge in early life can be associated with gut barrier defects and glucose metabolism disorders that may be predictive of diabetes development.

Towards Aldehydomics: Untargeted Trapping and Analysis of Reactive Diet-Related Carbonyl Compounds Formed in the Intestinal Lumen.

Lipid peroxidation and subsequent formation of toxic aldehydes, such as 4-hydroxynonenal, is known to be involved in numerous pathophysiological processes, possibly including the development of colorectal cancer. This work aimed at the development of an untargeted approach using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS) for tracking aldehydes in both suspect screening and untargeted methods in fecal water, representing the aqueous environment of colon epithelial cells. This original approach is based on the introduction of a characteristic isotopic labeling by selective derivatization of the carbonyl function using a brominated reagent. Following a metabolomics workflow, the developed methodology was applied to the characterization of aldehyde compounds formed by lipid peroxidation in rats fed two different diets differentially prone to lipoperoxidation. Derivatized aldehydes were first selectively detected on the basis of their isotopic pattern, then annotated and finally identified by tandem mass spectrometry. This original approach allowed us to evidence the occurrence of expected aldehydes according to their fatty acid precursors in the diet, and to characterize other aldehydes differentiating the different diets.

Mitigation of heterocyclic aromatic amines in cooked meat. Part I: Informed selection of antioxidants based on molecular modeling.

This work aimed to develop a method permitting an informed choice of antioxidants to reduce carcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAA) formation during proteinaceous food cooking. Therefore, a three-step approach was developed. First, the most promising antioxidants were selected using molecular modeling approaches. For this, analog design was used to highlight the most suitable antioxidants based on their diversification potential using bioisosteric replacement. Then, structure activity relationship studies allowed drawing the relevant properties for inhibiting HAA formation and explained partly the inhibitory activity. Secondly, the approved antioxidants were tested in ground beef patties to assess their inhibitory properties against HAA formation. Resveratrol was found to be the most efficient as it totally inhibited MeIQ and reduced MeIQx and PhIP formation by 40 and 70%, respectively. Finally, natural ingredients rich in these antioxidants were evaluated. Oregano was found to totally inhibit MeIQ formation and to reduce by half MeIQx and PhIP formation.

Heme-Iron-Induced Production of 4-Hydroxynonenal in Intestinal Lumen May Have Extra-Intestinal Consequences through Protein-Adduct Formation.

Some epidemiological studies show that heme iron consumption, in red meat, is associated to the development of several chronic diseases, including cancers and cardio-metabolic diseases. As heme iron intestinal absorption is finely regulated, we hypothesized that heme iron may act indirectly, through the peroxidation of dietary lipids, in food or in the intestinal lumen during digestion. This heme-iron-induced lipid peroxidation provokes the generation of toxic lipid oxidation products that could be absorbed, such as 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). In a first experiment, heme iron given to rats by oral gavage together with the linoleic-acid-rich safflower oil induced the formation of HNE in the intestinal lumen. The HNE major urinary metabolite was elevated in the urine of the treated rats, indicating that this compound has been absorbed. In a second experiment, we showed that stable isotope-labeled HNE given orally to rats was able to reach non-intestinal tissues as a bioactive form and to make protein-adducts in heart, liver and skeletal muscle tissues. The presence of HNE-protein adducts in those tissues suggests a putative biological role of diet-originating HNE in extra-intestinal organs. This finding could have major consequences on the onset/development of chronic diseases associated with red meat over-consumption, and more largely to peroxidation-prone food consumption.

Metabolome disruption of pregnant rats and their offspring resulting from repeated exposure to a pesticide mixture representative of environmental contamination in Brittany.

The use of pesticides exposes humans to numerous harmful molecules. Exposure in early-life may be responsible for adverse effects in later life. This study aimed to assess the metabolic modifications induced in pregnant rats and their offspring by a pesticide mixture representative of human exposure. Ten pregnant rats were exposed to a mixture of eight pesticides: acetochlor (246 µg/kg bw/d) + bromoxynil (12 µg/kg bw/d) + carbofuran (22.5 µg/kg bw/d) + chlormequat (35 µg/kg bw/d) + ethephon (22.5 µg/kg bw/d) + fenpropimorph (15.5 µg/kg bw/d) + glyphosate (12 µg/kg bw/d) + imidacloprid (12.5 µg/kg bw/d) representing the main environmental pesticide exposure in Brittany (France) in 2004. Another group of 10 pregnant rats served as controls. Females were fed ad libitum from early pregnancy, which is from gestational day (GD) 4 to GD 21. Urine samples were collected at GD 15. At the end of the exposure, mothers and pups were euthanized and blood, liver, and brain samples collected. 1H NMR-based metabolomics and GC-FID analyses were performed and PCA and PLS-DA used to discriminate between control and exposed groups. Metabolites for which the levels were significantly modified were then identified using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and p-values were adjusted for multiple testing correction using the False Discovery Rate. The metabolomics analysis revealed many differences between dams of the two groups, especially in the plasma, liver and brain. The modified metabolites are involved in TCA cycle, energy production and storage, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and amino-acid metabolism. These modifications suggest that the pesticide mixture may induce oxidative stress associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and the impairment of glucose and lipid metabolism. These observations may reflect liver dysfunction with increased relative liver weight and total lipid content. Similar findings were observed for glucose and energy metabolism in the liver of the offspring, and oxidative stress was also suggested in the brains of male offspring.

Targeting Colon Luminal Lipid Peroxidation Limits Colon Carcinogenesis Associated with Red Meat Consumption.

Red meat is probably carcinogenic to humans (WHO/IARC class 2A), in part through heme iron-induced lipoperoxidation. Here, we investigated whether red meat promotes carcinogenesis in rodents and modulates associated biomarkers in volunteers, speculating that an antioxidant marinade could suppress these effects via limitation of the heme induced lipid peroxidation. We gave marinated or non-marinated beef with various degrees of cooking to azoxymethane-initiated rats, Min mice, and human volunteers (crossover study). Mucin-depleted foci were scored in rats, adenoma in Min mice. Biomarkers of lipoperoxidation were measured in the feces and urine of rats, mice, and volunteers. The organoleptic properties of marinated meat were tested. Fresh beef increased colon carcinogenesis and lipoperoxidation in rats and mice and lipoperoxidation in humans. Without an adverse organoleptic effect on meat, marinade normalized peroxidation biomarkers in rat and mouse feces, reduced peroxidation in human feces and reduced the number of Mucin-depleted foci in rats and adenoma in female Min mice. This could lead to protective strategies to decrease the colorectal cancer burden associated with red meat consumption. Cancer Prev Res; 11(9); 569-80. ©2018 AACR.

Analysis of hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide and glycidamide by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, as exposure biomarkers in French population.

The determination of biomarkers of acrylamide exposure in humans from general French population by measurement of hemoglobin adduct levels of acrylamide (AA) and glycidamide (GA) is presented. The analytical procedure included modified Edman degradation and LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis of the final derivatives using deuterated internal standards. Method performances were evaluated in terms of linearity, precision, accuracy, and sensitivity. The method was firstly assessed on rat blood samples and then applied to the study of background adducts levels of AA and GA in 68 human hemoglobin samples, showing mean levels of 33 and 23 pmol/g globin for AA and GA adducts, respectively.

Effects of pan cooking on micropollutants in meat.

This work presents the effects of pan cooking on PCBs, PCDD/Fs, pesticides and trace elements in meat from a risk assessment perspective. Three different realistic cooking intensities were studied. A GC×GC-TOF/MS method was set up for the multiresidue analysis of 189 PCBs, 17 PCDD/Fs and 16 pesticides whereas Cd, As, Pb and Hg were assayed by ICP-MS. In terms of quantity, average PCB losses after cooking were 18±5% for rare, 30±3% for medium, and 48±2% for well-done meat. In contrast, average PCDD/F losses were not significant. For pesticides, no loss occurred for aldrin, lindane, DDE or DDD, whereas losses exceeding 80% were found for dieldrin, sulfotep or phorate. Losses close to the margin of error were observed for trace elements. These results are discussed in light of the physicochemical properties of the micropollutants as well as of water and fat losses into cooking juice.

Relation between crust development and heterocyclic aromatic amine formation when air-roasting a meat cylinder.

The meat crust that develops during cooking is desired by consumers for its organoleptic properties, but it is also where heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAs) are formed. Here we measured HAs formation during the development of a colored crust on the surface of a beef meat piece. HAs formation was lower in the crust than previously measured in meat slices subjected to the same air jet conditions. This difference is explained by a lower average temperature in the colored crust than in the meat slices. Temperature effects can also explain why colored crust failed to reproduce the plateauing and decrease in HAs content observed in meat slices. We observed a decrease in creatine content from the center of the meat piece to the crust area. In terms of the implications for practice, specific heating conditions can be found to maintain a roast beef meat aspect while dramatically reducing HAs content.

A consolidated method for screening the endocrine activity of drinking water.

Endocrine activity of drinking water is a matter of growing interest for scientists as well as health authorities. A concentration technique for endocrine activity screening was developed, optimized, and transposed from 200mL to 10L water samples. To avoid any contamination during concentration, the method was developed using exclusively glass, Teflon and stainless steel materials. Any potential losses were tracked using three model radiolabeled molecules, namely BPA, DEHP and 4n-NP. The final method allowed 10L water samples to be concentrated 5000-fold, with good recovery and repeatability. After validation, by concentrating spiked and non-spiked 10L samples of EVIAN natural mineral water, 14 different drinking water samples were concentrated and screened for endocrine disrupting activity using bioluminescent assays. Samples consisting of bottled water, conditioned in various materials (glass, PET) and subjected to different storage conditions, had no hormone-like activities whereas estrogenic activity was found in the filtered tap water.

Isolation and structure elucidation of a new thermal breakdown product of glucobrassicin, the parent indole glucosinolate.

The thermal breakdown of glucobrassicin, the major natural indole glucosinolate present in cruciferous vegetables, has been studied. This study has been conducted using pure synthetic glucobrassicin instead of raw vegetable material to eliminate possible other sources (i.e., enzymatic or chemical) of degradation. After 1 h in aqueous solution at 100 degrees C, 10% of the original glucobrassicin is degraded and yields a unique degradation compound. This compound is described for the first time and has been identified as 2-(3'-indolylmethyl)glucobrassicin on the basis of data obtained by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as well as tandem mass spectrometric experiments carried out from positive and negative electrospray produced ions.

Towards models for the prediction of beef meat quality during cooking.

Heating of beef muscles modifies the water content, the micronutrient content and the colour of beef meat. Juice expelling and loss of water soluble micronutrients were predicted by combined transfer-kinetics models. Kinetics modeling and crust formation are needed to progress toward a reliable prediction of HAAs formation. HAAs formation in uniformly heated beef meat slices was compared with the values issued from the kinetic models developed in literature in liquid systems. The models of literature were adapted to meat slices but the parameter values were different from those determined in liquid systems. Results in meat slices were confronted to the HAAs formation at the surface of bigger meat pieces subjected to air roasting conditions. The transposition of the results from the meat slices towards the bigger meat pieces was not direct because the formation of HAAs was affected by the thickening of the crust and the migration of precursors.

Parallel biotransformation of tetrabromobisphenol A in Xenopus laevis and mammals: Xenopus as a model for endocrine perturbation studies.

The flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is a high production flame retardant that interferes with thyroid hormone (TH) signaling. Despite its rapid metabolism in mammals, TBBPA is found in significant amounts in different tissues. Such findings highlight first a need to better understand the effects of TBBPA and its metabolites and second the need to develop models to address these questions experimentally. We used Xenopus laevis tadpoles to follow radiolabeled (14)C-TBBPA uptake and metabolism. Extensive and rapid uptake of radioactivity was observed, tadpoles metabolizing > 94% of (14)C-TBBPA within 8 h. Four metabolites were identified in water and tadpole extracts: TBBPA-glucuronide, TBBPA-glucuronide-sulfate, TBBPA-sulfate, and TBBPA-disulfate. These metabolites are identical to the TBBPA conjugates characterized in mammals, including humans. Most radioactivity (> 75%) was associated with sulfated conjugates. The antithyroid effects of TBBPA and the metabolites were compared using two in vivo measures: tadpole morphology and an in vivo tadpole TH reporter gene assay. Only TBBPA, and not the sulfated metabolites, disrupted thyroid signaling. Moreover, TBBPA treatment did not affect expression of phase II enzymes involved in TH metabolism, suggesting that the antithyroid effects of TBBPA are not due to indirect effects on TH metabolism. Finally, we show that only the parent TBBPA inhibits T3-induced transactivation in cells expressing human, zebrafish, or X. laevis TH receptor, TRα. We conclude, first, that perturbation of thyroid signaling by TBBPA is likely due to rapid direct action of the parent compound, and second, that Xenopus is an excellent vertebrate model for biotransformation studies, displaying homologous pathways to mammals.

Implication of the mineralocorticoid axis in rainbow trout osmoregulation during salinity acclimation.

Cortisol and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) play an important role in fish osmoregulation, whereas the involvement of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and its putative ligand 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC) is poorly investigated. In this study, we assessed the implication of DOC and MR in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) osmoregulation during hypo- and hypersaline acclimation in parallel with the cortisol-GR system. A RIA for DOC was developed to measure plasma DOC levels, and a MR-specific antibody was developed to localize MR protein in the gill, intestine, and kidney. This is the first study to report DOC plasma levels during salinity change and MR localization in fish osmoregulatory tissue. Corticosteroid receptor mRNA abundance was investigated in osmoregulatory tissue during salinity acclimation, and the effect of cortisol and DOC on ionic transporters gene expression was assayed using an in vitro gill incubation method. Differential tissue-, salinity-, and time-dependent changes in MR mRNA levels during both hyper- and hyposaline acclimations and the ubiquitous localization of MR in osmoregulatory tissue suggest a role for the MR in osmoregulation. Presumably, DOC does not act as ligand for MR in osmoregulation because there were no changes in plasma DOC levels during either freshwater-seawater (FW-SW) or SW-FW acclimation or any effect of DOC on gill ionic transporter mRNA levels in the gill. Taken together, these results suggest a role for MR, but not for DOC, in osmoregulation and confirm the importance of cortisol as a major endocrine regulator of trout osmoregulation.