A rapid and highly specific method to evaluate the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Borago officinalis seed oil

Abstract

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are complex molecules, present in plants as free bases and N-oxides. They are known for their hepatotoxicity, and consequently there is a health risk associated with the use of medicinal herbs that contain PAs. Unfortunately, there is no international regulation of PAs in foods, unlike those for herbs and medicines: in particular, for herbal preparation or herbal extracts, the total PA content must not exceed 1 µg/kg or 1 µg/l, respectively. Borago officinalis seed oil is a source of γ-linolenic acid, and its use is increased in both pharmaceutical and health food industries. Even if studies based on gas chromatography and TLC methods showed that PAs are not co-extracted with oil, the development of a rapid and sensitive method able to evaluate the presence of PAs in commercially available products is surely of interest. The presence of PAs in a commercially available Borago officinalis seed oil was tested either in the oil sample diluted with tetrahydrofuran/methanol (MeOH)/H2 O (85/10/5 v:v:v) or after extraction with MeOH/H2 O (50/50 v:v) solution The samples were analysed by electrospray ionization in positive ion mode and in high mass resolution (60,000) conditions. In both cases to evaluate the effectiveness of the method, spiking experiments were performed adding known amount of two PA standards to the borage seed oil. A limit of detection in the order of 200 ppt was determined for these two compounds, strongly analogous to Borago officinalis seed oil PAs. Consequently, if present, PAs level in Borago officinalis seed oil must lower than 200 ppt.

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids: Biosynthesis, Biological Activities and Occurrence in Crop Plants

“…Additionally, they could demonstrate by spiking experiments with crotaline that the pyrrolizidine content in crude borage oil was reduced overall by a factor of approximately 30,000 in the refining process. Additionally, Vacillotto et al [243] could not detect any pyrrolizidine alkaloids above a detection limit of 0.2 µg/kg in seed oil.…”

Wild edible plants: Nutritional and toxicological characteristics, retrieval strategies and importance for today's society

“…As shown in Table 7, pyrrolizidine alkaloids can be found in A. azurea (namely lycopsamine, laburnine (Fig. 4) and acetyllaburnine) (EFSA, 2009;Roeder, 1999) and B. officinalis seed oil (namely the hepatotoxic amabiline) (Dodson and Stermitz, 1986;EFSA, 2009;EMA, 2014;Vacillotto et al, 2013;Wretensjö and Karlberg, 2003). Both species are listed in the "compendium of botanicals reported to contain naturally occurring substances of possible concern for human health when used in food and food supplements" of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, 2009).…”

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids for the entire process quality control from Senecio scandens to Senecio scandens‐containing preparations by high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry

“…Due to the application feasibility, study of QAMS is mostly conducted between similar components with similar structures; therefore, it is necessary to find the characteristic fragmentation ions of the components with common parent nucleus structure to provide theoretical basis for the successful development of QAMS research of PAs in the absence of standard substance. 21,22 Currently, there are many PAs detection methods including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 23 mass spectrometry (MS), 24 thin-layer chromatography (TLC), 25 supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), 26 gas chromatography (GC), 27 high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), 28 gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 29 and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). 30 Among them, GC and HPLC with ultraviolet detection (UVD) or light-scattering detector (ELSD) are commonly used for the PAs analysis because of their superior separation effect and higher detection sensitivity.…”

“…Currently, there are many PAs detection methods including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 23 mass spectrometry (MS), 24 thin‐layer chromatography (TLC), 25 supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), 26 gas chromatography (GC), 27 high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), 28 gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), 29 and high‐performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS) 30 . Among them, GC and HPLC with ultraviolet detection (UVD) or light‐scattering detector (ELSD) are commonly used for the PAs analysis because of their superior separation effect and higher detection sensitivity.…”