Asiatic acid and madecassic acid cause cardiotoxicity via inflammation and production of excessive reactive oxygen species in zebrafish.

Centella asiatica (L.) Urban is a famous Chinese traditional medicine, which is widely used for treating various chronic inflammatory diseases. Although there are reports that Centella total glycosides exhibit heart-protective properties, our previous experiment showed that it has cardiac toxic effects in zebrafish. The components of Centella total glycosides are complex, so we recommend further research to determine their key components and mechanisms. In this study, sample quantification was done using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The cardiotoxicity of Centella total glycosides, asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid, and madecassic acid was evaluated using zebrafish and cell models. The zebrafish oxidative stress model and myocarditis model were used to explore further the mechanisms through which cardiotoxicity is achieved. Asiatic acid and madecassic acid caused zebrafish cardiotoxicity and H9C2 cell death. However, no toxicity effects were observed for asiaticoside and madecassoside in zebrafish, until the solution was saturated. The results from the cell model study showed that asiatic acid and madecassic acid changed the expression of apoptosis-related genes in myocardial cells. In the zebrafish model, high concentrations of these components raised the levels of induced systemic inflammation, neutrophils gathered in the heart, and oxidative stress injury. Asiatic acid and madecassic acid are the main components causing cardiotoxicity in zebrafish. This may be due to enhanced inflammation and reactive oxygen species injury, which causes myocardial cell apoptosis, which further leads to cardiac toxicity.

Glabrol impurity exacerbates glabridin toxicity in zebrafish embryos by increasing myofibril disorganization.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Glabridin, extracted from Glycyrrhiza glabra L., is widely used for the treatment of hyperpigmentation because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and its ability to inhibit melanin synthesis. This led to the strict regulation of its quality and safety. However, traditional quality control methods used for plant extracts cannot reflect the product quality owing to multiple unknown impurities, which necessitates the further analysis of impurities. AIM OF THE STUDY: The study identified the toxic impurities of glabridin and their toxicological mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 10 glabridin samples from different sources were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. Sample toxicities were evaluated using zebrafish and cell models. To identify impurities, samples with different toxicity were analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry. The toxicity of related impurities was verified in the zebrafish model. Phalloidin stain was used to evaluate subtle changes in myofibril alignment. RESULTS: Although glabridin content in the samples was similar, there were significant differences in toxicity. The results were verified using four different mammalian cell lines. Higher contents of glabrone and glabrol were identified in the sample with the highest toxicity. In the zebrafish model, the addition of glabrol reduced the LC50 of glabridin to 9.224, 6.229, and 5.370 µM at 48, 72, and 96 h post-fertilization, respectively, whereas glabrone did not have any toxic effect. Phalloidin staining indicated that a glabrol impurity exacerbates the myotoxicity of glabridin in zebrafish embryos. CONCLUSION: Glabrol, but not glabrone, was identified as a key impurity that increased glabridin toxicity. This finding indicates that controlling glabrol content is necessary during glabridin product production.

Determination of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate in cooking oil and pig adipose tissue using reversed-phase liquid-liquid extraction followed by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are two perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) ubiquitously present in the environment, which could pose potential adverse effects on human health. Contamination and presence of PFOA and PFOS should be eliminated or rigidly restricted in food stuffs such as cooking oils and lard (from pig adipose tissue). This work describes a rapid, simple, reliable and sensitive method for quantitative analysis of PFOA and PFOS in cooking oils and pig adipose tissue with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The pretreatment mainly included a one-step reversed-phase liquid-liquid extraction using the mixture of basified water/methanol as the aqueous system, and dichloromethane (DCM) as the non-polar system. PFOA and PFOS can be successfully separated from the two lipid-rich matrices, i.e., cooking oil and adipose tissue, and extracted into the aqueous system, and then directly analyzed with LC-MS/MS. This method was validated in terms of accuracy (both intra- and inter-batch), precision, recovery, linearity, sensitivity and applicability. The intra-batch accuracies for PFOA and PFOS in cooking oil samples were within 93.9-101.9% with relative standard deviation (RSD) no more than 10.9%, and the inter-batch accuracies were 91.2-96.2% with RSD not exceeding 10.0%. The intra-batch accuracies of the analytes in pig adipose tissue samples were 102.9-113.0% with RSD of 8.8-13.1%. And the quantification ranges of PFOA and PFOS were 0.01-25ng/mL. This method has been applied to the analysis of PFOA and PFOS in real samples collected from local markets in Guangzhou, China.

High-level secretion and purification of recombinant acetylcholinesterase from human cerebral tissue in P. pastoris and identification by chromogenic reaction.

The gene encoding human cerebral tissue acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was cloned from an 18-week fetal cerebral tissue and expressed in Pichia pastoris. Twenty-two positive transformants were obtained by Mut(+)/Mut(s) phenotypes screening in MD/MM medium and polymerase chain reaction amplification, and four recombinant P. pastoris strains that could secrete active AChE at high level were identified by simple and specific development reaction with indoxyl acetate as the chromogenic substrate. In shake-flask culture induced with methanol, the recombinant human AChE (rhAChE) content was about 76% of the total secreted proteins, and rhAChE activity in supernatant was 40 U/ml. The enzyme was purified through anion-exchange and affinity chromatography. Purity of the rhAChE was up to 96% after the simple purification procedure. The enzymatic activity reached 200 U/mg.