Pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium salt

Pressure-assisted capillary electrophoresis (PACE)/frontal analysis (FA) and circular dichroism spectroscopy were utilized to investigate the interactions between methoxatin disodium salt (PQQ-2Na) and human serum albumin (HSA). With the PACE/FA method, sodium phosphate buffer solution (67 mm, pH 7.4) was used as the background electrolyte. Hydrodynamic injection at 50 mbar for 50 s and external pressure of 50 mbar were applied. The binding constant and the number of primary binding sites to HSA were obtained under fixed concentration of PQQ-2Na (100 µm) and increasing HSA concentration (0~475 µm). The thermodynamic parameters characterized the main acting forces of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. The displacement experiments using phenylbutazone and flurbiprofen as ligand markers suggested that the binding site was the Sudlow site I of the HSA molecule. Circular dichroism spectroscopy was further employed to evaluate the conformation changes of HSA under the interaction of PQQ-2Na.

The genotoxic potential of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) disodium salt (BioPQQ™) was evaluated in a battery of genotoxicity tests. The results of the bacterial mutation assay (Ames test) were negative. Weak positive results were obtained in 2 separate in vitro chromosomal aberration test in Chinese hamster lung (CHL) fibroblasts. Upon testing in an in vitro chromosomal aberration test in human peripheral blood lymphocytes, no genotoxic activity of PQQ was noted. In the in vivo micronucleus assay in mice, PQQ at doses up to 2,000 mg/kg body weight demonstrated that no genotoxic effects are expressed in vivo in bone marrow erythrocytes. The weak responses in the in vitro test CHL cells were considered of little relevance under conditions of likely human exposure. PQQ disodium was concluded to have no genotoxic activity in vivo.

The potential use of pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium salt (BioPQQ™), as a supplemental food ingredient, was evaluated in a range of oral toxicity studies in rats including an acute study, a 14-day preliminary and a 28-day repeated-dose study, and a 13-week subchronic study. The median lethal dose of BioPQQ™ was shown to be 1000-2000mg/kg body weight (bw) in male and 500-1000mg/kgbw in female rats. In the 14-day study, high doses of BioPQQ™ resulted in increases in relative kidney weights with associated histopathology in female rats only, while a follow-up 28-day study in female animals resulted in increases in urinary protein and crystals. These findings were reversible, and resolved during the recovery period. In the 13-week study, a number of clinical chemistry findings and histopathological changes were noted, which were deemed to be of no toxicological significance, as the levels were within the historical control range, were not dose-dependent, occurred at a similar frequency in control groups, or only occurred in the control group.