Detection of volatile organic compounds in adulterated tea using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry.

Aroma is a key factor used to evaluate tea quality. Illegal traders usually add essence to expired or substandard tea to improve its aroma so as to gain more profit. Traditional physical and chemical testing methods are time-consuming and costly. Furthermore, rapid detection techniques, such as near-infrared spectroscopy and machine vision, can only be used to detect adulterated powdered solid essences in tea. In this study, proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in samples, and rapid detection of different tea adulterated liquid essence was achieved. The prediction accuracies of PTR-MS and FTIR reached over 0.941 and 0.957, respectively, and the minimum detection limits were lower than the actual used values in both. In this study, the different application scenarios of the two technologies are discussed based on their performance characteristics.

Increased Use of Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Back Pain Following Statewide Medicaid Coverage Changes in Oregon.

BACKGROUND: In 2016, Oregon introduced a policy to improve back pain treatment among Medicaid enrollees by expanding benefits for evidence-based complementary and alternative medical (CAM) services and establishing opioid prescribing restrictions. OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in CAM utilization following the policy and variations in utilization across patient populations. DESIGN: A retrospective study of Oregon Medicaid claims data, examining CAM therapy utilization by back pain patients pre- vs post-policy. We used an interrupted time series analysis to evaluate changes in CAM use and examined the association between patient characteristics and CAM use post-policy using linear regression models. PARTICIPANTS: Adult Medicaid patients with back pain. INTERVENTION: The Oregon Medicaid back pain policy, administered through Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs). MAIN MEASURES: Use of CAM services. KEY RESULTS: Use of any CAM service increased from 7.9% (95% CI 7.6-8.2%) prior to the policy to 30.9% (95% CI 30.4-31.3%) after the policy. Acupuncture increased from 0.3 to 5.6%, chiropractic from 0.3 to 11.1%, massage from 1.6 to 14.8%, PT/OT from 6.0 to 17.7%, and osteopathic from 1.4 to 1.9%. Interrupted time series showed an overall increase in proportion of back pain patients who used CAM service following the policy. Among those who accessed CAM, the policy did not appear to increase the number of services used. In the post period, CAM services were accessed more often by female and older enrollees and urban populations. Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic enrollees were less likely to access CAM services; for Black enrollees, this was true for all types of services. CONCLUSIONS: CAM service utilization increased among back pain patients following implementation of Oregon's policy. There was significant heterogeneity in uptake across service types, CCOs, and patient subgroups. Policymakers should consider implementation factors that might limit impact and perpetuate health disparities.

Comparison of antioxidant and antiproliferation activities of polysaccharides from eight species of medicinal mushrooms.

Polysaccharides from mushrooms including Pleurotus eryngii, P. ostreatus, P. nebrodensis, Lentinus edodes, Hypsizygus marmoreus, Flammulina velutipes, Ganoderma lucidum, and Hericium erinaceus were isolated by water extraction and alcohol precipitation. Our results suggest that all tested polysaccharides have the significant antioxidant capacities of scavenging free radicals (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and hydroxyl radicals). Among them, the H. erinaceus polysaccharide exhibits the highest 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity, whereas the L. edodes polysaccharide shows the strongest scavenging ability for hydroxyl radicals. Furthermore, using the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line and HeLa cells, all 8 selected polysaccharides are able to inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells, but the strength of inhibition varied depending on the mushroom species and the concentration used. Notably, G. lucidum polysaccharide shows the highest inhibition activity on MCF-7 cells. By comparison, H. erinaceus polysaccharide has the strongest inhibitory effect on HeLa cells. Moreover, high-performance liquid chromatography with a carbohydrate analysis column showed significant differences in polysaccharide components among these mushrooms. Thus our data suggest that the different species of mushrooms have the variable functions because of their own specific polysaccharide components. The 8 mushroom polysaccharides have the potential to be used as valuable functional food additives or sources of therapeutic agents for antioxidant and cancer treatments, especially polysaccharides from H. erinaceus, L. edodes, and G. lucidum.