Determination of histamine by capillary zone electrophoresis with amperometric detection.
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Capillary zone electrophoresis was employed for the determination of histamine using end-column amperometric detection with a carbon fiber microelectrode, at a constant potential. The optimum conditions of separation and detection were 10 mmol/L phosphate buffer, pH 5.6 for the buffer solution, 15 kV for the separation voltage, and 1.35 V (versus SCE) for the detection potential. The linear range was from 6.3 x 10(-7) to 1.5 x 1(-5) mol/L with the regression coefficient of 0.9997, and the detection limit was 4.0 x 10(-7) mol/L (S/N = 3). The proposed method was successfully applied to the direct determination of histamine in the beer samples without any sample clean-up procedures. (+info)
Moderate alcohol consumption reduces plasma C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels; a randomized, diet-controlled intervention study.
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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on the acute phase proteins C-reactive protein and fibrinogen. DESIGN: Randomized, diet-controlled, cross-over study. SETTING: The study was performed at TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist, The Netherlands. SUBJECTS: Ten middle-aged men and 10 postmenopausal women, all apparently healthy, non-smoking and moderate alcohol drinkers, were included. One women dropped out because of a treatment-unrelated cause. The remaining 19 subjects finished the experiment successfully. INTERVENTIONS: Men consumed four glasses and women consumed three glasses of beer or no-alcohol beer (control) with evening dinner during two successive periods of 3 weeks. The total diet was supplied to the subjects and had essentially the same composition during these 6 weeks. Before each treatment there was a 1 week washout period to compensate for possible carry-over effects. RESULTS: Plasma C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels were decreased by 35% (P=0.02) and 12.4% (P< or =0.001), respectively, after 3 weeks' consumption of beer, as compared to no-alcohol beer consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate alcohol consumption significantly decreased plasma C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels. An anti-inflammatory action of alcohol may help explain the link between moderate alcohol consumption and lower cardiovascular disease risk. SPONSORSHIP: Dutch Foundation for Alcohol Research (SAR). (+info)
Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Pediococcus, including Pediococcus claussenii sp. nov., a novel lactic acid bacterium isolated from beer.
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Pediococci are found in foods and on plants and as beer-spoilage agents. The goal of the present study was to use the DNA sequences of the first three variable regions of the 165 rRNA gene, the 16S-23S rRNA internally transcribed spacer region sequence and approximately a third of the 60 kDa heat-shock protein gene to elucidate phylogenetic groupings within the genus Pediococcus. Phylogenetic trees were created with sequence data from 31 Pediococcus and three Lactobacillus isolates. Complete 16S rRNA gene sequences from selected Pediococcus isolates were also examined. The results were interpreted in relation to the currently accepted Pediococcus species. We found that, where previously done, speciation of many Pediococcus isolates is inaccurate. Also, one grouping of seven isolates did not include any currently recognized Pediococcus species type isolate. Our phylogenetic analyses support the conclusion that these seven isolates, all of brewing spoilage origin, belong to a novel species, for which the name Pediococcus claussenii sp. nov. is proposed (type strain P06(T0 = ATCC BAA-344(T) = DSM 14800(T)). Phylogenetic analysis has therefore helped to resolve problems surrounding species identification of Pediococcus isolates. (+info)
Drinking beer reduces radiation-induced chromosome aberrations in human lymphocytes.
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We here investigated and reported the effects of beer drinking on radiation-induced chromosome aberrations in blood lymphocytes. Human blood that was collected either before or after drinking a 700 ml beer was in vitro irradiated with 200 kVp X rays or 50 keV/microm carbon ions. The relation between the radiation dose and the aberration frequencies (fragments and dicentrics) was significantly (p < 0.05) lower for lymphocytes collected 3 h after beer drinking than those before drinking. Fitting the dose response to a linear quadratic model showed that the alpha term of carbon ions was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by beer drinking. A decrease of dicentric formation was detected as early as 0.5 h after beer drinking, and lasted not shorter than 4.5 h. The mitotic index of lymphocytes was higher after beer drinking than before, indicating that a division delay would not be responsible for the low aberrations induced by beer drinking. An in vitro treatment of normal lymphocytes with 0.1 M ethanol, which corresponded to a concentration of 6-times higher than the maximum ethanol concentration in the blood after beer drinking, reduced the dicentric formation caused by X-ray irradiation, but not by carbonion irradiation. The beer-induced reduction of dicentric formation was not affected by serum. It is concluded that beer could contain non-ethanol elements that reduce the chromosome damage of lymphocytes induced by high-LET radiation. (+info)
The effects of alcohol cue exposure on non-dependent drinkers' attentional bias for alcohol-related stimuli.
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AIMS: The effects of university students' habitual drinking practices and experimental alcohol cue exposure on their attentional bias for alcohol-related stimuli were assessed. METHODS: Participants were exposed in vivo to either an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage immediately prior to completing a cognitively demanding emotional Stroop task that uses alcohol-related and control words as potential distractors. RESULTS: Regression analyses indicated that, for participants who were low consumers of alcohol, neither level of habitual drinking, type of cue exposure, nor their interaction predicted attentional bias for the alcohol-related stimuli. For high consumers of alcohol who were exposed to the alcoholic beverage (but not those exposed to the non-alcoholic beverage), the amount of alcohol that participants habitually drank significantly predicted the degree of attentional bias. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that, among non-dependent drinkers (unlike alcohol-dependent participants), alcohol-related attentional bias is not a generalized phenomenon, but occurs only under a specific set of circumstances. (+info)
Neurological disorder in dairy cattle associated with consumption of beer residues contaminated with Aspergillus clavatus.
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A neurological syndrome in dairy cattle associated with consumption of moldy beer residues is described. The disease occurred on 1 farm in late June 2001, during winter. Six heifers and 1 cow out of 45 cattle were affected during a 3-week period. The affected animals died spontaneously or were euthanized approximately 2-14 days after the onset of clinical signs. The clinical signs were characterized by flaccid paralysis and gait abnormalities. Clinical signs were more pronounced after exercise and included stiff and unsteady gait, knuckling at the fetlocks of the hind limbs, frequent falling, inability to rise, muscular tremors, especially of the head and the hindquarters, and drooling. Main necropsy findings included degenerative and necrotic changes of the larger medial muscle groups of the hindquarters, i.e., adductor, pectineus, quadriceps femoris, rectus femuris, sartorius, semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and vastus medialis, and of the forequarters, including pectoralis descendens, pectoralis ascendens, and transversus pectoralis. The main histologic findings consisted of degenerative and necrotic neuronal changes (chromatolysis) of varying severity and extent affecting selected nuclei of the brainstem and neurons of the ventral horns of the spinal cord. Similar microscopic lesions were observed in the neurons of the spinal cord of 1 experimental sheep force-fed for 35 days with 1 kg/day of the same batch of foodstuff that was originally fed to the cattle. Coarse white or gray lumps, interpreted as mycelia, were observed in the beer by-product. Aspergillus clavatus was the dominant fungus isolated. Deaths ceased after the consumption of beer residue was discontinued. Recovery from illness was observed in 1 animal. The diagnosis was based on epidemiological data, clinical signs, necropsy findings, histological lesions, dosing trial, and mycology. A similar condition caused by consumption of barley by-products, sprouted wheat, corn sprouts, and beetroot screenings contaminated with A. clavatus has been reported in cattle and sheep worldwide. (+info)
Demographic, health, lifestyle, and blood vitamin determinants of serum total homocysteine concentrations in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994.
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BACKGROUND: Elevated serum total homocysteine (tHcy) is an independent risk factor for vascular diseases. OBJECTIVE: Associations between serum tHcy and demographics, health and lifestyle factors, and blood vitamin concentrations were investigated. DESIGN: Data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994 were used to examine associations in men (n = 2965) and women (n = 3580) between tHcy and age, sex, race-ethnicity, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, alcohol consumption, supplement use, red blood cell (RBC) folate, and serum creatinine, folate, vitamin B-12, and cotinine (a measure of cigarette smoking). RESULTS: The unadjusted mean tHcy was 21.5% ( approximately 1.9 micro mol/L) higher in men than in women, 11.8% ( approximately 1.1 micro mol/L) higher in non-Hispanic whites than in Mexican Americans, 42% ( approximately 3.7 micro mol/L) higher in persons aged > or = 70 y than in persons aged < 30 y, and 10.9% ( approximately 1.0 micro mol/L) higher in supplement nonusers than in supplement users. The tHcy concentration was negatively associated with serum folate (P < 0.0001 for trend), RBC folate (P < 0.0001 for trend), and serum vitamin B-12 (P < 0.0036 for trend) and was positively associated with alcohol consumption (P < 0.0001 for trend), serum cotinine (P < 0.0001 for trend), and systolic blood pressure (P < 0.0001 for trend). Consumption of hard liquor (but not of beer or wine) was positively associated with tHcy concentration (P < 0.0001 for trend). CONCLUSIONS: In this population-based study, the significant predictors of tHcy concentration were sex, age, race-ethnicity, serum creatinine, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, hard-liquor consumption, smoking, supplement use, serum folate, RBC folate, and serum vitamin B-12. (+info)
Volvulus of the small bowel.
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Over two years in a major hospital in northern Uganda 12 cases of primary volvulus of the small bowel were seen out of a total of 65 cases of intestinal obstruction which did not include external hernias. This relatively high incidence was associated with drinking large amounts of local "kongo" beer. General systemic symptoms of circulatory collapse were conspicuous by their absence. The kongo beer was found to have a high concentration of serotonin, and this substance may have caused the volvulus of the small bowel in three quarters of the cases. (+info)