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JMIR Research Protocols Oct 2022Tobacco harm reduction (THR) aims to reduce the health burden of cigarettes by encouraging smokers to switch to using alternative tobacco or nicotine products. Nicotine...
BACKGROUND
Tobacco harm reduction (THR) aims to reduce the health burden of cigarettes by encouraging smokers to switch to using alternative tobacco or nicotine products. Nicotine pouches (NPs) are smokeless, tobacco-free, oral products that may be beneficial as part of a THR strategy.
OBJECTIVE
This 2-center, cross-sectional confinement study conducted in Denmark and Sweden aimed to determine whether biomarkers of exposure (BoEs) to tobacco toxicants and biomarkers of potential harm (BoPHs) in exclusive users of NPs show favorable differences compared with current smokers.
METHODS
Participants were healthy NP users (target n=100) and current, former, or never smokers (target n=40 each), as confirmed by urinary cotinine and exhaled carbon monoxide concentrations. During a 24-hour confinement period, participants were asked to use their usual product (NP or cigarette) as normal, and BoEs and BoPHs were measured in blood and 24-hour urine samples, with compliance determined using anabasine, anatabine, and N-(2-cyanoethyl)valine. BoEs and BoPHs were compared between NP users and current, former, and never smokers. Urinary total 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (BoE to nicotine-derived nitrosamine ketone) and urinary 8-epi-prostaglandin F2α type III, exhaled nitric oxide, blood carboxyhemoglobin, white blood cell count, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (BoPHs) were evaluated as primary outcomes. Other measures included urinary 11-dehydrothromboxane B2, forced expiratory volume, carotid intima-media thickness, self-reported quality of life, and oral health.
RESULTS
The results of this study were received in mid-2022 and will be published in late 2022 to early 2023.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study will provide information on toxicant exposure and biomarkers associated with the development of smoking-related diseases among users of NPs compared with smokers, as well as on the potential role of NPs in THR.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) ISRCTN16988167; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN16988167.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)
DERR1-10.2196/39785.
PubMed: 36201395
DOI: 10.2196/39785 -
Journal of Ethnopharmacology Dec 2023Crossbow-medicine needle therapy (microneedle roller combined with crossbow-medicine) is one of the external treatment methods of Miao Medicine in China. It is a way of...
Effect of microneedle roller on promoting transdermal absorption of crossbow-medicine liquid via transdermal administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the safety of crossbow-medicine needle therapy: An experimental study.
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY RELEVANCE
Crossbow-medicine needle therapy (microneedle roller combined with crossbow-medicine) is one of the external treatment methods of Miao Medicine in China. It is a way of combining acupuncture with Chinese herbal medicine, which is widely used in clinical treatment of pain.
AIM OF THE STUDY
To observe the transdermal absorption promoting effect of microneedle roller via transdermal administration, and to discuss the transdermal absorption characteristics and the safety of crossbow-medicine needle therapy.
METHODS
Based on the determination of the content of the main components of crossbow-medicine prescription in our previous research, the present experiment was conducted in-vitro and in-vivo experiments and the skin of rats was used as the penetration barrier. For in-vitro experiment, the modified Franz diffusion cell method was used to determine the transdermal absorption rate and 24h cumulative transdermal absorption amount of the active ingredients of crossbow-medicine liquid. For in-vivo experiment, tissue homogenization was applied to compare the skin retention amount and plasma concentration of crossbow-medicine liquid absorbed at different time points via the aforementioned two modes of administration. Furthermore, the effect of crossbow-medicine needle on the morphological structure of rat skin stratum corneum was detected by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The safety of crossbow-medicine needle therapy was evaluated according to the scoring criteria of the skin irritation test.
RESULTS
1. In-vitro experiment: In the microneedle-roller group and crossbow-medicine liquid application group, the effect of transdermal delivery was identified in all the four ingredients of anabasine, chlorogenic acid, mesaconitine and hypaconitine. The 24h cumulative transdermal absorption amount and transdermal absorption rate of each ingredient in microneedle-roller group were significantly higher than those in crossbow-medicine liquid application group (all P < 0.05). 2. In-vivo experiment: Both microneedle-roller and crossbow-medicine liquid application could promote the transdermal absorption of the active ingredients of the drug in the skin and retain in the skin structure. After 8h of administration, the total retention amount of anabasine, chlorogenic acid, mesaconitine and hypaconitine in the skin of rats in the former group was significantly higher than that in the latter group (all P < 0.05). 3. HE staining: In the blank group, the stratum corneum showed an evenly zonal distribution on the active epidermis, and had a close connection with the epidermis, without exfoliation or cell dissociation of the stratum corneum. The crossbow-medicine liquid group had a relatively complete stratum corneum, with a small proportion of exfoliation or cell dissociation, loose arrangement and loose connection with the epidermis. In the microneedle-roller group, the skin had pore channels, and the stratum corneum was loose and exfoliated, which showed zonal distribution in a free state and a high degree of separation. The crossbow-medicine needle group had loose the stratum corneum, broken and exfoliated, which was separated from the active epidermis and showed zonal distribution in a free state. 4.
SAFETY
No obvious erythema, edema and skin protuberance were observed in the skin of rats treated with microneedle roller, crossbow-medicine liquid and crossbow-medicine needle. Additionally, the skin irritative response score was 0.
CONCLUSION
Microneedle roller can promote the transdermal absorption of crossbow-medicine liquid, and crossbow-medicine needle therapy has good safety.
Topics: Rats; Animals; Skin Absorption; Administration, Cutaneous; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Anabasine; Chlorogenic Acid; Skin; Needles
PubMed: 37295573
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2023.116751 -
Chemical Research in Toxicology Mar 2016Nicotine is the most abundant alkaloid in tobacco accounting for 95% of the alkaloid content. There are also several minor tobacco alkaloids; among these are...
Nicotine is the most abundant alkaloid in tobacco accounting for 95% of the alkaloid content. There are also several minor tobacco alkaloids; among these are nornicotine, anatabine, and anabasine. We developed and applied a 96 well plate-based capillary LC-tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of nornicotine, anatabine, and anabasine in urine. The method was validated with regard to accuracy and precision. Anabasine was quantifiable to low levels with a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.2 ng/mL even when nicotine, which is isobaric, is present at concentrations >2500-fold higher than anabasine. This attribute of the method is important since anatabine and anabasine in urine have been proposed as biomarkers of tobacco use for individuals using nicotine replacement therapies. In the present study, we analyzed the three minor tobacco alkaloids in urine from 827 smokers with a wide range of tobacco exposures. Nornicotine (LOQ 0.6 ng/mL) was detected in all samples, and anatabine (LOQ, 0.15 ng/mL) and anabasine were detected in 97.7% of the samples. The median urinary concentrations of nornicotine, anatabine, and anabasine were 98.9, 4.02, and 5.53 ng/mL. Total nicotine equivalents (TNE) were well correlated with anatabine (r(2) = 0.714) and anabasine (r(2) = 0.760). TNE was most highly correlated with nornicotine, which is also a metabolite of nicotine. Urine samples from a subset of subjects (n = 110) were analyzed for the presence of glucuronide conjugates by quantifying any increase in anatabine and anabasine concentrations after β-glucuronidase treatment. The median ratio of the glucuronidated to free anatabine was 0.74 (range, 0.1 to 10.9), and the median ratio of glucuronidated to free anabasine was 0.3 (range, 0.1 to 2.9). To our knowledge, this is the largest population of smokers for whom the urinary concentrations of these three tobacco alkaloids has been reported.
Topics: Adolescent; Alkaloids; Anabasine; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Humans; Molecular Structure; Nicotine; Pyridines; Smoking; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Nicotiana
PubMed: 26825008
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.5b00521 -
Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2021At present, the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) remains unclear. This research aimed to identify differential metabolites that contribute to SS diagnosis and...
OBJECTIVES
At present, the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) remains unclear. This research aimed to identify differential metabolites that contribute to SS diagnosis and discover the disturbed metabolic pathways.
METHODS
Recent advances in mass spectrometry have allowed the identification of hundreds of unique metabolic signatures and the exploration of altered metabolite profiles in disease. In this study, 505 candidates including healthy controls (HCs) and SS patients were recruited and the serum samples were collected. A non-targeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) serum metabolomics method was used to explore the changes in serum metabolites.
RESULTS
We found SS patients and HCs can be distinguished by 21 significant metabolites. The levels of alanine, tryptophan, glycolic acid, pelargonic acid, cis-1-2-dihydro-1-2-naphthalenediol, diglycerol, capric acid, turanose, behenic acid, dehydroabietic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, heptadecanoic acid, valine, and lactic acid were increased in serum samples from SS patients, whereas levels of catechol, anabasine, 3-6-anhydro-D-galactose, beta-gentiobiose, 2-ketoisocaproic acid and ethanolamine were decreased. The significantly changed pathways included the following: Linoleic acid metabolism; unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis; aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis; valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis; glycerolipid metabolism; selenocompound metabolism; galactose metabolism; alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism; glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism; glycerophospholipid metabolism; and valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings enhance the informative capacity of biochemical analyses through the identification of serum biomarkers and the analysis of metabolic pathways and contribute to an improved understanding of the pathogenesis of SS.
Topics: Biomarkers; Humans; Metabolomics; Sjogren's Syndrome
PubMed: 34251320
DOI: 10.55563/clinexprheumatol/ylte6v -
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) Oct 2022To examine effectiveness, cost effectiveness, generalisability, and acceptability of financial incentives for smoking cessation during pregnancy in addition to variously... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of financial voucher incentives provided with UK stop smoking services on the cessation of smoking in pregnant women (CPIT III): pragmatic, multicentre, single blinded, phase 3, randomised controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE
To examine effectiveness, cost effectiveness, generalisability, and acceptability of financial incentives for smoking cessation during pregnancy in addition to variously organised UK stop smoking services.
DESIGN
Pragmatic, multicentre, single blinded, phase 3, randomised controlled trial (Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial phase 3 (CPIT III)).
SETTING
Seven UK stop smoking services provided in primary and secondary care facilities in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England.
PARTICIPANTS
944 pregnant women (age ≥16 years) who self-reported as being smokers (at least one cigarette in the past week) when asked at first maternity visit, less than 24 weeks' gestation, and notified to the trial team by routine stop smoking services.
INTERVENTIONS
Participants in the control group were offered the standard stop smoking services, which includes the offer of counselling by specially trained workers using withdrawal orientated therapy and the offer of free nicotine replacement therapy. The intervention was the offer of usual support from the stop smoking services and the addition of up to £400 ($440; €455) of LoveToShop financial voucher incentives for engaging with current stop smoking services or to stop smoking, or both, during pregnancy.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Self-reported smoking cessation in late pregnancy (between 34 and 38 weeks' gestation) corroborated by saliva cotinine (and anabasine if using nicotine replacement products). Results were adjusted for age, smoking years, index of multiple deprivation, Fagerström score, before or after covid, and recruitment site. Secondary outcomes included point and continuous abstinence six months after expected date of delivery, engagement with stop smoking services, biochemically validated abstinence from smoking at four weeks after stop smoking date, birth weight of baby, cost effectiveness, generalisability documenting formats of stop smoking services, and acceptability to pregnant women and their carers.
RESULTS
From 9 January 2018 to 4 April 2020, of 4032 women screened by stop smoking services, 944 people were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=471) or the control group (n=470). Three people asked for their data to be removed. 126 (27%) of 471 participants stopped smoking from the intervention group and 58 (12%) of 470 from the control group (adjusted odds ratio 2.78 (1.94 to 3.97) P<0.001). Serious adverse events were miscarriages and other expected pregnancy events requiring hospital admission; all serious adverse events were unrelated to the intervention. Most people who stopped smoking from both groups relapsed after their baby was born.
CONCLUSIONS
The offer of up to £400 of financial voucher incentives to stop smoking during pregnancy as an addition to current UK stop smoking services is highly effective. This bolt-on intervention supports new guidance from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which includes the addition of financial incentives to support pregnant women to stop smoking. Continuing incentives to 12 months after birth is being examined to prevent relapse.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN15236311.
Topics: Female; Humans; Pregnancy; Adolescent; Smoking Cessation; Motivation; Pregnant Women; Tobacco Use Cessation Devices; Cotinine; Anabasine; COVID-19; Smoking; Scotland
PubMed: 36261162
DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2022-071522 -
Heliyon May 2019N'-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN), a carcinogenic tobacco-specific N'-nitrosamine (TSNA), is on the FDA list of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs)....
N'-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN), a carcinogenic tobacco-specific N'-nitrosamine (TSNA), is on the FDA list of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs). Nornicotine, a product of the demethylation of nicotine, is the immediate alkaloid precursor for NNN formation. Nicotine, nornicotine and NNN are optically active. The accumulation of the isomers of nicotine, nornicotine, and NNN impacts their biological activity. In this paper, we report the determination of tobacco alkaloid enantiomers (including nicotine, nornicotine, anabasine, and anatabine) in samples of different tobacco lines using a reversed phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC/MS/MS) method. Current method demonstates excellent detection capability for all alkaloid enantiomers, with correlation coefficients (r) > 0.996 within their linear dynamic ranges. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) of all analytes are less than 10 ng/mL and 30 ng/mL, respectively. In addition, their recovery and coefficient of variation (CV%) are within 100-115% and 0.2-3.7%, respectively. The method validated in this paper is simple, fast, and sensitive for the quantification of alkaloid enantiomers in tobacco leaf and has been applied to investigations of tobacco alkaloid enantiomer ratios in different tobacco lines and tobacco products.
PubMed: 31193304
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01719 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Mar 2015The synthesis of secondary metabolites is a hallmark of plant defence against herbivores. These compounds may be detrimental to consumers, but can also protect...
The synthesis of secondary metabolites is a hallmark of plant defence against herbivores. These compounds may be detrimental to consumers, but can also protect herbivores against parasites. Floral nectar commonly contains secondary metabolites, but little is known about the impacts of nectar chemistry on pollinators, including bees. We hypothesized that nectar secondary metabolites could reduce bee parasite infection. We inoculated individual bumblebees with Crithidia bombi, an intestinal parasite, and tested effects of eight naturally occurring nectar chemicals on parasite population growth. Secondary metabolites strongly reduced parasite load, with significant effects of alkaloids, terpenoids and iridoid glycosides ranging from 61 to 81%. Using microcolonies, we also investigated costs and benefits of consuming anabasine, the compound with the strongest effect on parasites, in infected and uninfected bees. Anabasine increased time to egg laying, and Crithidia reduced bee survival. However, anabasine consumption did not mitigate the negative effects of Crithidia, and Crithidia infection did not alter anabasine consumption. Our novel results highlight that although secondary metabolites may not rescue survival in infected bees, they may play a vital role in mediating Crithidia transmission within and between colonies by reducing Crithidia infection intensities.
Topics: Alkaloids; Anabasine; Animals; Bees; Crithidia; Disease Resistance; Glycosides; Host-Parasite Interactions; Plant Nectar; Secondary Metabolism; Terpenes
PubMed: 25694627
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2471 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Jul 2014There is evidence that in Europe and North America many species of pollinators are in decline, both in abundance and distribution. Although there is a long list of... (Review)
Review
There is evidence that in Europe and North America many species of pollinators are in decline, both in abundance and distribution. Although there is a long list of potential causes of this decline, there is concern that neonicotinoid insecticides, in particular through their use as seed treatments are, at least in part, responsible. This paper describes a project that set out to summarize the natural science evidence base relevant to neonicotinoid insecticides and insect pollinators in as policy-neutral terms as possible. A series of evidence statements are listed and categorized according to the nature of the underlying information. The evidence summary forms the appendix to this paper and an annotated bibliography is provided in the electronic supplementary material.
Topics: Anabasine; Animals; Bees; Insecticides; Pollination
PubMed: 24850927
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0558 -
Frontiers in Chemistry 2020Anabasine (ANA), a major piperidine alkaloid originally isolated from wild tobacco trees (), has been known to induce serious developmental toxicities such as skeletal...
Anabasine (ANA), a major piperidine alkaloid originally isolated from wild tobacco trees (), has been known to induce serious developmental toxicities such as skeletal deformities in livestock and humans. In this study, we thoroughly investigated the supramolecular nano-encapsulations of ANA by an artificial nanocontainer, cucurbit[7] uril (CB[7]), and examined the influences of the nano-encapsulation on ANA's inherent developmental toxicities on a zebrafish model. We have shown that CB[7] formed 1:1 host-guest inclusion complexes with ANA via a relatively high binding strength [ of (7.45 ± 0.31) × 10 M] in an aqueous solution, via UV-vis and H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic titrations, as well as isothermal titration calorimetry titration. As a consequence, CB[7] significantly attenuated the developmental toxicity of ANA on zebrafish . In contrast, for a comparative purpose, β-CD didn't exert any influence on the toxicity of ANA due to its weak binding with ANA, which was not even measurable via either spectroscopic methods or ITC titration. This is the first head-to-head comparison of this pair of nanocontainers, CB[7] and β-CD, on their potential roles in influencing the toxicity of guest molecules and the results suggested that CB[7] could become a more promising functional excipient for reducing the inherent toxicities of active pharmaceutical ingredients, particularly alkaloids that may form relatively strong host-guest binding species with the host.
PubMed: 32185162
DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.00134 -
PloS One 2014Tobacco use is a major contributor to premature morbidity and mortality. The measurement of nicotine and its metabolites in urine is a valuable tool for evaluating...
Tobacco use is a major contributor to premature morbidity and mortality. The measurement of nicotine and its metabolites in urine is a valuable tool for evaluating nicotine exposure and for nicotine metabolic profiling--i.e., metabolite ratios. In addition, the minor tobacco alkaloids--anabasine and anatabine--can be useful for monitoring compliance in smoking cessation programs that use nicotine replacement therapy. Because of an increasing demand for the measurement of urinary nicotine metabolites, we developed a rapid, low-cost method that uses isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for simultaneously quantifying nicotine, six nicotine metabolites, and two minor tobacco alkaloids in smokers' urine. This method enzymatically hydrolyzes conjugated nicotine (primarily glucuronides) and its metabolites. We then use acetone pretreatment to precipitate matrix components (endogenous proteins, salts, phospholipids, and exogenous enzyme) that may interfere with LC-MS/MS analysis. Subsequently, analytes (nicotine, cotinine, hydroxycotinine, norcotinine, nornicotine, cotinine N-oxide, nicotine 1'-N-oxide, anatabine, and anabasine) are chromatographically resolved within a cycle time of 13.5 minutes. The optimized assay produces linear responses across the analyte concentrations typically found in urine collected from daily smokers. Because matrix ion suppression may influence accuracy, we include a discussion of conventions employed in this procedure to minimize matrix interferences. Simplicity, low cost, low maintenance combined with high mean metabolite recovery (76-99%), specificity, accuracy (0-10% bias) and reproducibility (2-9% C.V.) make this method ideal for large high through-put studies.
Topics: Alkaloids; Anabasine; Chromatography, Liquid; Cotinine; Humans; Nicotine; Pyridines; Smoking; Tandem Mass Spectrometry
PubMed: 25013964
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101816