Presence of Mycotoxins in Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) Food Supplements: A Review

Abstract

The consumption of herbal-based supplements, which are believed to have beneficial effects on human health with no side effects, has become popular around the world and this trend is still increasing. Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn, commonly known as milk thistle (MT), is the most commonly studied herb associated with the treatment of liver diseases. The hepatoprotective effects of active substances in silymarin, with silybin being the main compound, have been demonstrated in many studies. However, MT can be affected by toxigenic micro-fungi and contaminated by mycotoxins with adverse effects. The beneficial effect of silymarin can thus be reduced or totally antagonized by mycotoxins. MT has proven to be affected by micro-fungi of the Fusarium and Alternaria genera, in particular, and their mycotoxins. Alternariol-methyl-ether (AME), alternariol (AOH), beauvericin (BEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), enniatin A (ENNA), enniatin A1 (ENNA1), enniatin B (ENNB), enniatin B1 (ENNB1), HT-2 toxin (HT-2), T-2 toxin (T-2), tentoxin (TEN), and zearalenone (ZEA) seem to be most significant in MT-based dietary supplements. This review focuses on summarizing cases of mycotoxins in MT to emphasize the need for strict monitoring and regulation, as mycotoxins in relation with MT-based dietary supplements are not covered by European Union legislation.

Risk Assessment of RYR Food Supplements: Perception vs. Reality

“…Thirty-seven red yeast rice food supplements, including pure RYR ( 8 ) and multi-ingredient formulations ( 26 ) with standardized amounts of monacolin K, were bought mainly on internet web sites ( 24 ) but also from local pharmacies in Italy ( 13 ) between September 2020 and February 2021. RYR products were formulated as capsules ( 18 ), tablets ( 15 ) and soft capsule ( 4 ). Four products were labeled as “citrinin free” (see “Note” column in Table 1 ).…”

“…Likely as a consequence, a variety of contamination and standardization concerns emerged during the last decade. Many supplements are in fact reportedly suffering from unreliable content of active principles, adulterations with foreign (and sometimes illicit or synthetic) substances, substitution with cheaper ingredients and pesticide or mycotoxin contamination (4)(5)(6)(7). While these issues may emerge separately, they may also occur at the same time, altering trustworthiness of research data, safety of use and efficacy.…”

Multiclass and multi-residue screening of mycotoxins, pharmacologically active substances, and pesticides in infant milk formulas through ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis

“…We detected ENN in up to 4 analyzed milk samples: ENNB (22.2%, n = 12) at concentration ranges of 0.552 to 0.626 ng/mL, and ENNA1 (5.5%, n = 3) at concentrations of 0.903 ng/mL. The ENN are emerging mycotoxins derived from Fusarium species, commonly found in cereal grains, animal feeds, and food commodities worldwide (Rodríguez-Carrasco et al, 2018;Pickova et al, 2020). Presently, ENNB is the most studied, because it has been the most often found in grains from European countries.…”

Natural Bioactive Compounds from Food Waste: Toxicity and Safety Concerns

“…Only two micotoxins were covered by legislation when used herbs, the aflotoxins and ochratoxin A [ 71 ]. There is still required the exposure assessment because there are only a few studies on this topic [ 72 ].…”