MW-436

Mono- and diacylglycerol (MAG and DAG) emulsifiers, also known as food additive E 471, are widely used to adjust techno-functional properties in various foods. Besides MAGs and DAGs, E 471 emulsifiers additionally comprise different amounts of triacylglycerols (TAGs) and free fatty acids (FFAs). MAGs, DAGs, TAGs and FFAs are generally determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass selective detection, analyzing the individual representatives of the lipid classes. In this work we present a rapid and sensitive method for the determination of MAGs, DAGs, TAGs and FFAs in E 471 emulsifiers by high-performance thin-layer chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPTLC-FLD), including a response factor system for quantitation. Samples were simply dissolved and diluted with t-butyl methyl ether before a two-fold development was performed on primuline pre-impregnated LiChrospher silica gel plates with diethyl ether and n-pentane/n-hexane/diethyl ether (52:20:28, v/v/v) as the mobile phases to 18 and 75 mm, respectively. For quantitation, the plate was scanned in the fluorescence mode at UV 366/>400 nm, when the cumulative signal for each lipid class was used. Calibration was done with 1,2-distearin and amounts of lipid classes were calculated with response factors and expressed as monostearin, distearin, tristearin and stearic acid. Limits of detection and quantitation were 1 and 4 ng/zone, respectively, for 1,2-distearin. Thus, the HPTLC-FLD approach represents a simple, rapid and convenient screening alternative to HPLC and GC analysis of the individual compounds. Visual detection additionally enables an easy characterization and the direct comparison of emulsifiers through the lipid class pattern, when utilized as a fingerprint.

Background and objective: Amiodarone is very effective against a variety of dysrhythmias but has poor pharmacodynamic properties and many undesired side-effects.Its short- and rapid-acting derivative E 047/1 may circumvent some of these drawbacks.It is easier to titrate while retaining the high efficacy of amiodarone and may have acceptable influences on hemodynamics and cardiac conduction in patients who develop serious, destabilizing ventricular tachydysrhythmias after cardiac surgery.Methods: Testing E 047/1 was performed prospectively in two consecutive phase II open, clin. studies.Out of 504 patients scheduled for surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass for coronary artery grafting and/or valve repair, 35 developed serious, hemodynamically destabilizing ventricular dysrhythmias (Lown 2-Lown 4b) after surgery and were treated with a 1 mg kg^-1 (pilot study, n = 15) or randomized to a 2 or 3 mg kg^-1 bolus of E 047/1, followed by a 1 mg kg^-1h^-1 continuous infusion for 2 h (n = 10 in each group).Dysrhythmias, PQ, QTc intervals and hemodynamics using the thermodilution technique were evaluated for up to 24 h after drug initiation.Results: At the time of final inclusion the patients had between 6 and 12 (or more) ventricular ectopics per min.Within the first 2-3 min of application in the pilot trial E 047/1 induced a decrease of ventricular dysrhythmias to between 0 and 4 per min, a decrease that held for the duration of treatment.The area under the curve decreased from 434 (322, 855; median, quartiles) to 114 (9, 477, P < 0.01) events per h.In the randomized trial, E 047/1 administered in either dose rapidly reduced ventricular dysrhythmias at least as effectively as in the pilot trial 565 (478, 701) to 33 (8, 238, P < 0.05) after a 2 mg bolus; 482 (339, 482) to 95 (13, 540, P < 0.01) events per h after a 3 mg bolus.Approx. 4-6 h after drug termination, dysrhythmias reappeared in the majority of patients.In only three patients did the incidence of dysrhythmias return to inclusion criteria levels.In contrast to the pilot trial, in the randomized trial there was a slight increase of mean pulmonary artery pressure, central venous pressure and pulmonary arterial wedge pressure and a slight decrease of LCWI in both groups.E 047/1 did not cause QTc prolongation.Conclusions: E 047/1 appears to be a safe alternative to amiodarone in the perioperative setting of cardiac surgery when serious, destabilizing dysrhythmias occur.