Fluorometric determination of pyridoxal-5-phosphate and pyridoxal in biological materials. II. Specificity of the method in pyridoxal-5-phosphate determination

Determination of pyridoxal in human serum by matrix isopotential synchronous fluorescence spectrometry

The determination of pyridoxal in human serum was performed using a fluorimetric technique that is useful for the determination of compounds in samples with unknown background fluorescence, based on synchronous scans through a trajectory joining points of equal intensity of a fluorescence matrix three-dimensional spectrum. This technique, called matrix isopotential synchronous fluorescence can be improved by means of the application of derivatives. The determination of pyridoxal in human serum was performed with this technique without any prior separation steps. The validity, applicability and simplicity of the method were demonstrated. The measurements were performed in aqueous medium at pH 7.0 adjusted by adding 0.05 M phosphate buffer solution. A complete statistical analysis of the experimental data was performed and the results showed that correlation coefficients are between 0.9901 and 0.9958 for all the calibration graphs, and in all cases the intercepts on the ordinate were negligible. The experimental F (1.72) is smaller than theoretical value (3.89) as expected from an analysis of variance. The reproducibility of the method was tested and the results were a standard deviation of 0.0117 microgram ml-1 and a relative error of 4.91%.

Alteration of amino acid metabolism in epileptogenic mice by elevation of brain pyridoxal phosphate

A single intraperitoneal injection of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) in a species of mouse, DBA/2J, that is normally susceptible to sound-induced convulsion exacerbated its epileptic condition. The effect of injection was most pronounced about 30 min after the administration and subsided gradually within the following 4 h. Correlated with this increased seizure susceptibility were enhanced levels of synaptosomal aspartate and glutamate, and a diminished gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) level. The concentrations of nonneuroactive amino acids remained unchanged. When stimulated with veratrine, synaptosomes prepared from PLP-injected mice showed an increased release of aspartate and glutamate and a decreased release of GABA compared to those prepared from control mice. The activity of glutamate decarboxylase in the brains of PLP-treated mice was lowered, whereas the activity of GABA-transaminase was enhanced. Finally, the epileptic condition of DBA mice could be ameliorated by maintenance on a diet composed of vitamin B6-deficient feed and cellulose.

Determination of pyridoxal phosphate levels in the brains of audiogenic and normal mice

The concentrations of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate in the brains of audiogenic and normal mice were measured fluorimetrically. The brain of the audiogenic mouse (DBA/2J) contains 25% more pyridoxal-5'-phosphate than the brain of a control mouse. Intraperitoneal injection of this substance causes a transient increase of its concentration in the brain, lasting a few hours. The substance thereafter is degraded to pyridoxal and pyridoxic acid.