Adverse Effects of Plant Food Supplements and Plants Consumed as Food: Results from the Poisons Centres-Based PlantLIBRA Study.

Plant food supplements (PFS) are products of increasing popularity and wide-spread distribution. Nevertheless, information about their risks is limited. To fill this gap, a poisons centres-based study was performed as part of the EU project PlantLIBRA. Multicentre retrospective review of data from selected European and Brazilian poisons centres, involving human cases of adverse effects due to plants consumed as food or as ingredients of food supplements recorded between 2006 and 2010. Ten poisons centres provided a total of 75 cases. In 57 cases (76%) a PFS was involved; in 18 (24%) a plant was ingested as food. The 10 most frequently reported plants were Valeriana officinalis, Camellia sinensis, Paullinia cupana, Melissa officinalis, Passiflora incarnata, Mentha piperita, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Ilex paraguariensis, Panax ginseng, and Citrus aurantium. The most frequently observed clinical effects were neurotoxicity and gastro-intestinal symptoms. Most cases showed a benign clinical course; however, five cases were severe. PFS-related adverse effects seem to be relatively infrequent issues for poisons centres. Most cases showed mild symptoms. Nevertheless, the occurrence of some severe adverse effects and the increasing popularity of PFS require continuous active surveillance, and further research is warranted. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Carbon monoxide poisoning from indoor barbecues--incidents reported to the German-speaking Poison Information Centers and the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Berlin]. / Kohlenmonoxidvergiftungen durch Grillen in Innenräumen--Mitteilungen an die deutschsprachigen Giftinformationszentren und das Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung Berlin.

From 2008 to the end of 2009 the Joint Poison Information Center (PIC) in Erfurt observed 7 incidents involving 17 persons (1 fatality) with signs of carbon monoxide poisoning from indoor barbecues (COFIB). To find out whether COFIB is a regional or a general phenomenon in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, all information about COFIBs recorded by the 11 German-speaking Poison Information Centers and the BfR Berlin were retrospectively analyzed for the period 2000 to 2009. In all, 60 COFIBs (accidental: 90.0 %, suicidal: 8.3%, reason unknown: 1.7%) involving 146 individuals were reported. The number of incidents increased from one case with 2 persons in 2000 to 18 cases involving 34 persons in 2009. The 146 victims (female 26.7%, male 27.4%, gender unknown 45.9%; adults 58.2%, children 24.7%, age unknown 17.1%) lived in 15 of the 16 federal states of Germany and in Switzerland. The highest number of victims was found in Bavaria (23), Brandenburg (18), and Baden-Wuerttemberg (18). The symptoms according to the Poisoning Severity Score were none to mild in 60.3%, moderate in 13.7%, severe in 11.6%, fatal in 6.9% and unratable in 7.5%. No clear correlation was found between the carboxyhemoglobin concentration and the severity of the symptoms. As a rising number of COFIBs often involving several individuals was observed from 2000 to 2009, the general public was informed about the risks of indoor barbecues.