Many athletes use supplements in their diet as part of regular training or competition, thus enabling more intense training by encouraging faster recovery between workouts, minimizing interference caused by disease or injury and increasing competitive performance. These supplements, unlike medications, are not subject to rigorous efficiency and safety checks and tests. There is a risk with regard to those supplements which include positive doping test result as a consequence of presence of the prohibited substances not listed in the declaration of the preparation. The aim of this study was to examine the use of supplements among elite athletes by analyzing the forms for doping control, issued by the Agency for Anti-doping control of Bosnia and Herzegovina, performed in the period from 2010 to 2012. The study includes supplements whose use was reported by athletes in the period of the last 7 days (prior testing). The study results indicate the frequency of dietary supplements use of 34.5%. The most dominant group among users of dietary supplements were men aged between 18 and 29 years. From 152 users of dietary supplements 62.3% of them have used more than one product. The number of used supplements was an average of 2.9±2.8 products. Amino acids and proteins are the most commonly used dietary supplements. This study confirmed excessive use of dietary supplements among elite athletes and pointed to the need of necessary education and ensuring the availability of scientific and unbiased information, about the benefits and risks of dietary supplements use, to athletes..

The increasing use of sun-creams containing organic UV-filters has led to increased concentration of these compounds in aquatic environment. Chlorinated water can convert these chemicals into chlorinated products whose toxic effects are of primary concern. The new compound may be more toxic than the starting primary compound. Many studies have shown that UV filters absorb UV light and decompose under solar irradiation, due to their unstable properties. This may lead to formation of certain by-products with harmful effects. Their decomposition products can cause allergic and toxic reactions to the human skin. This study follows the stability of most commonly used UV filters, homosalate, in conditions that include those existent in swimming pools. Stability of the homosalate in chlorinated water was studied in simulated swimming pool water samples. UV spectroscopy was used to follow the reaction of homosalate in presence of free chlorine. Water samples were filtered, acidified, and extracted by use of solid-phase extraction. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was used to identify the major transformation by-products. Under the experimental conditions, homosalate reacted with chlorine following zero order reaction. The chemical transformation of the homosalate in chlorinated water led to formation of chlorinated by-products that was identified as:

Parabens are esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and belong to group of effective preservatives commonly used in cosmetic products, drugs and food. Their antimicrobial activity increases with increasing carbon number of the ester group. A number of cosmetic products and skincare products are preserved with parabens, as well in Europe as in the United States. Methyl, ethyl and propyl paraben are preservatives commonly used in cosmetic products. Usage of parabens should be under great attention, because some studies mentioned that the increased concentration can cause skin irritation and contact dermatitis.. This paper shows optimization of HPLC method for determination of methyl, ethyl and propyl paraben in sunscreen products. The advantage of this analytic method is that the same stationary phase with different mobile phases is used for determination UV filters and parabens as well in sunscreen products. Determination was performed using reversed stationary phase C8 with wavelength 254 nm. Separation was performed using mobile phase methanol: water (60:40 w/w). Analytic method was validated through specificity, linearity, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ). Determined limit of detection and limit of quantification for methyl, ethyl and propyl paraben are respectively: LOD-0.035 μg/ml LOQ-0.116 μg/ml; LOD-0.061 μg/ml LOQ-0.203 μg/ml and LOD0.009 μg/ml LOQ-0.031 μg/ml. Coefficient of quantification for methyl, ethyl and propyl paraben are respectively: R-0.9996; R-0.9988 and R-1. A content of parabens was examined on commercial samples available on market in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Concentration of ethyl, methyl and propyl paraben does not exceed maximal allowed concentrations (0.4% for single ester and 0.8% for mixture of esters) in tested samples.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test absorption characteristics of some newly synthesised 4‐hidroxycoumarins, containing phenyl‐prop‐2‐enoyl group at the 3‐position. Change in spectral characteristics in solvents of different polarity (chloroform and acetonitrile) was followed in regard to the influence of the substitution at the phenyl ring and influence of concentration H+ ions. Effectiveness of tested substances was compared with well‐known UV absorbers such as benzophenone‐3 and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (BMDM).Design/methodology/approach – All the tested substances were dissolved in chloroform and acetonitrile, with 10‐3 mmol concentration range. The pH was adjusted using 0.1 mol/l HCl, glacial acetic acid, 0.1 mol/l NaOH (aqueous solution) and 0.1 mol/l NaOH (methanolic solution). Spectrophotometric measurement was recorded in the range of 200‐800 nm, using 1‐cm quartz cells.Findings – The tested 4‐hydroxycoumarin derivatives showed good UV absorption properties in the range 280‐380 nm...

The main objective of this study was to determine levels of certain persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Neretva River, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which is currently facing implementation of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and environmental protection strategies. This is the very first report on the deployment of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) in BiH. SPMDs were used for continuous 3-weeks sampling of POPs at three locations, covering 220 km long stream of the Neretva River. Water concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) were calculated using performance reference compounds (PRCs). The total OCP concentrations ranged from 40 to 140 pg L−1 and most of compounds were detected only in lower course of the river. Total PAH ranged from 160 to 4000 pg L−1 and show a clear spatial variation. Dominant PAHs were phenanthrene, fluoranthene, fluorene and acenaphthene. Total PCB ranged from undetectable to 120 pg L−1. From the group of 15 PBDE congeners investigated, only PBDE-47 and PBDE-99 were detected. Since the concentrations of broad spectrum of POPs found in the Neretva River are quite low, future actions should be focused on preservation rather than on sanitation measures. Regular monitoring should anyhow be established.

The protection of sun radiation is a problem on global level for all living organisms on Earth. The need of people for the overexposure to the UV radiation led human population towards finding novel ways of protection of this kind of radiation, in form of cosmetic preparations applied on the skin. So far, the high values of protection factors of preparations and total block preparations with sun protection factor of 50+ were achieved. Physical and chemical filters which absorb radiation are constituents of these preparations. European Union has set regulations as which substances and in what amounts could be used as UV absorbers. American FDA (Food and Drug Administration) also gave its list of the most frequently used UV absorbers in the sunscreen products, as well as their declared concentrations. The most frequently used concentrations of UV filters in cosmetics is between 0.1% and 10%. Concentrations of UV filters in sunscreen products have to be monitored in order to ensure that they are not less from the declared levels, on which depends the efficacy and safety of the product.

Simultaneous separation of eleven steroid hormones and synthetic anabolics: progesterone, trenbolone acetate melengestrol acetate, 17-β-estradiol, 19-nortestosterone, fluoxymesterone. norethandrolone, 4-chloro-δ-1-methyl testosterone, clostebol acetate, 6-β-hydroxymethandienone and oxymetholone, was performed on HPTLC plates, 10 x 10 cm, silicagel 60 F 254 (Merck) by. horizontal elution in chloroform-acetone mobile phase. The investigated steroids were successfully visualised under UV light (254 nm). and after spraying with an ethanolic solution of/Moluenesulphonic acid. The efficacy of chromatographic system was checked using simulated real samples for some of the examined steroids, melengestrol acetate and trenbolone acetate, usually misused as growth promoters in cattle and stored unchanged in animal tissue.

Derivatives of chlorophenoxy carboxylic acids have been the first class of herbicides in continuous use since 1947. The main interest for these substances is due to their evident chronic toxicity and carcinogenic effect. On the other hand, they can cause acute toxicity and have significant role in suicidal attempts. In this paper we have investigated analytical approaches that could be used for rapid identification and determination of chlorophenoxy herbicides in modestly equipped laboratories for the clinical toxicology. Thin layer chromatography on cellulose layer using neutral red as ion pairing reagent gave the best results in separation of different herbicides, making possible visualisation at the daylight without further reagents or equipment. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for separation on C8 and C18 phases with and without ion-pairing reagent were compared. It was found that HPLC on C18 phase utilising ion-suppression mode has the best reproducibility, linearity and mass limit of detection suitable for quantification of chlorophenoxy herbicides after acute poisoning.

Pharmacoeconomics is young rapidly developing science that uses economic, clinical and epidemiologic methods. It studies adequate use of therapeutics giving guidelines towards rational utilization of the resources in health care. Pharmacoeconomics indentifies estimates and compares costs and clinical outcomes of different strategies giving the best solution: optimal cost/benefit ratio. These studies can be used to estimate existing programs and plan the new ones. The aim of this paper was to carry out pharmacoeconomic study on the non-steroid anti-inflamatory drugs (NSAID) use in canton Tuzla, to compare costs of medication with highly selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors and nonselective NSAIDs and to calculate medication costs of the bleeding from upper parts of gastrointestinal tract. Study covers period from January to April 2004. Meta-analysis of selected clinical studies on safe and efficiency of NSAIDs was simultaneously conducted. Our results show that hospital treatment costs of the high-risk patients group significantly exceeds their potential medication costs with highly selective COX-2 inhibitors. Simultaneous use of non-selective NSAIDs with antacids has justification only in the low-risk group with mild gastrointestinal disturbances.

In testing the pre-sale procedure the marketing of drugs and their control in the last ten years, high performance liquid chromatography replaced numerous spectroscopic methods and gas chromatography in the quantitative and qualitative analysis. In the first period of HPLC application it was thought that it would become a complementary method of gas chromatography, however, today it has nearly completely replaced gas chromatography in pharmaceutical analysis. The application of the liquid mobile phase with the possibility of transformation of mobilized polarity during chromatography and all other modifications of mobile phase depending upon the characteristics of substance which are being tested, is a great advantage in the process of separation in comparison to other methods. The greater choice of stationary phase is the next factor which enables realization of good separation. The separation line is connected to specific and sensitive detector systems, spectrafluorimeter, diode detector, electrochemical detector as other hyphernated systems HPLC-MS and HPLC-NMR, are the basic elements on which is based such wide and effective application of the HPLC method. The purpose high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of any drugs is to confirm the identity of a drug and provide quantitative results and also to monitor the progress of the therapy of a disease.1) Measuring presented on the Fig. 1. is chromatogram obtained for the plasma of depressed patients 12 h before oral administration of dexamethasone. It may also be used to further our understanding of the normal and disease process in the human body trough biomedical and therapeutically research during investigation before of the drugs registration. The analyses of drugs and metabolites in biological fluids, particularly plasma, serum or urine is one of the most demanding but one of the most common uses of high performance of liquid chromatography. Blood, plasma or serum contains numerous endogenous compounds often present in concentrations much greater than those of analyte. Analiyte concentrations are often low, and in the case of drugs, the endogenous compounds are sometimes structurally very similar to the drug to be measured. The binding of drugs to the plasma protein also may occur which decreases the amount of free compound that is measured. To undertake the analyses of drugs and metabolites in body fluids the analyst is facet with several problems. The first problem is due to the complex nature of the body fluid, the drugs must be isolated by an extraction technique, which ideally should provide a relatively clean extract, and the separation system must be capable of resolving the drugs of interest from co extractives. All mentioned when we are using high performance liquid chromatography require good selections of detectors, good stationary phase, eluents and adequate program during separation. UV/VIS detector is the most versatile detector used in high performance liquid chromatography it is not always ideal since it is lack of specificity means high resolution of the analyte that may be required. UV detection is preferred since it offers excellent linearity and rapid quantitative analyses can be performed against a single standard of the drug being determined. Diode array and rapid scanning detector are useful for peak identification and monitoring peak purity but they are somewhat less sensitive then single wavelength detectors. In liquid chromatography some components may have a poor UV chromophores if UV detection is being used or be completely retained on the liquid chromatography column. Fluorescence and electrochemical detector are not only considerably more sensitive towed appropriate analytes but also more selective than UV detectors for many compounds. If at all possible fluorescence detectors are sensitive, stable, selective and easy to operate. It is selectivity shows itself in the lack of frontal components observed in plasma extract whereas electrochemical detection is nearly always associated with a major frontal peak than tails considerably. To date, the most sensitive method has been the reductive electrochemical detection and giving the excellent results in the investigation on some classes of drugs. Several high performance liquid chromatography oxidative electrochemical methods have been developed for the analyses of drugs and metabolites in body fluids. Mass spectrometer as specific detector with all variation of ionisation and interface (thermo spray, moving belt etc. ) or liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry2,3,4,5). NMR as selective and specific detector in high performance liquid chromatography today is also in used. The development of a non-aqueous eluent for ion-exchange separation on silica has provided an excellent system which, when used in conjugation with an electrochemical detector, permits the analyses of an extensive range of especially basic drugs and metabolites. New packing materials such as polymeric, base deactivated silica's, pyrolysed carbon and the internal surface packing should offer the improved stability and higher efficiencies for certain classes of the compounds such as basic drugs. Microbore columns should become more accepted since they offer not only improved sensitivity but also a lower solvent consumption and consequently the reduced needs to dispose of noxious solvents. Many analyses of basic drugs are still performed by the same method of the ion-exchange chromatography on unmodified silica columns with an eluent buffered to about pH 9. Neutral or weakly acidic drugs for instance barbiturates can be chromatographed on a reversed phase system whilst acidic drugs for example paracetamol, cannabis are separated either by ion suppression or ion-pair chromatography on a reversed-phase packing material. In micelar liquid chromatography micelar mobile phases in reversed-phase instead of conventional hydro organic mobile phase is used. In micelar liquid chromatography complex electrostatic hydrophobic and steric interactions exist between the solute and both stationary and mobile phases. These enable the effective separation of samples of different nature. The main advantages of the use of a micelar solution in reversed-phase liquid chromatography are the solvent and the lower cost and toxicity, the biodegradability of the solvent and the easy dissolution of analytical samples, that enables the determination of drugs in physiological fluids without the need for previous separation of the proteins present in the samples. Using tetrabutylammonium phosphate as a competing base in the investigation of sulphonamides and heptanes sulfonate as ion pairing reagent. Ion pairing reagent is term used to describe enhanced retention as the result of the addition to the mobile phase of a large ion opposite charge to the molecular ions to be separated. For molecular cations alkyl sulphates or sulfonates are generally utilised.

In this paper we present introduction and development of some new analytical methods for identification of anabolic steroids, their metabolites and certain hormones, especially determination of exogenous testosterone by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Identification of central nervous stimulants and corticosteroides has been performed by high performance liquid chromatography. In desire to achieve better results, to increase strength and endurance, to sharpen reflexes and to reduce stress and anxiety athletes as well as other people use different pharmacological substances, hormones or even illicit drugs. Use of these substances without medical supervision can lead to adverse effects to one's health or even cause a death. At the same time, use of such substances means a kind of cheat that could not be accepted. This is why International Olympic Committee started at 1968 with official doping control that is permanently carried out and continuously increasing number of banned substances. Doping control demands for discover and development of new sensitive and specific methods for detection of banned substances and their metabolites in urine and blood.