Quercetin affects uterine smooth muscle contractile activity in gilts.

Quercetin is a polyphenolic flavonoid occurring in leaves, stems, flowers and fruits of many plants. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as a natural therapeutic agent with a broad spectrum of activities (antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial and antiviral). Moreover, quercetin affects function of the reproductive tract, however the knowledge of this activity is still fragmentary. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the influence of quercetin on the contractile activity of the porcine myometrium collected from immature (n = 6), cyclic (n = 6) and early pregnant (n = 6) gilts. Strips of the myometrium (comprising longitudinal and circular layer) were resected from the middle part of the uterine horns and the isometric contractions were recorded. After 60-90 min of preincubation, the strips were stimulated with quercetin in increasing (10-13-10-1 M) concentrations and the changes in the tension amplitude and frequency of contractions were measured. Quercetin decreased (P<0.01-0.001) the amplitude of contractions at concentrations 10-11-10-1 M and 10-10-10-1 M in cyclic and early pregnant groups, respectively. The frequency of contractions decreased in all groups but was the highest (at concentrations 10-11-10-1 M; P<0.05-0.001) in the cyclic group and the lowest (at concentrations 10-5-10-1 M; P<0.01) in the immature group. The tension decreased only in the cyclic group after quercetin administration in high concentrations (10-6-10-1 M; P<0.05-0.01). The results indicate that quercetin causes relaxation of the porcine uterine smooth muscle but this activity is strongly related to the physiological status of the gilts.

Development of a UHPLC-MS/MS Method for the Determination of Quercetin in Milk and its Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study.

INTRODUCTION: Quercetin is a polyphenolic flavonoid which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a natural therapeutic agent with a broad spectrum of activities (antioxidant, anticancer, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibacterial). The aim of this study was to develop and validate a rapid and simple ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method for the determination of quercetin in milk. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sample preparation was based on a liquid-liquid extraction with 0.5% formic acid in acetonitrile. The chromatographic separation was performed on a ZORBAX SB-C18 column with methanol and 0.5% formic acid as a mobile phase. RESULTS: The procedure was successfully validated. The mean recovery of the analyte was 98%, with the corresponding intra- and inter-day variation less than 10% and 15%, respectively, and the repeatability and reproducibility were in the range of 3%-7.2% and 6.1%-12%, respectively. The lowest level of quantification was 1.0 µg/kg. CONCLUSION: The proposed method was successfully applied in evaluating the pharmacokinetics of quercetin in milk obtained from dairy cows with clinical mastitis after intramammary administration.

Animal Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Studies (APPS) Reporting Guidelines.

Animal pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies are commonly used to provide meaningful preclinical information that can be utilized by the scientific community to conduct first-in-human studies. Poor presentation and interpretation of the data limit study reproducibility, and may result in rejection when the study is submitted to a journal, leading to loss of time and resources at multiple levels. In addition, inconsistencies in reporting the results of animal studies may limit the ability to extrapolate the experimental findings to humans. A few guidelines have been published to make the reporting of animal studies consistent; however, strict implementation of these guidelines by authors, reviewers, and journal editors is still lacking. In an attempt to make the reporting of animal pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies consistent and improve the standard of reporting, this article provides guidelines that can be followed when submitting such studies to a journal. A detailed checklist, based on these guidelines, has been developed that can be used by the authors, reviewers, and editors to check if the required information is included in the manuscript. These guidelines can also be used for designing and performing such studies.

Harmonization of rules in GLP and pharmacokinetic analysis: regulatory view.

This article is an attempt to present issues associated with the principles of GLP system harmonization, particularly in relation to pharmacokinetic (PK) studies at a global scale. Complete harmonization of GLP principles requires unification at several levels: inside registration authorities, between key registration authorities, within the framework of procedures regulating preclinical and clinical phases of the drug-development process and within the framework of procedures regarding GLP principles used in PK analyses and analyses of residuals of veterinary drugs. This large number of discrepancies indicates that total harmonization of rules on this issue will be very difficult and will require close cooperation between institutions responsible for legislative processes and control of GLP principles during PK analysis.

Atypical calcium coordination number: Physicochemical study, cytotoxicity, DFT calculations and in silico pharmacokinetic characteristics of calcium caffeates.

Two complexes of calcium ions containing monodeprotonated caffeate ligands were synthesized and physicochemically (IR, FIR, NMR, thermal analysis) and theoretically (DFT and pharmacokinetical parameters) characterized. [Ca(C(9)H(7)O(4))(2)].2H(2)O 1a and [Ca(C(9)H(7)O(4))(2)].2H(2)O KNO(3)1b are compounds with unusual four coordinate calcium ion containing the ligand coordinated to the metal ion through two carboxylic groups arranged with tetrahedrally-like mode (CaO(4)). Two water molecules are outside the first coordination sphere bound non-equivalently to the ligand through a net of hydrogen bonding. The compounds were found to be cytotoxically inactive. Finally, in silico parameters predict the potential application of the compound as a supplement and/or drug.