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Incidence of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Herbal Medicines from German Retail Markets: Risk Assessments and Implications to Consumers
- Source :
- Phytotherapy Research. 31:1903-1909
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2017.
-
Abstract
- The occurrence of potentially toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in herbal medicines (HMs) is currently intensely being discussed in Europe. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, particularly the 1,2-unsaturated PAs, are undesired compounds in HMs due to their potential hepatotoxic and carcinogenic properties. In this study, 98 widely patronized HMs from six popular German retail supermarkets/drugstores, as well as from pharmacies, were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry for the presence of PAs. The results showed that about 63% of the HMs were PA positive, whereas the average PA concentration of the samples was 201 μg/kg, the highest concentration of PAs (3270 μg/kg) was attributed to a product that was purchased from the pharmacy and contained Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John's Wort) as an active ingredient. In addition, H. perforatum-containing products were frequently contaminated with PAs from Echium spp., while both Cynara cardunculus L. products and fixed-combination products of Gentiana lutea L., Rumex acetosa L., Verbena officinalis L., Sambucus nigra L., and Primula veris L. products were commonly contaminated with PAs of Senecio spp. The study showed that H. perforatum, C. cardunculus, Urtica dioica L., and fixed-combination products were frequently contaminated with PA levels above the recommended values of both the German and European Medicines Agencies. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- Subjects :
- Pharmacology
biology
Pyrrolizidine alkaloid
Traditional medicine
business.industry
Verbena officinalis
Hypericum perforatum
Senecio
biology.organism_classification
01 natural sciences
0104 chemical sciences
010404 medicinal & biomolecular chemistry
03 medical and health sciences
chemistry.chemical_compound
0302 clinical medicine
chemistry
Echium
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
Pyrrolizidine
Medicine
business
Hypericum
Urtica dioica
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 0951418X
- Volume :
- 31
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Phytotherapy Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........cd7052ec9c5ca343ea9e7d0e3cbd7262