Multi-elemental composition of botanical preparations and probabilistic evaluation of toxic metals and metalloids intake upon dietary exposure.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the inorganic elemental composition (49 elements) of 29 botanical preparations obtained from fruits, leaves, peels, seeds, roots, fungi, and spirulina by using inductively coupled-mass spectrometry and a mercury analyzer. Simultaneously, the risk associated with the chronic dietary exposure to 12 toxic metals and metalloids among the European population was evaluated by using a probabilistic approach based on Monte Carlo simulations. The analysis revealed worrying intake levels of Al, As, and Ni, primarily stemming from the consumption of spirulina-, peel-, and leaf-based botanicals by younger age groups. The intake of As from all analyzed botanicals posed a significant risk for infants, yielding margins of exposure (MOEs) below 1, while those deriving from peel-based botanicals raised concerns across all age groups (MOEs = 0.04-2.3). The consumption of peel-based botanicals contributed substantially (13-130%) also to the tolerable daily intake of Ni for infants, toddlers, and children, while that of spirulina-based botanicals raised concerns related to Al intake also among adults, contributing to 11-176% of the tolerable weekly intake of this element. The findings achieved underscore the importance of implementing a monitoring framework to address chemical contamination of botanicals, thus ensuring their safety for regular consumers.

Application of BRAFO-tiered approach for health benefit-risk assessment of dark tea consumption in China.

Dark tea, a unique tea fermented primarily in China, has numerous potential beneficial effects. However, harmful substances present in dark tea have provoked significant concern. To conduct a quantitative benefit-risk assessment of dark tea for Chinese residents and provide guidance on rational consumption, a framework of Benefit-Risk Analysis for Foods (BRAFO) and meta-analysis was applied to construct a disability-adjusted life year (DALY). Based on the BRAFO-tiered approach, a reference scenario (no intake) and an alternative scenario (intake of 3 cups/day) were determined. The overall health impacts of dark tea were simulated by comparing the risks of fluoride and AF with benefits of reduced-risk to coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes in different scenarios. Three cups of fermented tea consumed per day decreased risks of CHD and diabetes by 8.16% and 12.77% respectively. After quantitative integration of information, the ultimate net health effect was found to be -1958.827 illustrating that the benefits of drinking three cups of dark tea per day outweigh the risks. However, considering the uncertainties in the process, decision-makers should proceed with caution, consulting additional well-conducted studies and further managing harmful substances in dark tea.

Quality Assessment of Sitopaladi Churna Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Multivariate Analysis.

"Sitopaladi churna," a well-known formulation of Ayurveda, is prescribed to treat the disease like Bronchitis, Pneumonia, allergic conditions, viral infection of the respiratory tract and as a natural antioxidant. A novel method based on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled to photodiode array detector was established and validated for sitopaladi churna. Here, HPLC fingerprints data obtained for 28 samples including standard sample were then treated to chemometric analysis like principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis for further analysis to evaluate the differences in market samples of sitopaladi churna. Additionally, one major marker compound, piperine was quantified and it also facilitated for relative retention time. The simulative mean spectrum was also generated. The validation results showed that the developed method was simple, precise and stable. Thus, the developed chromatographic method adjoined with multivariate analysis can be used as an efficient and practical approach for quality assessment of sitopaladi churna.

Low-cost bio-based sustainable removal of lead and cadmium using a polyphenolic bioactive Indian curry leaf (Murraya koengii) powder.

There is an increasing trend of developing various low-cost biogenic sorbents for the efficient and economical removal of noxious metals . Curry leaf powder (CLP), a promising non-toxic biosorbent containing several bioactive compounds was prepared by the pulverization of the dried leaves for the effective removal of Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd). Various batch sorption experiments were carried out under constant temperature (25 °C), different pH (4.5-10.5), initial concentrations (50-200 mg L-1), adsorbent dosages (0.10-0.40 g) and contact times (0-60 min) to understand the optimum experimental conditions and simultaneously evaluate the adsorption isotherms and removal kinetics of CLP. Adsorption equilibrium was established in less than an hour interval (50 min). The pseudo-equilibrium process was best described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic (R2 ≥ 0.99), Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm model (R2 ≥ 0.94). The removal rate of Pb and Cd gradually increased (15.7 and 12.7 mg g-1 for Pb and Cd) at 100 mg L-1 of initial concentration till 60 min of contact period in a single contaminant system, the effect was non-significant for multiple adsorbent dosage systems (p > 0.05; t-test) though. The regeneration potential of the exhausted biosorbent was excellent upto 5 cycles with the better efficiency observed for Pb. The obtained results explicitly validated the probable utilization of CLP as a promising green adsorbent for metal removal . Future study may highlight the decontamination aspects of emerging contaminants with such green bio sorbents in large scale as well as mimicing the stomach conditions.

Risk assessment of intake of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from herbal teas and medicines following realistic exposure scenarios.

In this study five types of herbal teas were used to quantify the effect of comminution of the leaves on resulting PA exposure. Results show that PA levels extracted from intact leaves were consistently lower than from comminuted tea leaves. The Margin of Exposure (MOE) approach was applied to evaluate the consequences of this difference for the associated risks in the scenario of lifetime exposure. Furthermore, we considered medicinal use of these teas for shorter-than-lifetime exposure scenarios, and also analysed the risks of shorter-than-lifetime use of eight herbal medicines and 19 previously analysed plant food supplements. This analysis revealed that shorter-than-lifetime use resulted in MOE values < 10,000 upon use for 40-3450 weeks during a lifetime, with for only a limited number of herbal teas and medicines use of two weeks a year (150 weeks during a 75 year lifetime) would still raise a concern. It is concluded that taking more realistic conditions into account markedly reduces the concerns raised for these herbal preparations. These results also illustrate the need for development of a generally accepted method for taking short term exposure into account in risk assessment of compounds that are genotoxic and carcinogenic.

Safety Assessment of Phytochemicals Derived from the Globalized South African Rooibos Tea ( Aspalathus linearis) through Interaction with CYP, PXR, and P-gp.

Rooibos tea ( Aspalathus linearis) is a well-known South African herbal tea enjoyed worldwide. Limited reports indicate the potential of rooibos tea to alter the activity of certain cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isozymes. In this study, the phytochemical investigation of MeOH extract of A. linearis (leaves and stems) resulted in the isolation and characterization of 11 phenolic compounds. The MeOH extract exhibited significant inhibition of the major human CYP450 isozymes (CYP3A4, CYP1A2, CYP2D6, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19). The strongest inhibition was observed by the extract for CYP3A4 (IC50 1.7 ± 0.1 µg/mL) followed by CYP2C19 (IC50 4.0 ± 0.3 µg/mL). Among the tested phytochemicals, the most potent inhibitors were isovitexin on CYP3A4 (IC50 3.4 ± 0.2 µM), vitexin on CYP2C9 (IC50 8.0 ± 0.2 µM), and thermopsoside on CYP2C19 (IC50 9.5 ± 0.2 µM). The two major, structurally related compounds aspalathin and nothofagin exhibited a moderate pregnane-X receptor (PXR) activation, which was associated with increased mRNA expression of CYP3A4 and CYP1A2, respectively. These results indicate that a high intake of nutraceuticals containing rooibos extracts may pose a risk of herb-drug interactions when consumed concomitantly with clinical drugs that are substrates of CYP enzymes.

Quantification of punicalagins in commercial preparations and pomegranate cultivars, by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND: Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) - a delicious fruit once used in Ayurvedic medicine - is now largely known for the antioxidant properties of its juice, which has also been considered to have health benefits against diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. These beneficial effects are associated with the fruit's high content of polyphenolic compounds. High demand and lower production levels drive pomegranate prices up, which leads to the possibility of pomegranate products being adulterated, diluted or substituted. To ensure the presence of pomegranate in various preparations labeled as containing pomegranate, a simple method was developed to screen and quantify the specific punicalagins by mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The present method was used to analyze several pure and mixed beverages from the US market, and also to quantify punicalagins in the juice of 14 pomegranate cultivars. Punicalagins were detected in all cultivars, with higher concentrations in whole fruit juices compared with aril juices. Amongst the 20 commercial beverages, punicalagins were not detected in four preparations. CONCLUSION: The liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric method presented herein enables an easy and rapid quantification of the specific punicalagins. The latter was detected in all cultivar samples, thus supporting that punicalagin is a suitable marker of these 14 pomegranate cultivars in commercial juices. Absence of the specific marker in four commercial preparations shows the necessity of having simple and rapid methods to evaluate the presence of pomegranate in preparations. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

High-performance thin-layer chromatography/bioautography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry hyphenated with chemometrics for the quality assessment of Morus alba samples.

Quality control is a crucial step in the production of effective and safe herbal remedies. The aim of this study was to develop a new, simple, and high throughput procedure for the quality assessment of herbal drugs using a high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC)/bioautography and UPLC-MS/MS approach combined with chemometrics. This was exemplarily shown for Morus alba L. root bark (sang bái pí; SBP). Bioautography assays were developed for the identification of constituents with radical scavenging (DPPH assay) and antimicrobial activities (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli) of 18 different M. alba samples, which was supported by UPLC-MS/MS analysis. Further, the combination of bioautography and chemometrics identified those samples with the most bioactive constituents. Plant materials collected from Serbia (11 samples) showed higher both radical scavenging and antimicrobial activities compared to samples provided from China (7 samples). Principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed the discrimination of geographically different samples and recognized their main markers responsible for differences between Serbian and Chinese samples. Most importantly for quality assessment, the combined HPTLC/bioautography and UPLC-MS/MS approach not only allowed for a fast chemical profiling of the investigated samples and their unambiguous identification, but also for the disclosure of major and minor bioactive constituents present in SBP.

[Establishment of health risk assessment model for assessing medicinal and edible plants contaminated by heavy metals--take Astragali Radix,Codonopsis Radix and Laminariae Thallus as examples].

With the improvement of living standard,the theory of " medicine and food homology" has developed rapidly in the field of diet,medicine and health preservation. In recent years,many literatures have been reported on the active ingredients and pharmacological effects of medicinal and edible plants,but relatively few reports have been reported on their safety investigation. Therefore,to further evaluate the quality and safety of medicinal and edible plants,Astragali Radix,Codonopsis Radix and Laminariae Thallus were selected as our research objects in this study. Moreover,the pollution level and the potential health risk of heavy metals were deeply assessed in different types of medicinal and edible plants. Especially,the contents of chromium,copper,arsenic,cadmium,mercury and lead in these three herbs were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS),and their health risk level was evaluated by target hazard coefficient method. The results showed that under the international heavy metal limit standard( ISO 18664-2015,GB 2762-2017),the over-standard rates were 25%,77% and 100% in 16 batches of Astragali Radix,26 batches of Codonopsis Radix and 9 batches of Laminariae Thallus,respectively. Besides,the values of target hazard quotients( THQ) for adults and children are 0. 028 244,0. 063 505 and 0. 014 485,0. 032 568 in Astragalus membranaceus and Codonopsis pilosula,respectively,which were higher than the standard values of 0. 02 and 0. 011 25. While,the total heavy metals THQ values for adults and children are 0. 023 734 and 0. 020 287 in Laminariae Thallus,which were much higher than the standard values of 0. 008 0 and 0. 007 5. However,the CR values of As,Cd and Pb in the three herbs were lower than 1×10~(-6). Above results indicated that those six harmful elements have certain health hazards to the exposed population,but there is no potential carcinogenic effect. It can be seen that,there were still presence of the pollution of harmful elements,and it is necessary to establish the reasonable limit standards and quality control methods of medicinal and edible plants in time.

Safety Assessment of Anthemis nobilis-Derived Ingredients as Used in Cosmetics.

Anthemis nobilis (Roman chamomile) flower extract, anthemis nobilis flower oil, anthemis nobilis flower powder, and anthemis nobilis flower water are ingredients that function as fragrance ingredients and skin-conditioning agents in cosmetic products. These ingredients are being used at concentrations up to 10% (anthemis nobilis flower water) in cosmetic products. The available data indicate that these 4 ingredients are not irritating or sensitizing. Chemical composition data and the low use concentrations suggest that systemic toxicity would not be likely if percutaneous absorption of constituents were to occur. Formulations may contain more than 1 botanical ingredient; each may contribute to the final concentration of a single component. Manufacturers were cautioned to avoid reaching levels of plant constituents that may cause sensitization or other adverse effects. Industry should continue to use good manufacturing practices to limit impurities in the ingredient before blending into cosmetic formulations. The Expert Panel concluded that these ingredients are safe in the present practices of use and concentration in cosmetics, when formulated to be nonsensitizing.

Application of near-infrared spectroscopy for the rapid quality assessment of Radix Paeoniae Rubra.

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with multivariate analysis was used to quantify gallic acid, catechin, albiflorin, and paeoniflorin in Radix Paeoniae Rubra, and the feasibility to classify the samples originating from different areas was investigated. A new high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed and validated to analyze gallic acid, catechin, albiflorin, and paeoniflorin in Radix Paeoniae Rubra as the reference. Partial least squares (PLS), principal component regression (PCR), and stepwise multivariate linear regression (SMLR) were performed to calibrate the regression model. Different data pretreatments such as derivatives (1st and 2nd), multiplicative scatter correction, standard normal variate, Savitzky-Golay filter, and Norris derivative filter were applied to remove the systematic errors. The performance of the model was evaluated according to the root mean square of calibration (RMSEC), root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP), root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV), and correlation coefficient (r). The results show that compared to PCR and SMLR, PLS had a lower RMSEC, RMSECV, and RMSEP and higher r for all the four analytes. PLS coupled with proper pretreatments showed good performance in both the fitting and predicting results. Furthermore, the original areas of Radix Paeoniae Rubra samples were partly distinguished by principal component analysis. This study shows that NIR with PLS is a reliable, inexpensive, and rapid tool for the quality assessment of Radix Paeoniae Rubra.

Inventorization of some ayurvedic plants and their ethnomedicinal use in Kakrajhore forest area of West Bengal.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Medicinal Plant resources of forest origin are extensively used in India for various systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy, Allopathy, Siddha and Ethnic etc. The tribal communities around the Kakrajhore forest in West Medinipur district of West Bengal have their own traditional knowledge based system of curing many diseases using the forest based plant resources similar to ayurveda. The forest comprises of one of the unique treasure and rich source of diversified ethno-botanical wealth and therefore extensive studies is required for proper documentation including ethnomedicinal knowledge of local tribes. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study was initiated with an aim to inventorize the ayurvedic medicinal plant recourses and explore the traditional knowledge of tribal people of Kakrajhore forest to treat several diseases along with the sustainable management and conservation of medicinal plants. METHODS: The information on the medicinal plant resources were gathered through floristic inventorization with proper sampling method in the study area (N22°42'57.05″, E86°34'58.02″) during the year 2015. For floristic inventorization the study area of 312 ha was delineated by using GPS Receiver. Then total mapped area was divided by virtual grid of 100m apart in both East-West and North-South direction to allocate 60 sample plots by random sampling. In addition to inventorization, the use value (UV) of the species was determined and the informant consensus factor (ICF) was calculated for the medicinal plants found in the study area based on personal interview. Further exploration was carried out to establish linkage with Ayurveda. RESULTS: The present survey has identified 57 numbers of ethno-medicinal plants belonging to 39 families, used for preparing medicinal remedies. The habit of the plants includes 35% trees, 28% shrubs, 23% herbs and 14% climbers. The most frequently utilized plant parts were the Roots & Tuber roots (26%), Stem which includes Bark, Tubers, Bulb, Rhizome, Gum, Wood & Young shoots (24%), Leaves (18%), Fruits (13%), and Seeds (10%). The most frequent happening ailments are asthma and bronchitis, constipation and dyspepsia, diarrhea, dysentery, ulcer, rheumatism, arthritis, fistula and piles troubles. Most of the Plants (88%) had more than a single therapeutic use. The most important plant species on the basis of use value were Smilex ovalifolia, Emblica officinalis, Curculigo orchioides, Croton roxburghii, Asparagus racemosus, Ziziphus nummularia, Ichnocarpus frutescens, Cisssus adnata, Buettneria herbacea, Litsea glutinosa, Vernonia anthelmintica and Chlorophytum borivilianum. There was a strong agreement among the informants related to the usage of the plants (ICF 0.65-0.93). As per the standard literature in Ayurveda, maximum numbers of documented species (33) are found to be used for 'digestive system disorder' which is analogous to ethnomedicinal use (30), followed by 'skin related problem' i.e. 13 and 20 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that people living around Kakrajhore forest area hold valuable knowledge of the uses of plant resources and some of the ayurvedic plants represent an important component in local livelihood. Though the Kakrajhore Forest area is rich in medicinal plant resources but the species are susceptible to be endangered by intense exploitation by human communities. More in-depth investigations are required for plants with high UV values on their possible phytochemical and pharmacological activity. Apart from this, sustainable management approach and proper conservation strategy for the area is recommended by involvement of local communities and forest department.

An assessment of the impact of herb-drug combinations used by cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Herb/Dietary Supplements (HDS) are the most popular Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) modality used by cancer patients and the only type which involves the ingestion of substances which may interfere with the efficacy and safety of conventional medicines. This study aimed to assess the level of use of HDS in cancer patients undergoing treatment in the UK, and their perceptions of their effects, using 127 case histories of patients who were taking HDS. Previous studies have evaluated the risks of interactions between HDS and conventional drugs on the basis on numbers of patient using HDSs, so our study aimed to further this exploration by examining the actual drug combinations taken by individual patients and their potential safety. METHOD: Three hundred seventy-five cancer patients attending oncology departments and centres of palliative care at the Oxford University Hospitals Trust (OUH), Duchess of Kent House, Sobell House, and Nettlebed Hospice participated in a self-administered questionnaire survey about their HDS use with their prescribed medicines. The classification system of Stockley's Herbal Medicine's Interactions was adopted to assess the potential risk of herb-drug interactions for these patients. RESULTS: 127/375 (34 %; 95 % CI 29, 39) consumed HDS, amounting to 101 different products. Most combinations were assessed as 'no interaction', 22 combinations were categorised as 'doubt about outcomes of use', 6 combinations as 'Potentially hazardous outcome', one combination as an interaction with 'Significant hazard', and one combination as an interaction of "Life-threatening outcome". Most patients did not report any adverse events. CONCLUSION: Most of the patients sampled were not exposed to any significant risk of harm from interactions with conventional medicines, but it is not possible as yet to conclude that risks in general are over-estimated. The incidence of HDS use was also less than anticipated, and significantly less than reported in other areas, illustrating the problems when extrapolating results from one region (the UK), in one setting (NHS oncology) in where patterns of supplement use may be very different to those elsewhere.

Interim relative potency factors for the toxicological risk assessment of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food and herbal medicines.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are among the most potent natural toxins occurring in a broad spectrum of plant species from various families. Recently, findings of considerable contamination of teas/herbal infusions prepared from non-PA plants have been reported. These are obviously due to cross-contamination with minor amounts of PA plants and can affect both food and herbal medicines. Another source of human exposure is honey collected from PA plants. These findings illustrate the requirement for a comprehensive risk assessment of PAs, hampered by the enormous number of different PA congeners occurring in nature. Up to now, risk assessment is based on the carcinogenicity of certain PAs after chronic application to rats using the sum of detected PAs as dose metric. Because of the well-documented large structure-dependent differences between sub-groups of PA congeners with respect to their genotoxicity and (cyto)toxicity, however, this procedure is inadequate. Here we provide an overview of recent attempts to assess the risk of PA exposure and the available literature on the toxic effects and potencies of different congeners. Based on these considerations, we have derived interim Relative Potency (REP) factors for a number of abundant PAs suggesting a factor of 1.0 for cyclic di-esters and open-chain di-esters with 7S configuration, of 0.3 for mono-esters with 7S configuration, of 0.1 for open-chain di-esters with 7R configuration and of 0.01 for mono-esters with 7R configuration. For N-oxides we suggest to apply the REP factor of the corresponding PA. We are confident that the use of these values can provide a more scientific basis for PA risk assessment until a more detailed experimental analysis of the potencies of all relevant congeners can be carried out.

Oligosaccharide formation during commercial pear juice processing.

The effect of enzyme treatment and processing on the oligosaccharide profile of commercial pear juice samples was examined by high performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection and capillary gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Industrial samples representing the major stages of processing produced with various commercial enzyme preparations were studied. Through the use of commercially available standards and laboratory scale enzymatic hydrolysis of pectin, starch and xyloglucan; galacturonic acid oligomers, glucose oligomers (e.g., maltose and cellotriose) and isoprimeverose were identified as being formed during pear juice production. It was found that the majority of polysaccharide hydrolysis and oligosaccharide formation occurred during enzymatic treatment at the pear mashing stage and that the remaining processing steps had minimal impact on the carbohydrate-based chromatographic profile of pear juice. Also, all commercial enzyme preparations and conditions (time and temperature) studied produced similar carbohydrate-based chromatographic profiles.

Indigenous knowledge of folk medicines among tribal minorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwestern Pakistan.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Mapping ethnomedicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge of folk medicines can provide a comprehensive overview of individual herbs employed in health care. Reliance on medicinal plants in remote parts of northern Pakistan is high, especially among women, but no research has investigated specifically which plants are used. This study investigated indigenous knowledge of folk medicines among tribal minorities in selected sites in upper Swat, Buner and Chitral Districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Interviews were conducted with gender-specific focus groups using questionnaires and standardized data sheets, followed by forest walks in each of the visited areas. General medicinal herb use, preparations, storage, marketing and collection habits for each gender group were ascertained from the questionnaires. RESULTS: In total 168 women and 390 men were interviewed and provided information on 127 different shared medicinal species. Species use consensus among the informants ranged from 2.3% to 83.3%, with Cynodon dactylon, Avena sativa, Celtis australis, Datura stramonium, Solanum nigrum, Skimmia laureola, Spiraea nervosa, Ziziphus jujuba, Rumex hastatus, Plantago lanceolata, Lathyrus aphaca and Ficus palmata having the highest reported consensus. The survey also revealed that a number of medicinal species were exploited by the community for both marketing and personal use, and many of these species were reported as being rare, vulnerable or even endangered. CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed that women in all the three districts were important custodians of medicinal plant knowledge, but elder women in general and the women from Buner district in particular had a superior understanding of folk medicine. The forest walks revealed that women׳s traditional medicinal knowledge was based on a more limited diversity of plant species. People in tribal communities have an expressed interest in learning efficient techniques for medicinal plant collection, preparation, storage and cultivation advice, and to learn more about the potential of marketing medicinal herbs and ways to reach local market centers. Education and awareness were considered to be essential for improved health care and successful marketing.

Utilization of by-products derived from bioethanol production process for cost-effective production of lactic acid.

The by-products of bioethanol production such as thin stillage (TS) and condensed distillers solubles (CDS) were used as a potential nitrogen source for economical production of lactic acid. The effect of those by-products and their concentrations on lactic acid fermentation were investigated using Lactobacillus paracasei CHB2121. Approximately, 6.7 g/L of yeast extract at a carbon source to nitrogen source ratio of 15 was required to produce 90 g/L of lactic acid in the medium containing 100 g/L of glucose. Batch fermentation of TS medium resulted in 90 g/L of lactic acid after 48 h, and the medium containing 10 % CDS resulted in 95 g/L of lactic acid after 44 h. Therefore, TS and CDS could be considered as potential alternative fermentation medium for the economical production of lactic acid. Furthermore, lactic acid fermentation was performed using only cassava and CDS for commercial production of lactic acid. The volumetric productivity of lactic acid [2.94 g/(L·h)] was 37 % higher than the productivity obtained from the medium with glucose and CDS.

Quantification of aristolochic acids I and II in herbal dietary supplements by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-multistage fragmentation mass spectrometry.

A rapid, selective and sensitive ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-multistage fragmentation mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS³) method was developed and evaluated for the determination of aristolochic acids I and II (AA I and II) in herbal dietary supplements. A hybrid triple quadrupole/linear ion-trap mass spectrometry was used to monitor MS³ ion transitions m/z 359.2 > 298.1 > 268.0 and m/z 329.2 > 268.2 > 238.0 to detect AA I and II, respectively. The extraction and clean-up of target analytes from dry powdered samples was performed using the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) procedure. Herbal liquid extracts were analysed directly. Average recoveries ranged from 89% to 112%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 3% to 16%. Limits of quantification (LOQs) estimated for three selected matrices were as follows (AA I/II): 5/10 ng g⁻¹ (tablets); 25/50 ng g⁻¹ (capsules); and 2.5/5.0 ng ml⁻¹ (liquid herbal extract). The method was applied in a limited survey of 30 herbal products marketed in the United States via the Internet. AA I and II were detected in 20% and 7%, respectively, of tested samples.

Chemical variability along the value chains of turmeric (Curcuma longa): a comparison of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high performance thin layer chromatography.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Herbal medicine value chains have generally been overlooked compared with food commodities. Not surprisingly, revenue generation tends to be weighted towards the end of the chain and consequently the farmers and producers are the lowest paid beneficiaries. Value chains have an impact both on the livelihood of producers and on the composition and quality of products commonly sold locally and globally and consequently on the consumers. In order to understand the impact of value chains on the composition of products, we studied the production conditions for turmeric (Curcuma longa) and the metabolomic composition of products derived from it. We aimed at integrating these two components in order to gain a better understanding of the effect of different value chains on the livelihoods of some producers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This interdisciplinary project uses a mixed methods approach. Case studies were undertaken on two separate sites in India. Data was initially gathered on herbal medicine value chains by means of semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations. Samples were collected from locations in India, Europe and the USA and analysed using (1)H NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis software and with high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). RESULTS: We investigate medicinal plant value chains and interpret the impact different value chains have on some aspects of the livelihoods of producers in India and, for the first time, analytically assess the chemical variability and quality implications that different value chains may have on the products available to end users in Europe. There are benefits to farmers that belonged to an integrated chain and the resulting products were subject to a higher standard of processing and storage. By using analytical methods, including HPTLC and (1)H NMR spectroscopy, it has been possible to correlate some variations in product composition for selected producers and identify strengths and weaknesses of some types of value chains. The two analytical techniques provide different and complementary data and together they can be used to effectively differentiate between a wide variety of crude drug powders and herbal medicinal products. CONCLUSIONS: This project demonstrates that there is a need to study the links between producers and consumers of commodities produced in so-called 'provider countries' and that metabolomics offer a novel way of assessing the chemical variability along a value chain. This also has implications for understanding the impact this has on the livelihood of those along the value chain.

In-vitro assessment and pharmacodynamics of nimesulide incorporated Aloe vera transemulgel.

The aim of the investigation was to prepare nimesulide emulsion for incorporation in Aloe vera gel base to formulate 'nimesulide - Aloe vera transemulgel' (NAE) and to carryout in-vitro assessment and in-vivo anti-inflammatory studies of the product. Although the use of nimesulide is banned for oral administration, due to its potential for inducing hepatotoxicity and thrombocytopenia, the use of nimesulide for topical delivery is prominent in the treatment of many inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis. The drug loading capacity of transdermal gels is low for hydrophobic drugs such as nimesulide. Nimesulide can be effectively incorporated into emulgels (a combination of emulsion and gel). Aloe vera has a mild anti-inflammatory effect and in the present study Aloe vera gel was formulated and used as a gel base to prepare NAE. The emulgels thus prepared were evaluated for viscosity, pH, in-vitro permeation, stability and skin irritation test. In-vivo anti-inflammatory studies were performed using carrageenan induced hind paw edema method in Wistar rats. The results were compared with that of commercial nimesulide gel (CNG). From the in-vitro studies, effective permeation of nimesulide from NAE (53.04 %) was observed compared to CNG (44.72 %) at 30 min indicating better drug release from NAE. Topical application of the emulgel found no skin irritation. Stability studies proved the integrity of the formulation. The percentage of inhibition of edema was highest for the prepared NAE (67.4 % inhibition after 240 min) compared to CNG (59.6 %). From our results, it was concluded that the Aloe vera gel acts as an effective gel base to prepare nimesulide emulgel with high drug loading capacity (86.4 % drug content) compared to CNG (70.5 % drug content) with significant anti-inflammatory effect.