OBJECTIVE To estimate the dietary melamine exposure in Chinese infants and young children from the consumption of melamine adulterated Sanlu infant formula. METHODS Four age groups of infants and young children (3, 6, 12, and 24 months) were chosen as the assessed subjects and the maximum amount of infant formula consumption was estimated based on the recommended usage level in the package in...

Albeit the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment after exposure to melamine has not been fully elucidated, factors such as oxidative stress is thought to play potential roles. In the present study, we investigated the effect of treatment with vitamin C (150mg/kg) and vitamin E (200mg/kg) on the impairment induced by melamine. Three-week-old male Wistar rats were submitted to oral gavage with 300...

Renal toxicity by melamine in combination with cyanuric acid (1:1) was investigated. Male rats were orally administered melamine plus cyanuric acid (5, 50 or 400 mg/kg each) for 3 days. In contrast to a negligible effect by melamine alone (50 mg/kg, a no-observed-adverse-effect-level: NOAEL), co-administration with cyanuric acid markedly increased the concentrations of blood urea nitrogen and c...

The intentional adulteration of pet food with melamine and derivatives, including cyanuric acid, has been implicated in the kidney failure and death of a large number of cats and dogs in the United States. Although individually these compounds present low toxicity, coexposure can lead to the formation of melamine cyanurate crystals in the nephrons and eventual kidney failure. To determine the d...

BACKGROUND In 2008, the outbreak of kidney stones in children fed by melamine-tainted milk products in Mainland China has caused major public concern of food safety. We identified Hong Kong school children with elevated urine melamine level from a community-based school survey in 2007-08 and reviewed their clinical status in 2009. METHODS In 2007-08, 2119 school children participated in a pri...

A simple, rapid colorimetric method using label-free Ag NPs (silver nanoparticles) as probe for detection of melamine in raw milk was developed in this study. The assay relies on the fact that melamine can induce aggregation of Ag NPs, and thereby results in their yellow-to-red color change. The concentration of melamine in raw milk can be determined by monitoring with the naked eyes or a UVeVi...

The migration of melamine monomers from food contact materials has aroused particular attention since the 2008 melamine-tainted milk scandal in China. However, the determination of melamine monomer's migratory quantity (MMMQ) has remained an open question because of the complex sample pretreatment and the low sensitivity. Based on the hydrogen bonding interaction between DNA thymine and melamin...

OBJECTIVES To study the migration of melamine into foods from plastic food packaging materials and dairy product containers commonly used in China. METHODS 37 samples were collected from the market. The EU migration testing conditions were adopted with distilled water, 3% acetic acid, n-hexane and 15% ethanol being chosen as the simulating solutions. The HPLC method was used to detect melamin...

Rhodococcus sp. strain Mel was isolated from soil by enrichment and grew in minimal medium with melamine as the sole N source with a doubling time of 3.5 h. Stoichiometry studies showed that all six nitrogen atoms of melamine were assimilated. The genome was sequenced by Roche 454 pyrosequencing to 13× coverage, and a 22.3-kb DNA region was found to contain a homolog to the melamine deaminase g...

This study assessed the toxicity of melamine against the unicellular eukaryotic system of Tetrahymena (T.) pyriformis exposed to 0, 0.05, 0.25, 0.5, 2.5, and 5 mg/mL of melamine. Cell growth curves of different cultures, the half maximum inhibition concentration (IC(50)) value of melamine, and morphological changes in cells were obtained via optical and transmission electron microscopic observa...