Short communication: the effect of mode of delivery on contractile function of placental arteries in vitro.

This study was designed to determine the effect of the mode of delivery on the in vitro assessment of placental blood vessel function. Twenty-two subjects with uncomplicated pregnancies, normal antenatal Doppler flow velocity waveforms and normal birth weights were recruited for the study. The 11 subjects who were delivered by elective caesarean section were matched with 11 controls, who had uncomplicated labours and spontaneous vaginal delivery. Two tertiary chorionic plate arteries were dissected free 1 h after delivery and mounted in a myograph. Cumulative concentration response curves were constructed to the thromboxane A2 analogue U46619, prostaglandin F2 alpha and angiotensin II. After a period of 12 h a further two vessels were mounted and a concentration response curve to U46619 was repeated to determine whether a delay of several hours after delivery would have an effect on the responses of these vessels. These placental arteries constrict to U46619, prostaglandin F2 alpha and angiotensin II in a dose-dependent manner. There was no statistical difference in the maximum contractile responses or pD2 values between the different modes of delivery. A delay in dissection of up to 12 h had no effect on the maximum response or pD2 with U46619. Therefore, contractile function of placental arteries is unaffected by mode of delivery or a delay in dissection.

A comparison of the effect of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition and angiotensin II receptor antagonism on the structural changes associated with hypertension in rat small arteries.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether, when angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors are administered to young, genetically hypertension-prone animals, the demonstrated attenuation of blood pressure development and prevention of the structural changes usually observed in small arteries is attributable to the prevention of angiotensin II production. DESIGN: We have treated spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) aged 4-20 weeks with either lisinopril (1 or 10 mg/kg) or the angiotensin II receptor antagonist D 8731 (1, 20 or 50 mg/kg). METHODS: Blood pressure was measured and structural parameters in small arteries from four vascular beds were examined using isometric myography. RESULTS: At age 20 weeks lisinopril had attenuated blood pressure development and prevented cardiac hypertrophy (but not vascular hypertrophy) in a dose-dependent manner. The highest dose of lisinopril had reduced the blood pressure of the SHR to below that of the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and prevented most structural changes, but there was a slight reduction in body weight in those rats. Comparable blood pressure control with D 8731 was associated with similar structural parameters. CONCLUSION: The prevention of hypertension-associated vascular structural alteration appears to be dependent upon the degree of blood pressure control.

Disposable cartridge extraction of retinol and alpha-tocopherol from feedstuffs.

Automated determination of fat-soluble vitamins by modern methods such as liquid chromatography is hampered by the initial extraction step. A simple technique is proposed that allows an appreciable increase in the actual rates of determination. Feedstuff samples are first hydrolyzed in an aqueous alcohol (mainly methanol)-potassium hydroxide solution. Instead of extracting retinol and alpha-tocopherol from the hydrolysis solution by an organic solvent, an aliquot of the solution is mixed with a small volume of a strong antioxidant solution (ascorbic acid) and pipetted onto a kieselguhr disposable cartridge where it is adsorbed. Retinol and alpha-tocopherol are eluted with isooctane at normal pressure. The proposed method has been compared with conventional techniques on many feed samples.

Specific determination of alpha-tocopherol in food and feed by fluorometry. Part 1. Manual method.

The proposed fluorometric method for determining alpha-tocopherol is highly specific and sensitive, yet requires low-cost equipment available in any laboratory. It is robust and fairly fast (4 determinations in 100 min, sample preparation not included). It has been tested in parallel with a conventional thin layer chromatographic method on foods and feeds. The only necessary cleanup is the usual saponification. The unsaponifiable fraction can be extracted with ethyl ether or, preferably, with Extrelut columns. Isooctane is used as a carrier solvent. Reagents and their solvents are added to the isooctane solution before each successive reaction and are then eliminated by partition with water. The alpha-tocopherol (alpha-T) derivative always remains in isooctane. The first step is nitrosation and elimination of tocopherols and tocotrienols other than alpha-isomers. alpha-T is then oxidized to alpha-tocored (alpha-TR) with a mixture of sulfuric acid, ferric chloride, and iodine bromide. alpha-TR is then condensed to a new reagent: 4,5-dimethyl-o-phenylenediamine. The phenazine formed is strongly fluorescent. Iodine and bromine add to the double bonds of alpha-tocotrienol present and quench the fluorescence of its phenazine. A procedure for blank assays specifically inhibits the conversion of alpha-T to alpha-TR.

Automated determination of alpha-tocopherol in food and feed. Part 2. Continuous flow technique.

The proposed determination of alpha-tocopherol is a continuous flow method with fluorometric detection. The only cleanup necessary is the usual saponification. A solution of the unsaponifiable matter in isooctane is automatically assayed. Isooctane is the carrier solvent and extractions are inserted between steps. These steps are selective reactions which render the method very specific. The natural homologs of alpha-tocopherol (alpha-T) do not interfere in the determination. A procedure for blank assays allows selective inhibition of alpha-T conversions and measurement of interfering fluorescence. The method is highly sensitive, which allows the determination of alpha-T in very dilute solutions. This in turn suppresses matrix effects and renders the results reliable. The time interval between 2 peaks is 6 min, washing included, and it is possible to carry out 50 determinations per day (sample preparation not included). The system is robust and maintenance is easy. Parallel determinations of foods and feeds have been carried out with a conventional thin layer chromatographic method.