Analysis of herbal teas made from the leaves of comfrey (Symphytum officinale): reduction of N-oxides results in order of magnitude increases in the measurable concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Oberlies, Nicholas H.; Kim, Nam-Cheol; Brine, Dolores R.; Collins, Bradley J.; Handy, Robert W.; Sparacino, Charles; Wani, Mansukh C.; Wall, Monroe E.

doi:10.1079/phn2004624

Cited by 44 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As demonstrated, ordinary preparation of herbal beverages from PA-containing plant parts will result in beverages containing PAs and PANOs of the used plant material (Oberlies et al, 2004). Methods or studies to alter or reduce the PA-content of herbal infusions are not available.…”

Section: Food Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Opinion on Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food and feed

2011

EFS2

223

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was asked by the European Commission to deliver a scientific opinion on pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) in food and feed. PAs are toxins exclusively biosynthesised by plants. To date, approximately 600 different PAs are known. Results for 13,280 bulk honey and 1324 retail honey samples were provided to EFSA by one Member State and 351 feed samples were provided by a second Member State. The EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) performed estimates of both acute and chronic exposure to PAs through honey for three different age groups. Although there might be other sources of PA exposure, due to lack of data the CONTAM Panel was not able to quantify dietary exposure from food other than honey. A number of PAs were identified as being of particular importance for food and feed. Based on the present knowledge of metabolism, activation, DNA adduct-formation, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity, the CONTAM Panel concluded that 1,2-unsaturated PAs may act as genotoxic carcinogens in humans. Therefore, the CONTAM Panel decided to apply the Margin of Exposure (MOE) approach. A benchmark dose lower confidence limit for a 10 % excess cancer risk (BMDL 10 ) of 70 µg/kg b.w. per day for induction of liver haemangiosarcomas by lasiocarpine in male rats was calculated as the reference point for comparison with the estimated dietary exposure. The CONTAM Panel concluded that there is a possible health concern for those toddlers and children who are high consumers of honey. There is generally a low risk of PA poisoning in livestock and companion animals in the EU as most PA poisonings reported recently are due to accidental exposure. © European Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food and feedEFSA Journal 2011;9(11):2406 2 SUMMARYFollowing a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the risks to human and animal health related to the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) in food and feed. PAs are toxins exclusively biosynthesised by plants. They are typical plant secondary metabolites against herbivores. It has been estimated that approximately 6000 plant species world wide, representing 3 % of all flowering plants, may contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. PAs are mainly found in the distantly related angiosperm families of the Boraginaceae (all genera), Asteraceae (tribes Senecioneae and Eupatorieae) and Fabaceae (genus Crotalaria). The PA-content of plant material depends on a large number of factors (species, plant organ, harvest, storage, extraction procedures). Reported contents vary from trace amounts up to 19 % based on dry weight. The name pyrrolizidine is the chemical description of two-fused 5-membered rings with a nitrogen atom at the bridgehead. This motif is the central structure of a variety of PAs. PAs generally consist of an amino alcohol which is referred to as necine or necine base and an acid part which is called a necic acid. Most of the known PAs are este...

show abstract

Section: Food Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Opinion on Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food and feed

2011

EFS2

223

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous studies have shown that comfrey possesses numerous beneficial properties due to the presence of many compounds with biological activity. But unfortunately, the studies have also shown that this herb is also potentially toxic due to the presence of toxins in comfrey which include pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) such as lycopsamine, echimidine and lasiocarpine, and their N-oxides [24,25]. Based on this, it can be concluded that the determination of the composition of the aqueous extract of comfrey root is of great importance.…”

Section: Uhplc-dad-hesi-ms Analysis Of the Aqueous Extract Of Comfreymentioning

confidence: 99%

The identification and quantification of bioactive compounds from the aqueous extract of comfrey root by UHPLC-DAD-HESI-MS method and its microbial activity

Lj.

Sasa²,

Vesna³

et al. 2015

Hem Ind

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The qualitative, quantitative and microbial determination of the aqueous extract of comfrey root was done in this paper. The qualitative and quantitative analyses were done by the UHPLC-DAD-HESI-MS method. Allantoin, rosmarinic acid and ellagic acid were identified as major bioactive compounds and their quantification was also done. The obtained results showed a high content of allantoin, ellagic acid and rosmarinic acid (8.91, 7.4 and 12.8%, respectively) which indicated that the comfrey root can be used as a source for the isolation of these three compounds. The results obtained by the determination of the antimicrobial activity showed that Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and Salmonela typhimirium ATCC 6538 were most sensitive to the aqueous extract of comfrey root. The results showed that allantoin did not express the antimicrobial activity on all the investigated bacteria species, and based on this it can be concluded that allantoin is not responsible for the antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract of comfrey root.

show abstract

“…[33,46]). Also, some studies have shown that certain botanical products contain not only varying beneficial constituents, but also varying ones [47,48]. Therefore, it is necessary that authors of trials of herbal interventions completely describe the product used.…”

Section: F Practitionermentioning

confidence: 99%