Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) food supplements and hepatotoxicity: an integrated evaluation approach.

INTRODUCTION: Turmeric is the common name for the rhizome of Curcuma longa L. In the recent years, food supplements containing turmeric have been marketed and widely used by an increasing number of consumers. Spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to food supplements are collected within the Phytovigilance system. METHODS: An ad hoc multidisciplinary group investigated the suspected cases of hepatotoxicity reported to the Italian Phytovigilance system associated with the assumption of turmeric food supplements with the methodology specific to pharmacovigilance as well as for the evaluation of the quality and safety of food supplements. RESULTS: A cluster of 28 spontaneous reports of acute hepatitis, mostly with cholestasis, associated with turmeric products were sent to the Italian Phytovigilance system in the first six months of 2019. In all cases, except one, the causality assessment was at least possible. The suspected products were collected and analysed for the presence of drugs, heavy metals, aflatoxins, pesticides, synthetic dyes and pyrrolizidine alkaloids. CONCLUSION: On the basis of the results of all the activities performed by multidisciplinary group, regulatory intervention was taken. This study highlights the importance of developing an integrated evaluation approach for the evaluation of the adverse effects associated with the use of food supplements.

Sarcoidosis in an Italian province. Prevalence and environmental risk factors.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous inflammatory disease whose causes are still unknown and for which epidemiological data are often discordant. The aim of our study is to investigate prevalence and spatial distribution of cases, and identify environmental exposures associated with sarcoidosis in an Italian province. METHODS: After georeferentiation of cases, the area under study was subdivided with respect to Municipality and Health Districts and to the altitude in order to identify zonal differences in prevalence. The bioaccumulation levels of 12 metals in lichen tissues were analyzed, in order to determine sources of air pollution. Finally, the analysis of the correlation between metals and between pickup stations was performed. RESULTS: 223 patients were identified (58.3% female and 41.7% male of total) and the mean age was 50.6±15.4 years (53.5±15.5 years for the females and 46.5±14.4 for the males). The mean prevalence was 49 per 100.000 individuals. However, we observed very heterogeneous prevalence in the area under study. The correlations among metals revealed different deposition patterns in lowland area respect to hilly and mountain areas. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights a high prevalence of sarcoidosis cases, characterized by a very inhomogeneous and patchy distribution with phenomena of local aggregation. Moreover, the bioaccumulation analysis was an effective method to identify the mineral particles that mostly contribute to air pollution in the different areas, but it was not sufficient to establish a clear correlation between the onset of sarcoidosis and environmental risk factors.

Cadmium bioaccumulation in Mediterranean spider crab (Maya squinado): human consumption and health implications for exposure in Italian population.

Cd bioaccumulation pattern was investigated in Mediterranean spider crab (Maya squinado, Herbst, 1788) collected from the northern Adriatic Sea. Specimens were caught in the framework of a monitoring plan in order to quantify the Cd distribution into different organs and tissues of crab. For this purpose, Cd level was studied in appendages, cephalothorax, abdomen as well as gonads. Cd concentrations were found largely below the Maximum Level (ML) established at the European Union (EU) level for muscle from crab appendages (found mean 0.011 mg kg(-1)) and approximately amounted to 2% of the EU ML (0.50 mg kg(-1)). The higher Cd concentrations were found in organs and tissues included in crab body such as abdomen, chephalotorax and gonads with respect to appendages. Chephalotorax showed the highest metal concentration (mean value of 1.19 mg kg(-1)). The possible differences in Cd bioaccumulation rate among crab organs and tissues were also investigated applying a parametric linear regression. A major Cd bioaccumulation rate was revealed in chephalotorax with respect to other analyzed organs and tissues. Furthermore, the evaluation of health risk related to human consumption of the Mediterranean spider crab has been studied for median of total population, median and 95th percentile of consumers of Italy. The observed results highlighted that the consumption of organs and tissues included in crab body such as abdomen, gonads and, in particular, chephalotorax substantially increased the Cd intake reaching also alarming Estimated Weekly Intake (EWI) values especially for median and 95th percentile of Italian consumers.