Detection and qualitative analysis of fatty acid amides in the urine of alcoholics using HPLC-QTOF-MS.

Fatty acid amides (FAAs) in alcoholism lead to liver diseases. These amides have been reported in plasma and in other organs of the body, while their detection or presence in the urine is still unknown. Therefore, the focus of the current study was to detect and analyze FAAs qualitatively in urine samples of alcoholics. Furthermore, the effects of Tinospora cordifolia (hepatoprotective medicinal plant) intervention on FAA levels in moderate alcoholics were also analyzed. In the study, asymptomatic chronic alcoholics (n = 22) without chronic liver disease and nonalcoholic healthy volunteers (n = 24) with a mean age of 39 ± 2.0 years were selected. The first-pass urine and fasting blood samples were collected in the morning on day 0 and day 14 after T. cordifolia water extract (TCE) treatment and analyzed using automated biochemistry analyzer and HPLC-QTOF-MS. Results indicated the increased levels of serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and liver function enzymes in alcoholic subjects, which were significantly down-regulated by TCE intervention. Multivariate discrimination analysis of QTOF-MS data showed increased urinary levels of oleoamide (2.55-fold), palmitamide (5.6-fold), and erucamide (1.6-fold) in alcoholics as compared to control subjects. Levels of oleamide (1.8-fold), palmitamide (1.7-fold), and linoleamide (1.5-fold) were found to be increased in plasma. Treatment with TCE in alcoholics (3.0 g lyophilized water extract/day) significantly decreased the plasma and urinary levels of all FAAs except linoleamide. The HPLC-QTOF-MS approach for FAAs analysis in both urinary and plasma samples of alcoholics worked very well. Moreover, findings (i.e., increased levels of FAAs in urine and in plasma) further support other findings that these amides play a very important role in alcoholism. Further, like our previous findings, TCE proved its hepatoprotective effect against alcoholism not only by lowering the levels of these detected FAAs, but also by decreasing the level of liver-specific enzymes and lipids.

A clinical study of Yigu capsule in treating postmenopausal osteoporosis.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the efficacy and safety of Yigu capsule (YGC), a Chinese herbal compound preparation, in treating postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) and to explore its possible mechanism. METHODS: The clinical study was conducted in a prospective, randomized, double blinded method lasting for 6 months with placebo and positive control. Two hundred and ten PMO patients with confirmed diagnosis were assigned into the YGC group, the calciferol group and the placebo group. Besides being administered element calcium, they were treated with YGC, calciferol capsule and placebo capsule respectively. And such symptoms as newly found fracture and ostealgia, bone mineral density (BMD) of the 2nd-4th lumbar vertebrae (L(2-4)) and upper femur, blood and urinary indexes for bone metabolism, sex hormone level and adverse reaction that occurred in patients were observed. RESULTS: In the YGC group, the total effective rate was 95.50%, with no new occurrence of fractures, which was significantly better than that in the other two groups (P < 0.05). Moreover, in the YGC group, the increase rate of BMD was 9.83% in L(2-4), 4.09% in femoral neck, 4.60% in Wards triangle, 3.00% in greater trochanter, which was also better than that in the placebo group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). As compared with the placebo group, levels in the YGC group of urinary oxyproline hydroxyproline/creatinine, urinary calcium/creatinine were significantly lower, serum and bone alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, estradiol and estradiol/testosterone were significantly higher, but no difference was shown in the comparison of testosterone level. In the observation period, no abnormality in blood or urine routine, liver or renal function was found. Only mild, transient gastro-intestinal response occurred in individual patients, but it did not affect the treatment. CONCLUSION: YGC could treat PMO effectively, as it could obviously increase the BMD of lumbar vertebrae and coxafemoral bone, elevate the alleviating rate of ostealgia and incessant motion time, yet causing no newly found compressive fracture of vertebrae, or and any related adverse reaction. YGC could not only promote the formation, but also inhibit the absorption of bone as well as increase the sex hormone level. Therefore, it is a pure Chinese herbal compound preparation worthy of further research and development.

Finger clubbing and aspartylglucosamine excretion in a laxative-abusing patient.

A young woman with a previous history of anorexia nervosa presented with severe finger clubbing. Urine samples intermittently contained significant amounts of aspartylglucosamine. Liver biopsy showed abnormal cytoplasmic inclusions in phagocytic cells. The patient was found to be abusing senna laxative.