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SUMMARY To determine the optimum dose of ispaghula husk in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and to assess the correlation, if any between the relief in patients' symptoms and the whole gut transit time, and the increase in stool weight, a two part study was carried out. In part 1, 14 male patients were given ispaghula husk in increasing doses of 10 g, 20 g, and 30 g a day for a duration of 17 days each (14 days of study period+three days of stool collection). Ten patients completed the trial. The symptom score improved significantly with all the three doses of ispaghula. Both 20 g and 30 g doses of ispaghula were superior to the 10 g dose but there was no significant difference between the 20 g and 30 g doses. There was a significant (p<0.001) increase in the daily stool weight with 10 g dose of fibre with further significant increases with the 20 g and 30 g doses. A positive correlation was seen between the improvement in the symptom score and the increase in stool weight with the 10 g dose of ispaghula but not with the 20 g and 30 g doses. Whole gut transit time remained fairly constant throughout the study period and there was no relationship with either the dose of ispaghula, the alteration in stool weight, or the improvement in the patients symptoms. Ten patients completed part 2 of the study in which ispaghula husk was given in the same dose (10 g, 20 g, and 30 g) but in a random order and with a 'washout' period of one week between individual doses. Again all the three doses of ispaghula produced a significant improvement in the symptoms; 20 g and 30 g doses were equally effective and both were significantly superior to the 10 g dose. Assessed individually, all the three symptoms improved significantly; improvement in constipation and pain abdomen was more pronounced than diarrhoea. It is concluded that the optimum dose of ispaghula husk in irritable bowl syndrome is 20 g per day. There is some correlation between the increase in stool weight and the improvement in symptom score but the whole gut transit time remains unchanged despite alterations in stool weight and patients' symptoms.Some studies'5 but not others67 show that administra-other drugs.34 A number of aspects of the therapeutic tion of fibre, results in significant improvement in the role of fibre in irritable bowel syndrome remain to be symptoms of patients with irritable bowel syndrome. established, however, for example, the optimum This beneficial effect has been noted not only in the dose of fibre in irritable bowel syndrome has not west but also in India24 where the diet is compara-been determined. Moreover, the effect of different tively richer in its fibre content.8 Furthermore, fibre is quantities of fibre on the stool weight and the whole useful whether it is used alone or in combination with gut transit time, and the relationship of these parameters with the clinical response of the patient

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A new method for the efficient extraction and determination of volatile aliphatic amines by means of single-drop microextraction (SDME) in combination with microchip electrophoresis and contactless conductivity detection has been developed. An experimental approach for interfacing real world samples with chip electrophoresis is presented. The method consists of an optimized protocol for extraction via ultrasound assisted headspace SDME and the separation and determination of the target analytes with a novel microfluidic device. Five volatile, short-chained aliphatic amines, methylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine, diethylamine and triethylamine, were determined. The analytes were separated using a PMMA microchip with an 8.7 cm long separation channel and integrated thin-film gold electrodes for capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C 4 D). The determinations were carried out in a His/MES buffer (His/MES ratio of 80 : 20 at pH 6.6). Various parameters for the extraction and determination of the target analytes were optimized and applied to complex sample matrices like shrimp. The five analytes could be separated in less than 40 s applying a separation voltage of 3.8 kV. A linear concentration dependence was found within the range from 0.1 to 10 ppm for the ethylamine species and from 0.5 to 10 ppm for the methylamines. The limits of detection were all well below 400 ng/mL. The proposed method is simple, quick, presents low levels of waste, works with small sample quantities and is suitable for quantification of aliphatic amines in seafood samples like shrimp or fish from where they are naturally developing upon biodegradation. In the present study the accelerated decay of shrimp tissue due to improper storage was monitored.

Flavonoids represent an important bioactive component in plants. Accumulation of flavonoids often occurs in plants subjected to abiotic stresses, including the adaptation of plants to the environment and in overcoming their stress conditions. This fact makes their analysis and determination an attractive field in food science since they can give interesting information on the quality and safety of foods. In this study, we discuss reports on plants flavonoids biosynthesis against abiotic stresses and advances in analytical capillary electrophoresis used for their identification and quantification in plants.