ABSTRACT
Folic acid contained in potato (<i>Solanum tuberosum L.</i>) tubers is concentrated in potato chips by dehydration during frying. It is a vitamin recommended to young women which helps protect fetus from congenital disease. Additionally, folic acid can lower plasma homocysteine concentrations, a known independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This study was designed to determine whether the dietary consumption of potato chips affect serum folic acid concentration and plasma homocysteine concentration in human subjects. Results showed a significant increase in serum concentrations of folate 1, 3, and 6 hours after ingestion. Vitamin B<sub>6</sub>, on the other hand, increased significantly after 3 hours of intake. In contrast, plasma homocysteine concentration decreased significantly 6 hours after ingestion. These results suggest that potato chips would be a good dietary source of folic acid for humans.<br>
ABSTRACT
In this study, we examined whether AA can be produced in Fru + Asn and Glc + Asn solutions that are incubated at 37°C for a long time. Acrylamide was observed in both solutions at pH 7.4 and pH 12.0. The Fru + Asn group became a deeper brown, but had a lower AA production rate than the Glc + Asn group at each pH. This suggests the presence of an acrylamide production pathway different from those in related high-temperature processes. Moreover, the generation of acrylamide at pH 7.4 in the Glc + Asn solution at 37°C suggests that acrylamide can be produced as an advanced glycation end product in the living body.<br>
ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate the effect of arsenic (As) on the porphyrin biosynthetic pathway, urine samples from patients with endemic chronic arsenic poisoning were examined.Subjects and Methods: The subjects were 16 patients, who had been exposed to As from burning coal for 8 to 25 years, and-16 controls living in the same region in Guizhou Province in southwest China. Concentrations of urinary As, porphyrins and ALA were determined by induced coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a reversed-phase column and fluorescence detector, and colorimetric spectrophotometry, respectively.Results: Concentrations of As in patients and controls, 184.40 ± 200.04 and 86.82 ± 64.20 μ g/g creatinine (mean ± SD) respectively, were significantly different (p<0.05). The concentrations of various kinds of urinary porphyrins, including isomers I and III of coproporphyrin and pentacarboxylporphyrin, were determined. Positive correlations were observed between As and porphyrins (e.g. total porphyrins, hexacarboxylporphyrin and coproporphyrin III) or between As and ALA in male and female patients. However, porphyrin and ALA concentrations were not significantly different between the patients and the controls. Urinary porphyrin concentrations in females were higher than those in males.Conclusion: Exposure to As from burning coal may influence porphyrin biosynthesis.