Comparative study of the instrumental couplings of high performance liquid chromatography with microwave-assisted digestion hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for chiral speciation of selenomethionine in breast and formula milk

Egg Yolk Selenopeptides: Preparation, Characterization, and Immunomodulatory Activity

In this study, egg yolk selenium peptides (Se-EYP) were prepared using double-enzyme hydrolysis combined with a shearing pretreatment. The properties of the selenopeptides formed were then characterized, including their yield, composition, molecular weight distribution, antioxidant activity, in vitro digestion, and immunomodulatory activity. The peptide yield obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis using a combination of alkaline protease and neutral protease was 74.5%, of which 82.6% had a molecular weight <1000 Da. The selenium content of the lyophilized solid product was 4.01 μg/g. Chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that 88.6% of selenium in Se-EYP was in the organic form, of which SeMet accounted for 60.3%, SeCys2 for 21.8%, and MeSeCys for 17.9%. After being exposed to in vitro simulated digestion, Se-EYP still had 65.1% of oligopeptides present, and the in vitro antioxidant activity was enhanced. Moreover, Se-EYP exhibited superior immune detection indices, including immune organ index, level of immune factors in the serum, histopathological changes in the spleen, and selenium content in the liver. Our results suggest that Se-EYP may be used as selenium-enriched ingredients in functional food products.

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography approach using diastereomeric derivatization and a volatile surfactant for the enantioselective separation of selenomethionine

A MEKC methodology with UV detection was developed for the enantioselective separation of selenomethionine (SeMet). The use of (+)-1-(9-fluorenyl)ethyl chloroformate (FLEC) as chiral derivatization reagent to form SeMet diastereomers enabled their subsequent separation using ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO) as a volatile pseudostationary phase. The effect of APFO concentration and pH, temperature, injection volume, and derivatization conditions (time and FLEC/SeMet ratio) were evaluated in order to select the best separation conditions. A chiral resolution of 4.4 for DL-SeMet was achieved in less than 6 min using 100 mM APFO at pH 8.5 as electrophoretic buffer. Satisfactory results were obtained in terms of linearity, precision (RSD from 3.4 to 5.1% for migration times and from 1.8 to 4.6% for corrected peak areas), accuracy, and LODs (3.1 × 10^-6  M and 3.7 × 10^-6  M for d and l enantiomers, respectively). The method was successfully applied to the determination of l-SeMet in food supplements.

Nutritional and medicinal aspects of D-amino acids

This paper reviews and interprets a method for determining the nutritional value of D-amino acids, D-peptides, and amino acid derivatives using a growth assay in mice fed a synthetic all-amino acid diet. A large number of experiments were carried out in which a molar equivalent of the test compound replaced a nutritionally essential amino acid such as L-lysine (L-Lys), L-methionine (L-Met), L-phenylalanine (L-Phe), and L-tryptophan (L-Trp) as well as the semi-essential amino acids L-cysteine (L-Cys) and L-tyrosine (L-Tyr). The results show wide-ranging variations in the biological utilization of test substances. The method is generally applicable to the determination of the biological utilization and safety of any amino acid derivative as a potential nutritional source of the corresponding L-amino acid. Because the organism is forced to use the D-amino acid or amino acid derivative as the sole source of the essential or semi-essential amino acid being replaced, and because a free amino acid diet allows better control of composition, the use of all-amino-acid diets for such determinations may be preferable to protein-based diets. Also covered are brief summaries of the widely scattered literature on dietary and pharmacological aspects of 27 individual D-amino acids, D-peptides, and isomeric amino acid derivatives and suggested research needs in each of these areas. The described results provide a valuable record and resource for further progress on the multifaceted aspects of D-amino acids in food and biological samples.

Evaluation of the inorganic selenium biotransformation in selenium-enriched yogurt by HPLC-ICP-MS

Selenium is an essential element in the human diet. Interestingly, there has been an increased consumption of dietary supplements containing this element in the form of either inorganic or organic compounds. The effect of using selenium as a dietary supplement in yogurt has been evaluated. For this purpose, different concentrations of inorganic Se (ranging from 0.2 to 5000 microg g(-1)) have been added to milk before the fermentation process. Biotransformation of inorganic Se into organic species has been carefully evaluated by ion-exchange, reversed-phase, or size-exclusion chromatography, coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Yogurt fermentation in the presence of up to 2 microg g(-1) of Se(IV) produces a complete incorporation of this element into proteins as has been demonstrated applying a dialysis procedure. Analysis by SEC-ICP-MS showed that most of them have a molecular mass in the range of 30-70 kDa. Species determination after enzymatic hydrolysis has allowed the identification of Se-cystine using two different chromatographic systems. The biotransformation process that takes place during yogurt fermentation is very attractive because yogurt can act as a source of selenium supplementation.

HPLC separation of amino acid enantiomers and small peptides on macrocyclic antibiotic-based chiral stationary phases: a review

The search for new and effective chiral selectors capable of separating a wide variety of enantiomeric compounds is an ongoing process. In the past decade, macrocyclic antibiotics have proved to be an exceptionally useful class of chiral selectors for the separation of enantiomers of biological and pharmacological importance by means of HPLC, TLC and electrophoresis. More chiral analytes have been resolved through the use of glycopeptides than with all the other macrocyclic antibiotics combined (ansamycins, thiostrepton, aminoglycosides, etc.). The glycopeptides avoparcin, teicoplanin, ristocetin A and vancomycin have been extensively used as chiral selectors in the form of chiral bonded phases in HPLC, and HPLC stationary phases based on these glycopeptides have been commercialized. Teicoplanin, vancomycin, their analogs and ristocetin A seem to be the most useful glycopeptide HPLC bonded phases for the enantioseparation of proteins and unusal native and derivatized amino acids. In fact, the macrocyclic glycopeptides are to some extent complementary to one another: where partial enantioresolution is obtained with one glycopeptide, there is a high probability that baseline or better separation can be obtained with another. This review sets out to characterize the physicochemical properties of these antibiotics and their application in the enantioseparations of amino acids. The mechanism of separation, the sequence of elution of the stereoisomers and the relation to the absolute configuration are also discussed.

Selenium speciation from food source to metabolites: a critical review

Especially in the last decade, a vast number of papers on Se and its role in health issues have been published. This review gives a brief, critical overview of the main analytical findings reported in these papers. Of particular interest is the Se content in different food sources worldwide and the extent to which their consumption is reflected in the Se content of human tissues and body fluids. Several food sources, both natural (Brazil nuts, garlic, Brassica juncea) and Se-enriched (yeast-based supplements), are discussed as to origin, characteristics, Se metabolism and impact of their consumption on the human body. The continuous development of new and improvement of existing analytical techniques has provided different powerful tools to unravel the Se species and their function. An up-to-date literature study on Se speciation analysis is given, illustrating how analytical chemistry in its different facets aids in the identification of Se compounds and provides insight into the complete metabolic pathway of Se throughout the human body. This review includes a detailed image of the current state-of-the-art of Se speciation analysis in these food sources and in human tissues and body fluids.