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Gamma irradiation as a decontaminating physical agent could be an important tool in the production chain of herbal medicines by improving the microbiological quality of raw materials and the safety of final products. This study was undertaken to investigate the genotoxic potential and eventual chemical modifications of a batch of Mikania glomerata raw material decontaminated by different doses of gamma irradiation (2.0, 3.5, and 5.0 kGy), using a cesium-137 source. DNA damage was assessed in vitro by agarose gel electrophoresis in regard to double-chain breaks of plasmid pUC 9.1 DNA and in vivo by micronucleus test in bone marrow cells of Wistar rats. Cytotoxicity in bone marrows was assessed by scoring polychromatic and normochromatic erythrocytes ratio. An HPLC-DAD method was adapted and validated for the enhancement of coumarin selectivity from the other matrix constituents. The microbial load was satisfactorily reduced, leading to sterilization at the highest dose. Genotoxic and cytotoxic effects were not increased in the in vitro and in vivo models. The concentration of coumarin and the chromatographic profiles of the hydroalcoholic plant extracts (ethanol 70% v/v) were not modified after such process. Therefore, this work suggests that gamma irradiation of M. glomerata raw material is suitable and safe for microbiological control purposes at the employed doses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chloramphenicol (CAP) is an antibiotic banned for treatment of food-producing animals. The minimum required performance limit (MRPL) of 0.3 μg kg−1for analytical methods was set by the European Community for the detection of its residues in different matrices, including milk. A highly sensitive analytical method using isotope-dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC-MS/MS) and liquid–liquid extraction with low temperature partitioning (LLE-LTP) was developed and validated for CAP residues in milk. Selected validation parameters such as selectivity, working range and linearity, trueness (recoveries), precision (repeatability and intermediate precision), limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were evaluated. The validation procedures were based on the new Eurachem Guide and the European Union Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The matrix effect was evaluated by the ion suppression test and by comparison of the matrix-matched analytical curve and the solvent standard analytical curve. A linear working range between 0.1 and 5.0 μg kg−1was observed. The homoscedasticity was demonstrated by the Cochran test, the coefficient of determination (R2) was higher than 0.99 and the residual plot was free of trends. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.015 μg kg−1and 0.05 μg kg−1, respectively. Mean recoveries evaluated at three levels (0.3, 1.0 and 3.0 μg kg−1) ranged from 94% to 114% with RSDs lower than 6.7% (repeatability). For intermediate precision, different analytes were compared and the RSDs were lower than 7.3%. The method was accurate and reproducible, and was successfully applied to the evaluation of CAP residues in milk samples.

The production and distribution of toasted mate tea in Brazil has increased, which has resulted in its greater consumption. Mate tea is obtained by roasting non-fermented erva-mate in order to produce toasted erva-mate or toasted mate tea. However, although the product is much appreciated, studies of its chemical composition and the concentration of polyphenols, particularly flavonols present in toasted mate tea, are few and often controversial. This paper elucidates some misunderstandings involving the nomenclature of erva-mate and toasted mate, and mainly provides an overview of the composition of polyphenols and antioxidant capacity of toasted mate tea and its raw material, erva-mate, in comparison with other teas, the compositions of which were found in the literature.