28-Day repeated dose toxicity study of dried microorganism in rats

The influence of dietary Coenzyme Q10 on growth performance, antioxidant capacity and resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila of juvenile European eel (Anguilla anguilla)

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on the growth performance, body composition, digestive enzyme activity, antioxidant capacity, intestinal histology, immune-antioxidant gene expression and disease resistance of juvenile European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Fish were fed a diet supplemented with CoQ10 at concentrations of 0, 40, 80 and 120 mg/kg for 56 days. The results indicated that dietary CoQ10 supplementation did not significantly affect final body weight (FBW), survival rate (SR), weight gain (WG), feed rate (FR), viscerosomatic index (VSI) or hepatosomatic index (HSI) among all experimental groups. However, the highest FBW, WG and SR were found in the 120 mg/kg CoQ10 group. Dietary 120 mg/kg CoQ10 markedly improved feed efficiency (FE) and the protein efficiency ratio (PER). The crude lipids in the body and triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) in serum were obviously lower in the 120 mg/kg CoQ10 group than in the control group. For digestive enzymes, protease activity in the intestine was markedly boosted in the 120 mg/kg CoQ10 group. The serum activities of SOD, CAT and GST in the 120 mg/kg CoQ10 group were significantly higher than those in the control group. Dietary 120 mg/kg CoQ10 efficiently enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities in the liver, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly decreased. No significant histological changes in the liver were identified in any group. Dietary supplementation with 120 mg/kg CoQ10 improved antioxidant capacity and immunity by upregulating the expression of cyp1a, sod, gst, lysC, igma1, igmb1 and irf3 in the liver. Furthermore, the cumulative survival rate of juvenile European eel against challenge with Aeromonas hydrophila was significantly elevated in the 80 and 120 mg/kg CoQ10 supplemented groups. Conclusively, our study suggested that supplementing the diet of juvenile European eel with CoQ10 at a concentration of 120 mg/kg could promote their feed utilization, fat reduction, antioxidant capacity, digestibility, immune-antioxidant gene expression and resistance to Aeromonas hydrophila without negative effects on fish health status.

Enhancement of antibody production by the addition of Coenzyme-Q(10)

Recently, there has been a growing demand for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) on the global market. Because therapeutic MAbs are more expensive than low-molecular-weight drugs, there have been strong demands to lower their production costs. Therefore, efficient methods to minimize the cost of goods are currently active areas of research. We have screened several enhancers of specific MAb production rate (SPR) using a YB2/0 cell line and found that coenzyme-Q(10) (CoQ(10)) is a promising enhancer candidate. CoQ(10) is well known as a strong antioxidant in the respiratory chain and is used for healthcare and other applications. Because CoQ(10) is negligibly water soluble, most studies are limited by low concentrations. We added CoQ(10) to a culture medium as dispersed nanoparticles at several concentrations (Q-Media) and conducted a fed-batch culture. Although the Q-Media had no effect on cumulative viable cell density, it enhanced SPR by 29%. In addition, the Q-Media had no effect on the binding or cytotoxic activity of MAbs. Q-Media also enhanced SPR with CHO and NS0 cell lines by 30%. These observations suggest that CoQ(10) serves as a powerful aid in the production of MAbs by enhancing SPR without changing the characteristics of cell growth, or adversely affecting the quality or biological activity of MAbs.

Cassava starch fermentation wastewater: Characterization and preliminary toxicological studies

Cassava starch fermentation wastewater is an industrial residue composed mainly of lactic acid bacteria with predominance of the genera Lactobacillus, and organic acids. To evaluate the safety of this residue for possible production of probiotic beverages, acute in mice and sub-chronic (28-day repeated dose) toxicity studies in rats were carried. The administration of a single dose of 5 g/kg/body weight did not produce mortality in mice. Rats treated with water containing 0 (control), 25%, 50%, and 100% of the residue for 28 days, did not present alterations in behaviour or in food and water consumption. There were no treatment-related changes of toxicological significance in the relative weight of the organs neither in the haematological nor in the biochemical parameters. Histopathologic alterations observed in the small intestine did not seem to be associated with the treatment.

28-Day oral toxicity study of the aqueous extract from spider brake (Pteris multifida Poiret) in rats

Spider brake (Pteris multifida Poiret) is a very important folk herb and a constituent in most of the traditional herbal beverage formulas in Taiwan; however, little toxicological information is available regarding the safety following repeated exposure. The present study was conducted to evaluate the toxicity of aqueous extract from spider brake (SB) in Sprague-Dawley rats on dietary oral gavage at concentrations of 100, 500, and 1000 mg/kg b.w. day for 28 days. There were no adverse effects on general condition, growth, feed and water consumption, feed conversion efficiency, red blood cell and clotting potential parameters, clinical chemistry values, and organ weights except for neutrophils and lymphocytes being slightly diminished in male and female rats at the highest dose, respectively. Necropsy and histopathology findings revealed no treatment-related changes in any of the organs. The results obtained in this study allowed us to conclude that the SB properly utilized in the traditional oral administration could be devoid of any toxic risk.

A rapid and sensitive LC-MS/MS method for determination of coenzyme Q10 in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaves

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method with multiple reaction monitoring has been proposed for the analysis of coenzyme Q10 in (CoQ10) tobacco leaves. The method used electrospray ionization with detection in positive ion mode. Sample pretreatment involved ultrasonic extraction of fresh tobacco leaves with anhydrous ethanol for 15 min and followed by extraction of the supernatant with hexane. The separation of CoQ10 was performed on a Symmetry Shield RP18 column with a mixture of acetonitrile and isopropanol (8:7, v/v) containing 0.5% formic acid as mobile phase. Quantification of CoQ10 was performed by the standard addition method. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation of CoQ10 were, respectively, 1.2 ng/mL (S/N = 3) and 4.0 ng/mL (S/N = 10). The relative standard deviations of peak area were 0.91% and 1.21% for intra-day and inter-day, respectively. The recoveries of CoQ10 ranged from 98.2 to 99.3% and the corresponding RSDs were less than 2.4%. Analysis took 5 min, making the method suitable for rapid determination of CoQ10 in tobacco leaves. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of CoQ10 in the leaves from eight varieties of tobacco.

Evaluation of the mutagenic potential of ubidecarenone using three short-term assays

Addition of ubidecarenone, coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)), to foods has been proposed for its nutritive value. Ubidecarenone is present naturally in a number of foods, including meats (e.g., beef, chicken) and fish (e.g., herring, rainbow trout), and on average, people are estimated to consume 2-20 mg/day of this metabolically important substance. Currently, relatively little formal evidence regarding the safety of ubidecarenone has been identified in the toxicology literature, despite its consumption by humans for centuries without reported notable adverse effects. As such, a series of toxicological studies, including mouse bone marrow micronucleus, chromosomal aberration, and bacterial reverse mutation tests, were conducted to evaluate the in vivo and in vitro mutagenic potential of CoQ(10). The test article, ubidecarenone, was devoid of clastogenic activity when administered orally to mice at doses up to 2000 mg/kg/day. In addition, the test article did not induce chromosomal aberration in CHL/IU cells exposed to concentrations as great as 5.0 mg/ml, nor did it induce reverse mutations in Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli at concentrations as great as 5000 microg/plate.