Safety of water lentil powder from Lemnaceae as a Novel Food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283.

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on the safety of water lentil powder as a novel food (NF) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. Water lentils refer to aquatic plants belonging to the Araceae family and represented by five genera (Lemna, Wolffia, Wolffiella, Landoltia and Spirodela). The NF is thermally washed and dried water lentils, which are produced as a polyculture crop consisting of species from the Lemna genus (70-100%) and the Wolffia genus (0-30%). The main constituents of the NF are protein, fibre and fat. The Panel notes that the concentration of trace elements and contaminants in the NF is highly dependent on the conditions of cultivation of the plant and the fertiliser composition. The NF is expected to be stable and to comply with the specifications during the suggested shelf life. The NF is intended for human consumption as a food ingredient in herbs, spices and seasonings, sauces, soups and broths, protein products, dietary food for weight control and as a food supplement. The target population is the general population, except for food supplements which are exclusively intended for consumption by adults. The Panel considers that based on the composition of the NF and the proposed intended uses, the NF is not nutritionally disadvantageous, except for the concerns regarding intake of manganese from the NF. No adverse effect was observed in the submitted 90-day subchronic study, at the highest dose, 1,000 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day of NF. The Panel considers that, based on the protein concentration, the consumption of the NF may trigger allergic reactions. The Panel concluded that an increase in manganese intake from the NF used as food ingredient or food supplements is of safety concern and the safety of the NF cannot be established.

Safety of Wolffia globosa powder as a Novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283.

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on Wolffia globosa powder as a novel food (NF) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. Wolffia globosa is an aquatic plant, one out of the 38 species of the water lentil family which is composed by five genera (i.e. Spirodela, Landoltia, Lemna, Wolffiella and Wolffia). The NF is produced by cultivation of Wolffia globosa plants under controlled conditions, washing with hot water and drying. The main constituents of the NF are protein, fibre and fat. The Panel notes that the concentration of trace elements and contaminants in the NF is highly dependent on the conditions of cultivation of the plant and the fertiliser composition. The NF is intended to be used as food ingredient in a variety of food categories and as food supplement. The target population is the general population except for food supplements which are intended to be consumed exclusively by adults. The Panel considers that with the exception of concerns related to the manganese intake, taking into account the composition of the NF and the proposed conditions of use, the consumption of the NF is not nutritionally disadvantageous. The subchronic toxicity study provided with the NF revealed a number of significant findings and the Panel considers the middle dose (6.5 g/kg body weight (bw) per day) as the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL). Based on the protein concentration, the Panel considers that the consumption of the NF may trigger allergic reactions. The Panel concluded that an increase in manganese intake from the NF used as food ingredient or food supplements is of safety concern and the safety of the NF cannot be established.

Ion tree-based structure elucidation of acetophenone dimers (AtA) from Acronychia pedunculata and their identification in extracts by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry.

Acronychia-type acetophenones (AtA) is a chemical group of compounds of important structural and biological interest, abundant in Acronychia species. However, there are no data available for their characterization using mass spectrometry. In the current work, AtA have been investigated by multistage high resolution mass spectrometry and both electrospray ionization and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, in positive and negative mode, were utilized for their structure elucidation and identification. The analysis of AtA using a linear ion trap-Orbitrap analyzer enabled the structural determination of key fragment ions and cleavages, which can be used for the structural characterization thereof. A systematic nomenclature based on protonated and deprotonated fragment ions under collision-induced dissociation conditions and decision trees for the structural determination of AtA are proposed. Furthermore, taking advantage of the characteristic fragmentation patterns, a selective Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Ionization multistage Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI(-)-MS(n)) method was developed and successfully applied for the dereplication of known AtA and the identification of potentially new ones in Acronychia extracts. Despite the structure similarity and the presence of isomers, accurate characterization of known and unknown AtA derivatives was possible.

Rapid identification of coumarins from Micromelum falcatum by UPLC-HRMS/MS and targeted isolation of three new derivatives.

Micromelum falcatum, a medicinal plant of the Rutaceae family, has been used in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) mainly against colds and rheumatoid arthritis. Despite its traditional use the association of its constituents with possible anti-inflammatory activity has not been explored. During this study, a rapid UPLC-ESI(+)-HRMS method was developed for the profiling of M. falcatum leave extracts and the targeted isolation of coumarin constituents. Based on chromatographic, spectroscopic and spectrometric features several 7-oxygenated coumarin derivatives were detected. After targeted isolation, eight coumarins, among them three new natural products, namely microfalcrin, microcoumaririn and micromelosidester, were purified using semi-preparative HPLC and unambiguously identified by 1 and 2D NMR. Furthermore, important spectrometric characteristics were revealed based on the HRMS and HRMS/MS spectra of the isolated 7-oxygenated coumarins facilitating their identification in complex mixtures. Finally, the anti-inflammatory properties of the extracts and representative compounds were evaluated by measuring the inhibition of the pro-inflammatory mediator NF-κB induction and nitric oxide (NO) production.

Library-based discovery of DYRK1A/CLK1 inhibitors from natural product extracts.

The dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase DYRK1A possesses diverse roles in neuronal development and adult brain physiology, and increased activity has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Very few inhibitors of this kinase have been reported up to now. Screening of a library of > 900 plant and fungal extracts afforded 25 extracts with IC50s < 10 µg/mL against DYRK1A. To identify the active constituents, the extracts were submitted to a process integrating physicochemical data with biological information, referred to as HPLC-based activity profiling. Follow-up investigation of four extracts led to the targeted isolation of harmine (1, IC50 0.022 µM) from Peganum harmala, emodin (3, IC50 4.2 µM) from Cassia nigricans, kaempferol (4, IC50 0.91 µM) from Cuscuta chinensis, and 3,8-di-O-methylherbacetin (11, IC50 8.6 µM), 3,3',4'-tri-O-methylmyricetin (12, IC50 7.1 µM) and ombuin (15, IC50 1.7 µM) from Larrea tridentata as the active constituents. Active extracts and compounds were also tested on the closely related cdc2-like kinase CLK1. Finally, the selectivity profile of compounds was evaluated by including other members of the DYRKs and CLKs families. While the flavonoids and emodin did not show significant differences in the potency of their activities, harmine (1) was most active against DYRK1A, CLK1, and CLK4, and less potent against the other kinases, with selectivity ranging from 2- to 20-fold.