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Abstract Background/objective Ulcerative colitis (UC) is significantly linked with gut microbiota, which is essential for maintaining gut health. Their metabolites mitigate gut inflammation and bolster barrier function. Among these metabolites, we focused on vitamin B3, which has been reported to improve the pathogenesis of UC in mice. This study aimed to compare fecal vitamin B3 and gut microbiota between non-UC and UC patients. Methods We assessed fecal metabolites and gut microbiota in 71 UC patients (UC group) and 72 non-UC patients (non-UC group) matched by sex and age in 10-year intervals. Fecal samples were collected and metabolites were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Bacterial DNA was extracted for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We analyzed fecal nicotinamide levels and gut microbiota composition, employing statistical adjustments for confounding factors. Results We found that the UC group exhibited significantly lower fecal nicotinamide levels and α-diversity (Shannon index) compared to the non-UC group. The relative abundance of bacterial genera such as Treponema, UCG-002, and Fusicatenibacter was decreased, while Sellimonas, Fournierella, and Oscillospira were increased in the UC group. Moreover, a negative correlation was observed between Sellimonas abundance and fecal nicotinamide levels in the UC group. Additionally, the UC group showed higher expression of a bacterial gene encoding nicotinamidase compared to the non-UC group. Conclusions These findings suggest that gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to reduced vitamin B3 metabolism in UC patients. The study highlights the potential of replenishing vitamin B3 metabolic pathways as a novel therapeutic approach for UC treatment. Lay Summary This study found that patients with ulcerative colitis had lower fecal nicotinamide levels and altered gut microbiota compared to non-ulcerative colitis patients. These changes suggest that microbial dysbiosis may impair vitamin B3 metabolism, potentially influencing ulcerative colitis treatment strategies.

According to EU guidance SANCO/7525/VI/95 Rev. 10.3, residue data extrapolation from a surrogate major crop to a minor crop can be used for setting maximum residue levels (MRLs) with a reduced number of residue trials and representative selected pesticides. In this work, a QuEChERS method (citrate-buffered version and PSA with MgSO4 clean-up) and LC-ESI-MS/MS for the determination of boscalid, pyraclostrobin, fludioxonil, fluopyram and tebuconazole in persimmon was developed and validated according to EU Commission guidelines and afterwards used for the determination of residues in four field trials. Residue levels at harvest for each pesticide ranged between 0.347 and 0.028 mg/kg. After comparing EFSA residue data on apples, as the surrogate major crop, and conducting a consumer risk assessment, a proposal of residue data extrapolation to set MRLs in persimmons was performed. The results showed that pesticide residues in persimmons at harvest were consistently lower than residues in apples when substances were applied according to the same critical GAP. MRLs were set at 0.5 mg/kg for fludioxonil, 0.6 mg/kg for boscalid, 0.3 mg/kg for tebuconazole, 0.4 mg/kg for fluopyran and 0.3 mg/kg for pyraclostrobin. The ratio of the MRLs for apple/persimmon varied between 2.5 for boscalid and 1.25 for fluopyram, suggesting that residue extrapolation can be feasible, promoting the process of pesticide registration for minor crops and the settlement of MRL.

Background Individual B vitamins have many favorable effects on the skin and are common cosmetic ingredients. However, their formulation is demanding due to stability issues, which consequently affect the products’ quality. Aims We aimed to determine the quality (labeling accuracy, content determination, and content‐related quality control) and stability under long‐term and accelerated storage conditions of a representative sample of commercial cosmetics containing the most common B vitamins – nicotinamide, dexpanthenol, pyridoxine, and cyanocobalamin. Methods Cyanocobalamin was determined by a previously published stability‐indicating HPLC– diode array detector (DAD) method for the simultaneous determination of all hydrophilic vitamins. This method was additionally simplified and adjusted for the time‐effective analysis of nicotinamide, dexpanthenol, and pyridoxine. Both methods were properly validated. Results All labeled B vitamins were present in the 36 tested products, mostly in contents, reported effective on the skin. Thus, a straightforward correlation between vitamin contents and product prices were not observed. The content‐related quality control of eight products, which quantitively specify their content, revealed significantly lower nicotinamide contents (47% and 57%) in two products and appropriate or higher nicotinamide (102%–112%) and dexpanthenol (100%–104%) contents than declared in the remaining products. The 6‐month long‐term and accelerated stability studies demonstrated the products’ physical stability, but also revealed dexpanthenol, pyridoxine, and cyanocobalamin degradation, while nicotinamide was mostly stable in the tested products. Conclusions The obtained results provide an inside into the quality of commercial vitamin B cosmetics and highlight the importance of stability testing in the formulation of quality, efficient, and safe cosmetics.

The aim of this study was to determine the behaviour of strobilurin and carbocyamides commonly used in chemical protection of lettuce depending on carefully selected effective microorganisms (EM) and yeast (Y). Additionally, the assessment of the chronic health risk during a 2-week experiment was performed. The statistical method for correlation of physico-chemical parameters and time of degradation for pesticides was applied. In this study, the concentration of azoxystrobin, boscalid, pyraclostrobin and iprodione using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) in the matrix of lettuce plants was performed, and there was no case of concentration above maximum residues levels. Before harvest, four fungicides and their mixture with EM (1 % and 10 %) and/or yeast 5 % were applied. In our work, the mixtures of 1%EM + Y and 10%EM + Y both stimulated and inhibited the degradation of the tested active substances. Adding 10%EM to the test substances strongly inhibited the degradation of iprodione, and its concentration decreased by 30 %, and in the case of other test substances, the degradation was approximately 60 %. Moreover, the addition of yeast stimulated the distribution of pyraclostrobin and boscalid in lettuce leaves. The risk assessment for the pesticides ranged from 0.4 to 64.8 % on day 1, but after 14 days, it ranged from 0.0 to 20.9 % for children and adults, respectively. It indicated no risk of adverse effects following exposure to individual pesticides and their mixtures with EM and yeast.

Plant protection products (PPPs) have been found increasingly in the environment. They pose a huge threat to bees, contributing to honeybee colony losses and consequently to enormous economic losses. Therefore, this field investigation was designed to determine whether their active ingredients (AIs) were transferred from raspberry plants to beehives located in the immediate neighbourhood of the crop and to what extent they were transferred. Every week for 2 months, samples of soil, raspberry leaves, flowers and fruits, worker bees, honeybee brood, and honey were collected and analysed for the presence of propyzamide, chlorpyrifos, iprodione, pyraclostrobin, boscalid, cypermethrin, difenoconazole, azoxystrobin, and pyrimethanil residues. Five of these substances were found in the worker bee bodies. Chlorpyrifos, applied to only the soil through the irrigation system, also was detected in the brood. A small amount of boscalid was noted in the honey, but its residues did not exceed the maximum residue level. For chlorpyrifos, boscalid, and pyrimethanil, a positive correlation between the occurrence of PPPs in the crops and the beehives was found. Statistical methods confirmed that the application of PPPs on a raspberry plantation, as an example of nectar-secreting plants, was linked to the transfer of their AIs to beehives.

Fungal plant pathogens have posed a significant threat to crop production. However, the large-scale application of pesticides is associated with possible risks for human health and the environment. Boscalid is a widely used fungicide, consistently implemented for the management of significant plant pathogens. Conventionally, the detection and determination of boscalid residues is based on chromatographic separations. In the present study, a Bioelectric Recognition Assay (BERA)-based experimental approach combined with MIME technology was used, where changes in the electric properties of the membrane-engineering cells with anti-boscalid antibodies were recorded in response to the presence of boscalid at different concentrations based on the maximum residue level (MRL) for lettuce. The membrane-engineering Vero cells with 0.5 μg/mL of antibody in their surface were selected as the best cell line in combination with the lowest antibody concentration. Furthermore, the biosensor was tested against another fungicide in order to prove its selectivity. Finally, the BERA cell-based biosensor was able to detect the boscalid residue, below and above the MRL, in spiked lettuce leaf extracts in an entirely distinct and reproducible manner. This study indicates that the BERA-based biosensor, after further development and optimization, could be used for the routine, high-throughput detection of boscalid residue in lettuce, and not only that.

A new labeling reagent for vitamin analysis, 2-amino-10-ethyl acridine ketone (AEAO), has been synthesized and successfully applied to the analysis of vitamin B3 and vitamin B7 in different tea samples. The reaction of AEAO with vitamins could proceed easily and quickly in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) as condensing reagent within 45 min. The derivatives exhibited excellent fluorescence property with excitation and emission wavelengths of 290 nm and 430 nm, respectively. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to the optimization of pre-column derivatization. Solid phase extraction with HLB cartridges was used for the extraction and purification of water-soluble vitamins in tea samples. The LODs for vitamin B3 and vitamin B7 were 2.56 and 2.22 ng mL-1, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of vitamin B3 and vitamin B7 in different tea samples. The study provided a highly sensitive method for accurate analysis of trace vitamins from natural products.

The degradation behavior of flonicamid and its metabolites (4-trifluoromethylnicotinic acid (TFNA) and N-(4-trifluoromethylnicotinoyl) glycine (TFNG)) was evaluated in red bell pepper over a period of 90 days under glass house conditions, including high temperature, low and high humidity, and in a vinyl house covered with high density polyethylene light shade covering film (35 and 75 %). Flonicamid (10 % active ingredient) was applied (via foliar application) to all fruits, including those groups grown under normal conditions (glass house) or under no shade cover (vinyl house). Samples were extracted using a Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe “QuEChERS” method and analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The method performance, including linearity, recovery, limits of detection (LOD), and quantitation (LOQ), was satisfactory. Throughout the experimental period, the residual levels of flonicamid and TFNG were not uniform, whereas that of TFNA remained constant. The total sum of the residues (flonicamid and its metabolites) was higher in the vinyl house with shade cover than in the glass house, under various conditions. The total residues were significantly higher when the treatment was applied under high light shade (75 %). The flonicamid half-life decreased from 47.2 days (under normal conditions) to 28.4 days (at high temperatures) in the glass house, while it increased from 47.9 days (no shade cover) to 66 days (75 % light shading) in the vinyl house. High humidity leads to decreases in the total sum of flonicamid residues in red bell pepper grown in a glass house, because it leads to an increase in the rate of water loss, which in turn accelerates the volatilization of the pesticide. For safety reasons, it is advisable to grow red bell pepper under glass house conditions because of the effects of solar radiation, which increases the rate of flonicamid degradation into its metabolites.

An analytical method for the determination of diflufenican, mepanipyrim, pretilachlor, and fipronil in water samples was developed using single drop microextraction in the direct immersion mode and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A factorial fractionated design of type 2 6–1 at two levels was performed, to study the influence of experimental variables such as ionic strength, pH, agitation speed, extraction time, drop volume, and sample volume. To establish the optimal conditions for the variables that were significant, a Doehlert design was performed. The optimum conditions of extraction were 1 μL of heptane immersed in 4.0 mL of sample with continuous agitation at 500 rpm for 30 min at room temperature. The developed method proved to have good linearity for the range studied. The detection limits were 0.07 μg L −1 for diflufenican, 0.03 μg L −1 for mepanipyrim, 0.08 μg L −1 for pretilachlor, and 1.39 μg L −1 for fipronil. The method was validated on river water samples, showing the absence of matrix effect and recoveries ranged from 90.1 to 107.8 %. The results show that the method developed is accurate, sensitive, rapid, simple, and low cost, so it is recommended for application in the analysis of these different classes of pesticides in water samples.

A new green micellar liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for the quantitative estimation of nicotinamide (NICO) and clindamycin phosphate (CLD) in bulk and pharmaceutical gel formulation. The analytes are well resolved in less than 6.0 minutes using micellar mobile phase consisting of 0.10M sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 0.3% triethylamine, and 10% 2-propanol in 0.02M orthophosphoric acid at pH 3.0, running through an Eclipse XDB-C8 column (150 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm particle size) with flow rate 1.0 mL/min. The effluent was monitored with diode array detection at 210 nm. The retention times of NICO and CLD were 3.8 minutes and 5.6 minutes, respectively. The method was validated according to the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines in terms of linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision, robustness, and specificity to prove its reliability. Linear correlation was achieved by plotting the peak area of each drug against its concentration. It was found to be rectilinear in the ranges of 1.0–40.0 μg/mL and 0.5–15.0 μg/mL with limits of detection of 0.06 μg/mL and 0.03 μg/mL and limits of quantification of 0.19 μg/mL and 0.09 μg/mL for NICO and CLD, respectively. The method was successfully implemented for the simultaneous determination of the analytes in their bulk powder and combined gel formulation with high % recoveries. The ease of sample treatment facilitates and greatly expedites the treatment with reduced cost and improved accuracy of the procedure. [Display omitted] •A green micellar liquid chromatographic method was adopted for assay of NICO and CLD.•The method was successfully extended to quantify both drugs in a coformulated gel.•The method was validated according to ICH Q2R1 Guidelines.