Abstract. The aim of this study was to develop an analytical method for detection of imidocarb [1,3-bis[3-(4,5-dihydro-1h-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]urea] in beef and milk using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode-array detection (DAD). Imidocarb was separated on a reversed-phase column (4.6x250 mm, 5 µm) with a mobile phase consisting of 85:15 (v/v) 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid/acetonitrile. The flow rate was 1 ml/min, and the column temperature was maintained at 20˚C. Detection was carried out at 260 nm using a DAD detector. The analytical samples were extracted using a solid-phase extraction (SPE) method. The calibration curves showed good linearity (r≥0.998). Limits of quantifications (LOQs) were 0.15 mg/kg in beef and 0.025 mg/kg in milk. Intra-and inter-day precisions were 3.2-6.1 and 1.4-6.9%, respectively, and the accuracy (recovery) was 80.4-82.2% and 80.1-89.5% in beef and milk, respectively. Thus, an analytical protocol using SPE extraction followed by HPLC with DAD was successfully developed, which demonstrated acceptable precision and recovery.

Abstract. The present study investigated the preventive effect of ω-3 fatty acids against cholesterol gallstone (CG) formation. CG formation was induced in C57BL/6J mice using a lithogenic diet (LD). The mice were divided into four treatment groups: i) LD, ii) LD plus eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), iii) LD plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and iv) LD plus EPA plus DHA. Subsequent to feeding the mice the LD for four weeks, EPA and/or DHA (70 mg/kg/day) were orally administered for eight weeks. The mice in the EPA treatment groups exhibited significantly less gallstone formation than those in the LD group. By contrast, DHA treatment only slightly suppressed gallstone formation. The expression of mucin 2, 5AC, 5B and 6 was significantly decreased in the gallbladders of mice in the EPA groups (70-90%) and the LD plus DHA group (30-50%), compared with that in the mice in the LD group. In addition, the mRNA expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase was significantly decreased in the livers of mice in the EPA treatment group compared with that in the livers of mice in the LD group. In conclusion, EPA was found to have a dominant anti-lithogenic effect in C57BL/6J mice. IntroductionEicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are essential fatty acids belonging to the group of ω-3 fatty acids, which are primarily found in coldwater fish. These polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have an important role in the functions of the body and are converted into hormone-like substances known as prostaglandins and leukotrienes (1). EPA has been shown to provide health benefits in patients with coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia, and inflammatory disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (2-6). DHA is a key component of brain tissue and the retina of the eye (7,8). Low levels of DHA cause reduced serotonin levels in the brain, which may result in depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (9-11).It is well established that the key factors associated with cholesterol gallstone (CG) formation are biliary cholesterol hypersaturation and gallbladder mucin hypersecretion. The hypersaturation of cholesterol in the bile may result from a high-cholesterol diet or hepatic cholesterol overproduction. The elevation of biliary cholesterol concentration leads to the hypersecretion of mucin and the aggregation of cholesterol crystals (12,13). Several mucin (MUC) genes, including MUC2, MUC5AC, MUC5B and MUC6, are expressed in the gallbladder mucosa (14). The upregulation of these MUC genes leads to increased mucin concentrations, which increase bile viscosity and lead to the formation of a gel matrix that can entrap cholesterol crystals in the gallbladder (15-16).The only established medical treatment for CG is ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). However, a number of studies have demonstrated that the therapeutic efficacy exhibited by UDCA lacks consistency and is not entirely satisfactory (17-19). Despite numerous...

This study was performed to produce a transcriptional database of the intestinal transporters of beagle dogs. Total RNA was isolated from the duodenum and the expression of various mRNAs was measured using GeneChip® oligonucleotide arrays. A total of 124 transporter genes were detected. Genes for fatty acid, peptide, amino acid and glucose and multidrug resistance/multidrug resistance-associated protein (MDR/MRP) transport were expressed at relatively higher levels than the other transporter types. The dogs exhibited abundant mRNA expression of the fatty acid transporters (fatty acid binding proteins, FABPs) FABP1 and FABP2, the ATP-binding cassettes (ABCs) ABCB1A and ABCC2, the amino acid/peptide transporters SLC3A1 and SLC15A1, the glucose transporters SLC5A1, SLC2A2 and SLC2A5, the organic anion transporter SLC22A9 and the phosphate transporters SLC20A1 and SLC37A4. In mice, a similar profile was observed with high expression of the glucose transporters SLC5A1 and SLC2As, the fatty acid transporters FABP1 and FABP2, the MDR/MRP transporters ABCB1A and ABCC2 and the phosphate transporter SLC37A4. However, the overall data reveal diverse transcriptomic profiles of the intestinal transporters of dogs and mice. Therefore, the current database may be useful for comparing the intestinal transport systems of dogs with those of mice to better evaluate xenobiotics.