Abstract:
In the last years, biologically active plant ingredients such as carotenoids and tocopherols (vitamin E) have become subject of medicinal and nutritional research. This is due to their antioxidative skills, that possess a positive effect on the human health, e.g. preventing common diseases like cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Nevertheless, it is still mostly unknown to which degree the active compounds are enriched in the organism. The investigation of the enrichment and bioavailability are therefore an important milestone on the way of developing tailor-made therapies. In this thesis, the enrichment and the bioavailability, respectively, have been investigated in two case studies. On the one hand, the enrichment of vitamin E from a toothpaste containing tocopherols in the human gingiva has been analysed, because only then the tocopherols may exhibit a positive effect on the oral health. On the other hand, the bioavailability of the carotenoid lutein has been determined after supplementation with hydroponically grown, partially deuterated spinach.
During the investigation of the plant ingredients, it should also be considered that vitamin E occurs as a homologous row of the different tocopherols, while the carotenoids convert to various Z-isomers under the influence of light and oxygen. Since these homologues or isomers, respectively, might possess different biological activities, it is indispensable to carefully identify and elucidate the structures of all components, as it was done regarding the enrichment of the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin in chicken retina.
The analytical methods used consisted of a tailor-made combination of special extraction, separation, and identification methods. For the extraction, the novel matrix solid phase dispersion was used, subsequently, the components of the extract were separated chromatographically on a highly selective C30 phase. For detection, the NMR spectroscopy and the MS spectrometry, especially hyphenated with HPLC (HPLC-NMR, HPLC-MS) to exclude disturbing influences due to light and air, are employed.