Determination of iron (III) in food, biological and environmental samples

Exposure assessment of pesticide residues, heavy metals, and veterinary drugs through consumption of Egyptian fish samples

Environmental contaminants may enter seafood products either through water and sediments or via feed and feed additives or may be introduced during fish processing and storage. The study focused on the nutritional and toxicological significance of heavy metals, antibiotics, and pesticide residues in 48 fish samples collected from the Kafr-ElSheikh governorate in Egypt. Various analytical instruments are used to determine and detect heavy metals, antibiotics, and pesticides. These include Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometer (LC-MS/MS), Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS), and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). The following metals were discovered in fish species: arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn). Each of these metals was detected 47 times. Chromium (Cr) was detected 40 times, nickel (Ni) was detected 27 times, and lead (Pb) was detected 6 times. The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mn, Hg, Pb, and Zn were determined to be 0.025, 0.02, 0.501, 0.50, 0.81, 12.56, 0.5, 0.689, 0.051, 0.031, and 5.78 mg/kg, respectively. All levels of cadmium, mercury, and lead detected in fish samples were significantly lower than the maximum permissible limits set by Egyptian and European standards. Furthermore, in this study, antibiotics and pesticide residues were found to be not detected in all analyzed fish samples. Based on the estimated daily intake and hazard quotient values, the concentration levels of metals found in fish samples seem to pose no significant threat to public health.

Comparison of apical and basolateral Cu treatment for iron-related gene regulation during deferoxamine induced iron deficiency

BACKGROUND

Intestinal copper transporter (Atp7a) mutant-brindled mice with systemic Cu deficiency had elevated Cu levels in enterocyte cells without any perturbation of iron-regulating genes, suggesting that blood Cu level might be important for intestinal iron homeostasis during iron deficiency (ID). We hypothesized that the blood Cu level and polarization (apical and basolateral) of enterocyte cells might be important regulators for the compensatory response on the regulation of genes in enterocyte cells during iron deficiency.

METHODS

We grew Caco-2 cells on a bicameral cell culture plate to mimic the human intestine system and on a regular tissue culture plate. Iron deficiency was induced by deferoxamine (DFO). The cells were treated with Cu and Cu with Fe following mRNA expressions of DMT1, FPN, TFR, and ANKRD37 were analyzed.

RESULTS

Our main finding was that basolateral treatment of Cu significantly reduced mRNA expressions of iron-regulated genes, including DMT1, FPN, TFR, and ANKRD37, compared to DFO-treated and DFO with apical Cu-treated groups in both bicameral and regular tissue culture plates.

CONCLUSIONS

Cu level in the basolateral side of Caco-2 cells significantly influenced the intracellular gene regulation in DFO-induced iron-deficient condition, and polarization of the cells might be important factor gene regulation in enterocyte cells.

Enterocin 7420 and Sage in Rabbit Diet and Their Effect on Meat Mineral Content and Physico-Chemical Properties

Rabbit meat has outstanding nutritional characteristics—it is a lean meat with low fat, cholesterol and sodium content, with high-biological-value proteins, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, iron and vitamin B12 level. The dietary inclusion of natural bioactive compounds can improve the quality of rabbit meat. The present study evaluated the effect of enterocin 7420 (Ent 7420) and sage (Salvia officinalis) extract on the quality and mineral content of rabbit meat. A total of 96 Hyla rabbits (aged 35 days) were divided into E (Ent 7420; 50 µL/animal/d), S (sage extract; 10 µL/animal/d), E + S (Ent 7420 and sage in combination) and control (C) groups. Additives were administrated in drinking water for 21 days. A significant increase in meat iron (p < 0.01) content was noted; phosphorus and zinc levels were also elevated in experimental groups, compared with control data. Ent 7420 and sage treatment reduced the calcium and manganese (p < 0.01) contents. The physico-chemical traits of rabbit meat were not negatively influenced by treatment. Based on these results, diet supplementation, mostly with Ent 7420 but also in combination with sage, could enhance the quality of rabbit meat mineral, with a focus on its iron, phosphorus and zinc contents.

Bioaccessibility and Bioavailability of Minerals in Relation to a Healthy Gut Microbiome

Adequate amounts of a wide range of micronutrients are needed by body tissues to maintain health. Dietary intake must be sufficient to meet these micronutrient requirements. Mineral deficiency does not seem to be the result of a physically active life or of athletic training but is more likely to arise from disturbances in the quality and quantity of ingested food. The lack of some minerals in the body appears to be symbolic of the modern era reflecting either the excessive intake of empty calories or a negative energy balance from drastic weight-loss diets. Several animal studies provide convincing evidence for an association between dietary micronutrient availability and microbial composition in the gut. However, the influence of human gut microbiota on the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of trace elements in human food has rarely been studied. Bacteria play a role by effecting mineral bioavailability and bioaccessibility, which are further increased through the fermentation of cereals and the soaking and germination of crops. Moreover, probiotics have a positive effect on iron, calcium, selenium, and zinc in relation to gut microbiome composition and metabolism. The current literature reveals the beneficial effects of bacteria on mineral bioaccessibility and bioavailability in supporting both the human gut microbiome and overall health. This review focuses on interactions between the gut microbiota and several minerals in sport nutrition, as related to a physically active lifestyle.

Highly selective, sensitive and simpler colorimetric sensor for Fe2+ detection based on biosynthesized gold nanoparticles

Herein, we describe the fabrication of green bell pepper, Capsicum annuum L. extract capped gold nanoparticles (CA-AuNPs) in aqueous medium using tetrachloroaurate (HAuCl₄·3H₂O) as precursor salt and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution as accelerator as well as pH adjuster. Formation of CA-AuNPs was verified via colour change from yellowish to ruby red with further confirmation through surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band at 519 nm using ultraviolet violet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. Other characterizations techniques include, Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) with Zeta-potential analysis (ZPA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The resulting AuNPs were efficaciously implemented as highly sensitive colorimetric sensor for selective detection of Fe²⁺ in the presence of several interfering cations including Fe³⁺. Importantly, the fabricated CA-AuNPs based colorimetric sensor functioned linearly in the range of 0.3-7.0 ppb Fe²⁺, based on increasing absorption intensity with R² value of 0.9938 using UV-Vis spectrometry. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for Fe²⁺ were estimated as 0.036 and 0.12 ppb, respectively. Finally, the sensor was effectively tested for determination of Fe²⁺ in some locally collected real water samples.

Southern-Brazilian geopropolis: A potential source of polyphenolic compounds and assessment of mineral composition

Geopropolis is a stingless bee product compose mainly by soil, presenting complex composition geopropolis has bioactive compounds that will depend on geographical characteristics as well bee species, changing their chemical and biological properties. Thus the study aims to evaluate the solubility and chemical stability of geopropolis extracts, through radical capture capacity and reducing capacity. Besides, analysis of free and bonded phenolic compounds, and mineral composition. Geopropolis samples of Melipona mondury, Melipona quadrifasciata, Melipona scutellaris, Melipona seminigra and Tetragonisca angustula were analyzed. Both reducing compounds with a maximum of 2.96% GAE and free radical scavenging potential with a maximum of 5.84% AAE and 8.58% TE increases over 30 days of storage time. Also, methanolic extracts released at least 51% more reducing compounds and exhibited at least 27% more free radical scavenging potential in comparison to ethanolic extracts. The polyphenolic profile shows 31 compounds after acid and alkaline hydrolysis as cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, aromadendrin, vanillin. For the mineral composition, sixteen minerals were found among essential and non-essential, differentiating each sample by chemometric PCA and HCA analysis according to geographic region. Geopropolis is a potential source of natural compounds that could enhance food quality, increasing the bioactive content and preventing oxygen damages in foods, likewise for pharmacological application for healthcare.

A simple flow injection spectrophotometric procedure for iron(III) determination using Phyllanthus emblica Linn. as a natural reagent

The use of natural reagents from plant extracts for chemical analysis is one approach in the development of green analytical chemistry methodology. In this work, a natural reagent extracted from Phyllanthus emblica Linn. has been applied for the determination of iron(III) using a simple flow injection spectrophotometric method. The method was based on the measurement of a dark-purple complex formed by the reaction between iron(III) and the extracted solution in an acetate buffer (pH 5.6) at 570 nm. Under the optimum conditions, a linear calibration graph in the range of 0.50-20.0 mg L^-1 iron(III) was obtained with a correlation coefficient (r²) of 0.9996. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.31 and 0.50 mg L^-1, respectively. The relative standard deviation was less than 2.50%. The proposed method was successfully applied for quantitative analysis of iron(III) in pharmaceutical preparations and water samples with a sampling rate of 90 samples h^-1. The results are in good agreement with those obtained by the official ICP-OES technique at the 95% confidence level. The presented method provides a simple, cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach which is suitable and useful for determining iron(III). Therefore, it can be considered as an alternative analytical technique in green chemistry.