The purpose of Research Core B is to support the overall effort of the ODS/NCCIH U19 Botanical Dietary Supplement Research Center (BDSRC) in two specific areas: (1) by centralizing the procurement, characterization, archiving, quality control and shelf-life/stability assessment of polyphenolic materials used by individual Research Projects; and (2) by centralizing bioanalytical support for all Center Research Projects and Cores. Our previous studies have demonstrated the remarkable efficacy of dietary supplementation from a combination of grape seed polyphenolic extract (GSPE), Concord grape juice (CGJ), and resveratrol (RSV) in promoting preservation of cognitive wellness and psychological resiliency under select stress conditions. We have also shown that specific metabolites extracted from these botanicals can be detected in blood and brain tissue. We can detect methylated and/or glucuronidated derivatives of the various classes of flavonoids (flavan-3-ols such as catechin and epicatechin; anthocyanins (cyanidin and malvidin); flavonols (quercetin); stilbenes (resveratrol)). Core B will be responsible for the identification and quantitation of the parent compounds and derived metabolites in animal and human biological fluids and tissues, using various analytical techniques including liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to different mass spectrometric (MS) techniques, e.g. high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (QqQ-MS/MS), 1D nuclear magenetic resonance (NMR) techniques including 1H NMR and 13C NMR, and various 2D NMR techniques including 1H-1H TOCSY (total correlated spectroscopy), 1H-1H NOESY (nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy), gradient enhanced 1H-1H COSY (correlated spectroscopy), 1H-13C HSQC (heteronuclear single quantum coherence), and 1H-13C HMBC (heteronuclear multiple bond coherence), and LC-NMR as needed. In addition to these bioavailability and PK studies, Core B will also serve as an archived repository of all botanical materials, standards and polyphenolic compounds used throughout the Center, maintain tracking of all samples using a LIMS system, and perform quality control analyses and stability testing in support of this function. The complementary nature of the expertise of the individual investigators within Core B creates a strong synergistic team capable of supporting individual Research Projects and collaborative efforts focused on achieving U19 BDSRC objectives.
