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Sample records for adulterated products

  1. A new approach to determining pharmacologic adulteration of herbal weight loss products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Carvalho, L M; Cohen, P A; Silva, C V; Moreira, A P L; Falcão, T M; Dal Molin, T R; Zemolin, G; Martini, M

    2012-01-01

    Pharmaceutical adulterants are commonly found in herbal weight loss products, and analytical techniques for detecting these adulterants have become increasingly important to the public health community. Previously we reported a novel analytical method for the determination of adulterants in herbal formulations by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection. The current study refines this previously described technique by testing if anxiolytics, diuretics, and laxatives interfered with the detection of anorectics and antidepressants. A survey of herbal weight loss products sold by compounding pharmacies in Brazil were analysed to determine the presence of pharmaceutical adulterants. A total of 106 herbal products, collected from 73 pharmacies in nine Brazilian states, were analysed for amfepramone, sibutramine, fenproporex, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline and bupropion using the new analytical method. The method permitted the rapid and selective screening for the seven adulterants. Of the 106 weight loss products sampled, four (3.8%) were found to be adulterated by fenproporex or sibutramine. The adulterated samples were compounded by four different pharmacies located in three different Brazilian states. The novel capillary electrophoresis method we developed may be a useful tool for public health organisations tasked with analysing herbal weight loss products.

  2. Psychosis associated with usage of herbal slimming products adulterated with sibutramine: a case series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Sammy P L; Tang, Magdalene H Y; Ng, Sau Wah; Poon, Wing Tat; Chan, Albert Y W; Mak, Tony W L

    2010-10-01

    Sibutramine, or its structurally related analogs, is often found as an adulterant in proprietary herbal slimming products in Hong Kong. A few solitary case reports of sibutramine-associated psychosis have been published since 2000. As the only tertiary referral center for clinical toxicology analysis in Hong Kong, we noticed that psychosis was an unusually common feature in patients taking "herbal slimming products" adulterated with sibutramine or its structurally related analogs over the past 5 years. To examine the association between psychosis and the use of sibutramine-adulterated herbal products, in an attempt to elucidate this possible adverse drug reaction. This retrospective study reviewed all cases hospitalized with psychotic symptoms confirmed to have used herbal slimming products adulterated with sibutramine, or its analogs, between January 2004 and October 2009. The cases' clinical features, outcome, drug history, and analytical findings of the offending slimming products were studied. Results. Among the 16 confirmed cases, 15 (94%) were female; the median age was 19 years (range: 15-47). Auditory hallucination was documented in 10 (63%), visual hallucination in 6 (38%), persecutory ideas in 6 (38%), delusions in 4 (25%), and suicidal ideation in 2 (13%). For 20 "herbal" slimming products analyzed, 16 were found to have been adulterated with sibutramine, 2 with N-desmethyl-sibutramine, and 1 with N-bisdesmethyl-sibutramine. Other concomitant adulterants were also found and included phenolphthalein in 9, fenfluramine, mazindol, animal thyroid tissue in 2, hydrochlorothiazide and spironolactone in 1. Eight patients disclosed the source of the products: four through the Internet, one obtained over-the-counter locally, with three acquired outside Hong Kong. Slimming products claimed "herbal" in origin could often be adulterated with sibutramine and other Western medications. We observed an association between the use of these products and psychotic features

  3. Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors and their analogues as adulterants of herbal and food products: analysis of the Malaysian market, 2014-16.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bujang, Nur Baizura; Chee, Chin Fei; Heh, Choon Han; Rahman, Noorsaadah Abd; Buckle, Michael J C

    2017-07-01

    Adulteration of herbal health supplements with phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors and their analogues is becoming a worldwide problem. The aim of this study was to investigate herbal and food products sold in the Malaysian market for the presence of these adulterants. Sixty-two products that claim to enhance men's sexual health were sampled between April 2014 and April 2016. These products included unregistered products seized by the Pharmacy Enforcement Division of the Ministry of Health (n = 39), products sent to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency for pre-registration testing (n = 9) and products investigated under the post-registration market surveillance programme (n = 14). The products were tested against an in-house spectral library consisting of 61 PDE-5 inhibitors and analogues using a validated liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry ion-trap-time-of-flight (LC-MS IT-TOF) method. Thirty-two (82%) of the unregistered products and two (14%) of the registered products were found to be adulterated with at least one PDE-5 inhibitor or analogue, while none of the pre-registration products contained adulterants. A total of 16 different adulterants were detected and 36% of the adulterated products contained a mixture of two or more adulterants. This study has demonstrated that the adulteration of unregistered herbal products in the Malaysian market is an alarming issue that needs to be urgently addressed by the relevant authorities.

  4. Dietary supplements: International legal framework and adulteration profiles, and characteristics of products on the Brazilian clandestine market.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Justa Neves, Diana Brito; Caldas, Eloisa Dutra

    2015-10-01

    The objectives of this work were to evaluate current legislation on dietary supplements in the United States, the European Union and Brazil, and the profile of adulterated and/or irregular products on these markets. Due to a less restrictive legal framework, a supplement product that is freely available in the US may be considered a drug or even be proscribed in the EU and Brazil, thus giving rise to a clandestine market based on smuggling. From 2007 to 2014, the United States Food and Drug Administration reported 572 cases of supplement adulterations in the country, mainly products for sexual enhancement (41.6%). Data from the European Union Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed showed 929 adulterations during the same period, over 40% due to unauthorized ingredients or undeclared medicines. From 2007 to 2013, the Brazilian Federal Police Department seized 5470 supplement products, 92.2% with an American-declared origin. Qualitative chemical analyses performed on 2898 products found 180 adulterations, 41.1% due to undeclared drugs, mainly anabolic steroids, anorectics and products for erectile dysfunction, all considered medicines in Brazil. Educating the public regarding the potential risks they are taking when consuming adulterated or irregular products is necessary to protect the health of consumers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Adulteration of proprietary Chinese medicines and health products with undeclared drugs: experience of a tertiary toxicology laboratory in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ching, Chor Kwan; Chen, Sammy Pak Lam; Lee, Hencher Han Chih; Lam, Ying Hoo; Ng, Sau Wah; Chen, Mo Lung; Tang, Magdalene Huen Yin; Chan, Suzanne Suk San; Ng, Candy Wai Yan; Cheung, Jana Wing Lan; Chan, Tina Yee Ching; Lau, Nike Kwai Cheung; Chong, Yeow Kuan; Mak, Tony Wing Lai

    2018-01-01

    Proprietary Chinese medicines (pCMs) and health products, generally believed to be natural and safe, are gaining popularity worldwide. However, the safety of pCMs and health products has been severely compromised by the practice of adulteration. The current study aimed to examine the problem of adulteration of pCMs and health products in Hong Kong. The present study was conducted in a tertiary referral clinical toxicology laboratory in Hong Kong. All cases involving the use of pCMs or health products, which were subsequently confirmed to contain undeclared adulterants, from 2005 to 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. A total of 404 cases involving the use of 487 adulterated pCMs or health products with a total of 1234 adulterants were identified. The adulterants consisted of approved drugs, banned drugs, drug analogues and animal thyroid tissue. The six most common categories of adulterants detected were nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (17.7%), anorectics (15.3%), corticosteroids (13.8%), diuretics and laxatives (11.4%), oral antidiabetic agents (10.0%) and erectile dysfunction drugs (6.0%). Sibutramine was the most common adulterant (n = 155). The reported sources of these illicit products included over-the-counter drug stores, the internet and Chinese medicine practitioners. A significant proportion of patients (65.1%) had adverse effects attributable to these illicit products, including 14 severe and two fatal cases. Psychosis, iatrogenic Cushing syndrome and hypoglycaemia were the three most frequently encountered adverse effects. Adulteration of pCMs and health products with undeclared drugs poses severe health hazards. Public education and effective regulatory measures are essential to address the problem. © 2017 The British Pharmacological Society.

  6. 9 CFR 590.840 - Identification of inedible, unwholesome, or adulterated egg products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ..., unwholesome, or adulterated egg products. 590.840 Section 590.840 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION INSPECTION OF EGGS AND EGG PRODUCTS (EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT) Identification of Restricted Eggs Or Egg Products Not Intended for Human...

  7. 7 CFR 57.840 - Identification of inedible, unwholesome, or adulterated egg products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... adulterated egg products. 57.840 Section 57.840 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture... AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS UNDER THE AGRICULTURAL MARKETING ACT OF 1946 AND THE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT (CONTINUED) INSPECTION OF EGGS (EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT) Regulations Governing...

  8. Analysis of an Adulterated Herbal Medicinal Product Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with QTOF Mass Spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate Yu

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The reports of severe adverse effects and fatalities associated with herbal medicinal products adulterated with synthetic compounds have raised global concerns. The objective of this study is to analyze one commercial herbal medicinal product suspected to be adulterated with synthetic drugs in order to identify potential adulterants, to verify if the product contained the herbs listed as ingredients in label claim and to determine quality consistency among different batches of the product. Analyses of suspected product obtained from seven different batches were performed using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS with multiple data processing tools and multivariate analyses. In addition, 23 individual powdered herbs (12 as per label claim and 11 suspected herbs, 11 marker compounds of the labeled herbs and five suspected synthetic drugs as adulterants were also concurrently analyzed to have clear understanding of product composition. Based on our analysis, the major ingredients of studied product were found to be 5 synthetic compounds: caffeine, chlorphenamine, piroxicam, betamethasone and oxethazaine. Three of them have been found to exceed their recommended doses. From the herbal composition analysis, GanCao (Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma was found to be the main ingredient, which is not among the claimed 12 herbs that were supposed to be in the product. Other herbs detected as minor ingredients were MuGua (Chaenomelis fructus, DangGui (Angelicae sinensis radix, and HuangQi (Astragali radix, which are among the 12 herbs that were supposed to be in the product. Based on our results we demonstrated that UPLC-QTOF MS is an effective and versatile tool for the analysis of herbal medicinal products. It is highly desirable to have a streamlined process with automatic workflow and fit-for-purpose database to increase efficiency and productivity of sample analysis. Results of

  9. Chromatography methods and chemometrics for determination of milk fat adulterants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trbović, D.; Petronijević, R.; Đorđević, V.

    2017-09-01

    Milk and milk-based products are among the leading food categories according to reported cases of food adulteration. Although many authentication problems exist in all areas of the food industry, adequate control methods are required to evaluate the authenticity of milk and milk products in the dairy industry. Moreover, gas chromatography (GC) analysis of triacylglycerols (TAGs) or fatty acid (FA) profiles of milk fat (MF) in combination with multivariate statistical data processing have been used to detect adulterations of milk and dairy products with foreign fats. The adulteration of milk and butter is a major issue for the dairy industry. The major adulterants of MF are vegetable oils (soybean, sunflower, groundnut, coconut, palm and peanut oil) and animal fat (cow tallow and pork lard). Multivariate analysis enables adulterated MF to be distinguished from authentic MF, while taking into account many analytical factors. Various multivariate analysis methods have been proposed to quantitatively detect levels of adulterant non-MFs, with multiple linear regression (MLR) seemingly the most suitable. There is a need for increased use of chemometric data analyses to detect adulterated MF in foods and for their expanded use in routine quality assurance testing.

  10. Mass spectrometric analysis of pharmaceutical adulterants in products labeled as botanical dietary supplements or herbal remedies: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaclavik, Lukas; Krynitsky, Alexander J; Rader, Jeanne I

    2014-11-01

    The increased availability and use of botanical dietary supplements and herbal remedies among consumers has been accompanied by an increased frequency of adulteration of these products with synthetic pharmaceuticals. Unscrupulous producers may add drugs and analogues of various classes, such as phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors, weight loss, hypoglycemic, antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory agents, or anabolic steroids, to develop or intensify biological effects of dietary supplements or herbal remedies. The presence of such adulterated products in the marketplace is a worldwide problem and their consumption poses health risks to consumers. Analytical methods that allow rapid and reliable testing of dietary supplements for the presence of synthetic drugs are needed to address such fraudulent practices. Mass spectrometry (MS) and hyphenated techniques such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) have become primary tools in this endeavor. The present review critically assesses the role and summarizes the applications of MS in the analysis of pharmaceutical adulterants in botanical dietary supplements and herbal remedies. The uses of MS techniques in detection, confirmation, and quantification of known pharmaceutical adulterants as well as in screening for and structure elucidation of unexpected adulterants and novel designer drugs are discussed.

  11. Species Adulteration in the Herbal Trade: Causes, Consequences and Mitigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srirama, Ramanujam; Santhosh Kumar, J U; Seethapathy, G S; Newmaster, Steven G; Ragupathy, S; Ganeshaiah, K N; Uma Shaanker, R; Ravikanth, Gudasalamani

    2017-08-01

    The global economy of the international trade of herbal products has been increasing by 15% annually, with the raw material for most herbal products being sourced from South and Southeast Asian countries. In India, of the 8000 species of medicinal plants harvested from the wild, approximately 960 are in the active trade. With increasing international trade in herbal medicinal products, there is also increasing concern about the widespread adulteration and species admixtures in the raw herbal trade. The adverse consequences of such species adulteration on the health and safety of consumers have only recently begun to be recognised and documented. We provide a comprehensive review of the nature and magnitude of species adulteration in the raw herbal trade, and identify the underlying drivers that might lead to such adulteration. We also discuss the possible biological and chemical equivalence of species that are used as adulterants and substitutes, and the consequences thereof to consumer health and safety, and propose a framework for the development of a herbal trade authentication service that can help regulate the herbal trade market.

  12. Development of nondestructive detection method for adulterated powder products using Raman spectroscopy and partial least squares regression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Sang Dae; Lohumi, Santosh; Cho, Byoung Kwan [Dept. of Biosystems Machinery Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Moon Sung [United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Washington (United States); Lee, Soo Hee [Life and Technology Co.,Ltd., Hwasung (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-08-15

    This study was conducted to develop a non-destructive detection method for adulterated powder products using Raman spectroscopy and partial least squares regression(PLSR). Garlic and ginger powder, which are used as natural seasoning and in health supplement foods, were selected for this experiment. Samples were adulterated with corn starch in concentrations of 5-35%. PLSR models for adulterated garlic and ginger powders were developed and their performances evaluated using cross validation. The R{sup 2}{sub c} and SEC of an optimal PLSR model were 0.99 and 2.16 for the garlic powder samples, and 0.99 and 0.84 for the ginger samples, respectively. The variable importance in projection (VIP) score is a useful and simple tool for the evaluation of the importance of each variable in a PLSR model. After the VIP scores were taken pre-selection, the Raman spectrum data was reduced by one third. New PLSR models, based on a reduced number of wavelengths selected by the VIP scores technique, gave good predictions for the adulterated garlic and ginger powder samples.

  13. Development of nondestructive detection method for adulterated powder products using Raman spectroscopy and partial least squares regression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Sang Dae; Lohumi, Santosh; Cho, Byoung Kwan; Kim, Moon Sung; Lee, Soo Hee

    2014-01-01

    This study was conducted to develop a non-destructive detection method for adulterated powder products using Raman spectroscopy and partial least squares regression(PLSR). Garlic and ginger powder, which are used as natural seasoning and in health supplement foods, were selected for this experiment. Samples were adulterated with corn starch in concentrations of 5-35%. PLSR models for adulterated garlic and ginger powders were developed and their performances evaluated using cross validation. The R 2 c and SEC of an optimal PLSR model were 0.99 and 2.16 for the garlic powder samples, and 0.99 and 0.84 for the ginger samples, respectively. The variable importance in projection (VIP) score is a useful and simple tool for the evaluation of the importance of each variable in a PLSR model. After the VIP scores were taken pre-selection, the Raman spectrum data was reduced by one third. New PLSR models, based on a reduced number of wavelengths selected by the VIP scores technique, gave good predictions for the adulterated garlic and ginger powder samples.

  14. Detection of sibutramine in adulterated dietary supplements using attenuated total reflectance-infrared spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deconinck, E; Cauwenbergh, T; Bothy, J L; Custers, D; Courselle, P; De Beer, J O

    2014-11-01

    Sibutramine is one of the most occurring adulterants encountered in dietary supplements with slimming as indication. These adulterated dietary supplements often contain a herbal matrix. When customs intercept these kind of supplements it is almost impossible to discriminate between the legal products and the adulterated ones, due to misleading packaging. Therefore in most cases these products are confiscated and send to laboratories for analysis. This results inherently in the confiscation of legal, non-adulterated products. Therefore there is a need for easy to use equipment and techniques to perform an initial screening of samples. Attenuated total reflectance-infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy was evaluated for the detection of sibutramine in adulterated dietary supplements. Data interpretation was performed using different basic chemometric techniques. It was found that the use of ATR-IR combined with the k-Nearest Neighbours (k-NN) was able to detect all adulterated dietary supplements in an external test set and this with a minimum of false positive results. This means that a small amount of legal products will still be confiscated and analyzed in a laboratory to be found negative, but no adulterated samples will pass the initial ATR-IR screening. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Genetic and Epigenetic Approaches for the Possible Detection of Adulteration and Auto-Adulteration in Saffron (Crocus sativus L. Spice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanna Soffritti

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Saffron (Crocus sativus L. is very expensive and, because of this, often subject to adulteration. Modern genetic fingerprinting techniques are an alternative low cost technology to the existing chemical techniques, which are used to control the purity of food products. Buddleja officinalis Maxim, Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, Curcuma longa L., Carthamus tinctorius L. and Calendula officinalis L. are among the most frequently-used adulterants in saffron spice. Three commercial kits were compared concerning the ability to recover PCR-grade DNA from saffron, truly adulterated samples and possible adulterants, with a clear difference among them, mainly with the processed samples. Only one of the three kits was able to obtain amplifiable DNA from almost all of the samples, with the exception of extracts. On the recovered DNA, new markers were developed based on the sequence of the plastid genes matK and rbcL. These primers, mainly those developed on matK, were able to recognize saffron and the adulterant species and also in mixtures with very low percentages of adulterant. Finally, considering that the addition of different parts of saffron flowers is one of the most widespread adulterations, by analyzing the DNA of the different parts of the flower (styles, stamens and tepals at the genetic and epigenetic level, we succeeded in finding differences between the three tissues that can be further evaluated for a possible detection of the kind of fraud.

  16. Identification of offal adulteration in beef by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velioglu, Hasan Murat; Sezer, Banu; Bilge, Gonca; Baytur, Süleyman Efe; Boyaci, Ismail Hakki

    2018-04-01

    Minced meat is the major ingredient in sausages, beef burgers, and similar products; and thus it is the main product subjected to adulteration with meat offal. Determination of this kind of meat adulteration is crucial due to religious, economic and ethical concerns. The aim of the present study is to discriminate the beef meat and offal samples by using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). To this end, LIBS and multivariate data analysis were used to discriminate pure beef and offal samples qualitatively and to determine the offal mixture adulteration quantitatively. In this analysis, meat samples were frozen and LIBS analysis were performed. The results indicate that by using principal component analysis (PCA), discrimination of pure offal and offal mixture adulterated beef samples can be achieved successfully. Besides, adulteration ratio can be determined using partial least square analysis method (PLS) with 0.947 coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and 3.8% of limit of detection (LOD) values for offal mixture adulterated beef samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Simultaneous analysis by Quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry and UHPLC-MS/MS for the determination of sedative-hypnotics and sleep inducers in adulterated products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ji Hyun; Park, Han Na; Choi, Ji Yeon; Kim, Nam Sook; Park, Hyung-Joon; Park, Seong Soo; Baek, Sun Young

    2017-12-01

    Adulterated products are continuously detected in society and cause problems. In this study, we developed and validated a method for determining synthetic sedative-hypnotics and sleep inducers, including barbital, benzodiazepam, zolpidem, and first-generation antihistamines, in adulterated products using Quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry and ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. In Quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry analysis, target compounds were confirmed using a combination of retention time, mass tolerance, mass accuracy, and fragment ions. For quantification, several validation parameters were employed using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation was 0.05-53 and 0.17-177 ng/mL, respectively. The correlation coefficient for linearity was more than 0.995. The intra- and interassay accuracies were 86-110 and 84-111%, respectively. Their precision values were evaluated as within 4.0 (intraday) and 10.7% (interday). Mean recoveries of target compounds in adulterated products ranged from 85 to 116%. The relative standard deviation of stability was less than 10.7% at 4°C for 48 h. The 144 adulterated products obtained over 3 years (2014-2016) from online and in-person vendors were tested using established methods. After rapidly screening with Quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry, the detected samples were quantified using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Two of them were adulterated with phenobarbital. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Biogenic amine content, histamine-forming bacteria, and adulteration of pork in tuna sausage products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kung, Hsien-Feng; Tsai, Yung-Hsiang; Chang, Shih-Chih; Hong, Tang-Yao

    2012-10-01

    Twenty-five tuna sausage products were purchased from retail markets in Taiwan. The rates of occurrence of biogenic amines, histamine-forming bacteria, and adulteration by pork and poultry were determined. The average content of various biogenic amines in all tested samples was less than 2.0 mg/100 g (Makaira nigricans (blue marlin).

  19. Who is 'Molly'? MDMA adulterants by product name and the impact of harm-reduction services at raves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saleemi, Sarah; Pennybaker, Steven J; Wooldridge, Missi; Johnson, Matthew W

    2017-08-01

    Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), often sold as 'Ecstasy' or 'Molly', is commonly used at music festivals and reported to be responsible for an increase in deaths over the last decade. Ecstasy is often adulterated and contains compounds that increase morbidity and mortality. While users and clinicians commonly assume that products sold as Molly are less-adulterated MDMA products, this has not been tested. Additionally, while pill-testing services are sometimes available at raves, the assumption that these services decrease risky drug use has not been studied. This study analyzed data collected by the pill-testing organization, DanceSafe, from events across the United States from 2010 to 2015. Colorimetric reagent assays identified MDMA in only 60% of the 529 samples collected. No significant difference in the percentage of samples testing positive for MDMA was determined between Ecstasy and Molly. Individuals were significantly less likely to report intent to use a product if testing did not identify MDMA (relative risk (RR) = 0.56, p = 0.01). Results suggest that Molly is not a less-adulterated substance, and that pill-testing services are a legitimate harm-reduction service that decreases intent to consume potentially dangerous substances and may warrant consideration by legislators for legal protection. Future research should further examine the direct effects of pill-testing services and include more extensive pill-testing methods.

  20. Detection of adulterations in tradictional portuguese game meat products by polymerase chain reaction technique

    OpenAIRE

    Santos, C.G.; Melo, V.S.; Amaral, J.S.; Oliveira, M.B.P.P.; Mafra, I.

    2013-01-01

    Authenticity assessment and fraud detection in processed meat products have becn attracting an increased attention driven by public health, economic and legal cancems, and also for religiolls reasons. Currcntly, ooe af the major issues conceming adulterations in the meat indust:ry regards the fraudulent substitution af higher commercial valued meat species by less expensive oDes [1]. The manufacture af traditional meat products is a long-established practice in the Northeast of Po...

  1. Calibration and testing of a Raman hyperspectral imaging system to reveal powdered food adulteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohumi, Santosh; Lee, Hoonsoo; Kim, Moon S; Qin, Jianwei; Kandpal, Lalit Mohan; Bae, Hyungjin; Rahman, Anisur; Cho, Byoung-Kwan

    2018-01-01

    The potential adulteration of foodstuffs has led to increasing concern regarding food safety and security, in particular for powdered food products where cheap ground materials or hazardous chemicals can be added to increase the quantity of powder or to obtain the desired aesthetic quality. Due to the resulting potential health threat to consumers, the development of a fast, label-free, and non-invasive technique for the detection of adulteration over a wide range of food products is necessary. We therefore report the development of a rapid Raman hyperspectral imaging technique for the detection of food adulteration and for authenticity analysis. The Raman hyperspectral imaging system comprises of a custom designed laser illumination system, sensing module, and a software interface. Laser illumination system generates a 785 nm laser line of high power, and the Gaussian like intensity distribution of laser beam is shaped by incorporating an engineered diffuser. The sensing module utilize Rayleigh filters, imaging spectrometer, and detector for collection of the Raman scattering signals along the laser line. A custom-built software to acquire Raman hyperspectral images which also facilitate the real time visualization of Raman chemical images of scanned samples. The developed system was employed for the simultaneous detection of Sudan dye and Congo red dye adulteration in paprika powder, and benzoyl peroxide and alloxan monohydrate adulteration in wheat flour at six different concentrations (w/w) from 0.05 to 1%. The collected Raman imaging data of the adulterated samples were analyzed to visualize and detect the adulterant concentrations by generating a binary image for each individual adulterant material. The results obtained based on the Raman chemical images of adulterants showed a strong correlation (R>0.98) between added and pixel based calculated concentration of adulterant materials. This developed Raman imaging system thus, can be considered as a powerful

  2. Fingerprinting food: current technologies for the detection of food adulteration and contamination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, David I; Brewster, Victoria L; Dunn, Warwick B; Allwood, J William; Golovanov, Alexander P; Goodacre, Royston

    2012-09-07

    Major food adulteration and contamination events seem to occur with some regularity, such as the widely publicised adulteration of milk products with melamine and the recent microbial contamination of vegetables across Europe for example. With globalisation and rapid distribution systems, these can have international impacts with far-reaching and sometimes lethal consequences. These events, though potentially global in the modern era, are in fact far from contemporary, and deliberate adulteration of food products is probably as old as the food processing and production systems themselves. This review first introduces some background into these practices, both historically and contemporary, before introducing a range of the technologies currently available for the detection of food adulteration and contamination. These methods include the vibrational spectroscopies: near-infrared, mid-infrared, Raman; NMR spectroscopy, as well as a range of mass spectrometry (MS) techniques, amongst others. This subject area is particularly relevant at this time, as it not only concerns the continuous engagement with food adulterers, but also more recent issues such as food security, bioterrorism and climate change. It is hoped that this introductory overview acts as a springboard for researchers in science, technology, engineering, and industry, in this era of systems-level thinking and interdisciplinary approaches to new and contemporary problems.

  3. Evaluation of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) adulteration with plant adulterants by (1)H NMR metabolite fingerprinting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrakis, Eleftherios A; Cagliani, Laura R; Polissiou, Moschos G; Consonni, Roberto

    2015-04-15

    In the present work, a preliminary study for the detection of adulterated saffron and the identification of the adulterant used by means of (1)H NMR and chemometrics is reported. Authentic Greek saffron and four typical plant-derived materials utilised as bulking agents in saffron, i.e., Crocus sativus stamens, safflower, turmeric, and gardenia were investigated. A two-step approach, relied on the application of both OPLS-DA and O2PLS-DA models to the (1)H NMR data, was adopted to perform authentication and prediction of authentic and adulterated saffron. Taking into account the deficiency of established methodologies to detect saffron adulteration with plant adulterants, the method developed resulted reliable in assessing the type of adulteration and could be viable for dealing with extensive saffron frauds at a minimum level of 20% (w/w). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Integrated analytical assets aid botanical authenticity and adulteration management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simmler, Charlotte; Graham, James G; Chen, Shao-Nong; Pauli, Guido F

    2017-11-22

    This article reviews and develops a perspective for the meaning of authenticity in the context of quality assessment of botanical materials and the challenges associated with discerning adulterations vs. contaminations vs. impurities. Authentic botanicals are by definition non-adulterated, a mutually exclusive relationship that is confirmed through the application of a multilayered set of analytical methods designed to validate the (chemo)taxonomic identity of a botanical and certify that it is devoid of any adulteration. In practice, the ever-increasing sophistication in the process of intentional adulteration, as well as the growing number of botanicals entering the market, altogether necessitate a constant adaptation and reinforcement of authentication methods with new approaches, especially new technologies. This article summarizes the set of analytical methods - classical and contemporary - that can be employed in the authentication of botanicals. Particular emphasis is placed on the application of untargeted metabolomics and chemometrics. An NMR-based untargeted metabolomic model is proposed as a rapid, systematic, and complementary screening for the discrimination of authentic vs. potentially adulterated botanicals. Such analytical model can help advance the evaluation of botanical integrity in natural product research. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Detection and identification of multiple adulterants in plant food supplements using attenuated total reflectance-Infrared spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deconinck, E; Aouadi, C; Bothy, J L; Courselle, P

    2018-04-15

    Due to the rising popularity of dietary supplements, especially plant food supplements, and alternative herbal medicines, a whole market developed and these products became freely available through internet. Though several searches revealed that at least a part of these products, especially the ones obtained from websites disclosing their physical identity, are aldulterated with pharmaceutical compounds. This causes a threat for public health, since these compounds are not declared and therefore adverse effects will not immediately be related to the product. The more the adulterants can interfere with other medicinal treatments. Since the present active pharmaceutical ingredients are not declared on the package and the products are sold as 100% natural or herbal in nature, it is very difficult for custom personnel to discriminate between products to be confiscated or not. Therefore easy to apply analytical approaches to discriminate between adulterated and non-adulterated products are necessary. This paper presents an approach based on infrared spectroscopy combined with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and partial least squares- discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to easily differentiate between adulterated and non- adulterated plant food supplements and to get a first idea of the nature of the adulterant present. The performance of PLS-DA models based on Mid-IR and NIR data were compared as well as models based on the combined data. Further three preprocessing strategies were compared. The best performance was obtained for a PLS-DA model using Mid-IR data with the second derivative as preprocessing method. This model showed a correct classification rate of 98.3% for an external test set. Also eight real samples were screened using the model and for seven of these samples a correct classification was obtained. Generally it could be concluded that the obtained model and the presented approach could be used at customs to discriminate between adulterated and non-adulterated

  6. Food adulteration analysis without laboratory prepared or determined reference food adulterant values.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalivas, John H; Georgiou, Constantinos A; Moira, Marianna; Tsafaras, Ilias; Petrakis, Eleftherios A; Mousdis, George A

    2014-04-01

    Quantitative analysis of food adulterants is an important health and economic issue that needs to be fast and simple. Spectroscopy has significantly reduced analysis time. However, still needed are preparations of analyte calibration samples matrix matched to prediction samples which can be laborious and costly. Reported in this paper is the application of a newly developed pure component Tikhonov regularization (PCTR) process that does not require laboratory prepared or reference analysis methods, and hence, is a greener calibration method. The PCTR method requires an analyte pure component spectrum and non-analyte spectra. As a food analysis example, synchronous fluorescence spectra of extra virgin olive oil samples adulterated with sunflower oil is used. Results are shown to be better than those obtained using ridge regression with reference calibration samples. The flexibility of PCTR allows including reference samples and is generic for use with other instrumental methods and food products. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Identification of Catechol as a New Marker for Detecting Propolis Adulteration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuai Huang

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Adulteration of propolis with poplar extract is a serious issue in the bee products market. The aim of this study was to identify marker compounds in adulterated propolis, and examine the transformation of chemical components from poplar buds to propolis. The chemical profiles of poplar extracts and propolis were compared, and a new marker compound, catechol, was isolated and identified from the extracts of poplar buds. The polyphenol oxidase, catechol oxidase, responsible for catalyzing oxidation of catechol was detected in poplar buds and propolis. The results indicate catechol can be used as a marker to detect propolis adulterated with poplar extract.

  8. Detection of adulterated commercial Spanish beeswax.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serra Bonvehi, J; Orantes Bermejo, F J

    2012-05-01

    The physical and chemical parameters (melting point and saponification number), and the fraction of hydrocarbons, monoesters, acids and alcohols have been determined in 90 samples of Spanish commercial beeswax from Apis mellifera L. The adulteration with paraffins of different melting point, cow tallow, stearic acid, and carnauba wax were determined by HTGC-FID/MS detection, and the research was focussed mainly on paraffins and microcrystallines waxes. In general, the added adulterant can be identified by the presence of non-naturally beeswax components, and by the differences of values of selected components between pure and adulterated beeswax. The detection limits were determined using pure and adulterated beeswax with different amounts of added waxes (5%, 10%, 20% and 30%). Percentages higher than 1-5% of each adulterant can be detected in the mixtures. Paraffin waxes were confirmed in 33 of the 90 samples analysed at concentrations between 5% and 30%. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Multispecies Adulteration Detection of Camellia Oil by Chemical Markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dou, Xinjing; Mao, Jin; Zhang, Liangxiao; Xie, Huali; Chen, Lin; Yu, Li; Ma, Fei; Wang, Xiupin; Zhang, Qi; Li, Peiwu

    2018-01-25

    Adulteration of edible oils has attracted attention from more researchers and consumers in recent years. Complex multispecies adulteration is a commonly used strategy to mask the traditional adulteration detection methods. Most of the researchers were only concerned about single targeted adulterants, however, it was difficult to identify complex multispecies adulteration or untargeted adulterants. To detect adulteration of edible oil, identification of characteristic markers of adulterants was proposed to be an effective method, which could provide a solution for multispecies adulteration detection. In this study, a simple method of multispecies adulteration detection for camellia oil (adulterated with soybean oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil) was developed by quantifying chemical markers including four isoflavones, trans-resveratrol and sinapic acid, which used liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) combined with solid phase extraction (SPE). In commercial camellia oil, only two of them were detected of daidzin with the average content of 0.06 ng/g while other markers were absent. The developed method was highly sensitive as the limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.02 ng/mL to 0.16 ng/mL and the mean recoveries ranged from 79.7% to 113.5%, indicating that this method was reliable to detect potential characteristic markers in edible oils. Six target compounds for pure camellia oils, soybean oils, peanut oils and rapeseed oils had been analyzed to get the results. The validation results indicated that this simple and rapid method was successfully employed to determine multispecies adulteration of camellia oil adulterated with soybean, peanut and rapeseed oils.

  10. Adulteration detection in olive oil using dielectric technique and data mining

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahdi Rashvand

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Olive oil is one of the most important agricultural crops due to its digestive properties and economic status. However, olive oil production is a costly process which causes an expensive price of the final product. The most jobbery ways during olive oil production consist of mixing other oils such as maize, sunflower and soya oil into the olive oil. So, the aim of this study was to develop a dielectric-based system to detect adulteration in olive oil using cylindrical capacitive sensor. For categorizing of fake olive oil by using frequency specification, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA was developed. A set of 15 samples of olive oil, sunflower oil and canola oil which mixed with different ratio of adulteration, were used for calibration and evaluation of developed system. For each sample, 25 iterations were performed. Regarding results, the highest error rate was for a sample containing 60% olive oil-40% canola oil. In general, 7 iterations failed to be properly recognized. Regarding to accuracy indexes, specificity and sensitivity, the system had the minimum error for a mixed sample (60% olive oil-40% canola oil, specificity and sensitivity were obtained as 98% and 100%, respectively and accuracy was obtained as 72%, which was the weakest value. Finally, regarding mean value table for all sample, accuracy reached to 97%. Results showed the developed technique has a good capability of detecting impurities in olive oil. It is concluded from obtained results that the developed system revealed an acceptable adulterated detection in oil production. Keywords: Olive oil, Adulteration, Dielectric properties, LDA

  11. Cocaine adulteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudlacek, Oliver; Hofmaier, Tina; Luf, Anton; Mayer, Felix P; Stockner, Thomas; Nagy, Constanze; Holy, Marion; Freissmuth, Michael; Schmid, Rainer; Sitte, Harald H

    2017-10-01

    Cocaine is a naturally occurring and illicitly used psychostimulant drug. Cocaine acts at monoaminergic neurotransmitter transporters to block uptake of the monoamines, dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. The resulting increase of monoamines in the extracellular space underlies the positively reinforcing effects that cocaine users seek. In turn, this increase in monoamines underlies the development of addiction, and can also result in a number of severe side effects. Currently, cocaine is one of the most common illicit drugs available on the European market. However, cocaine is increasingly sold in impure forms. This trend is driven by cocaine dealers seeking to increase their profit margin by mixing ("cutting") cocaine with numerous other compounds ("adulterants"). Importantly, these undeclared compounds put cocaine consumers at risk, because consumers are not aware of the additional potential threats to their health. This review describes adulterants that have been identified in cocaine sold on the street market. Their typical pharmacological profile and possible reasons why these compounds can be used as cutting agents will be discussed. Since a subset of these adulterants has been found to exert effects similar to cocaine itself, we will discuss levamisole, the most frequently used cocaine cutting agent today, and its metabolite aminorex. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. Development of a Hazard Classification Scheme for Substances Used in the Fraudulent Adulteration of Foods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Everstine, Karen; Abt, Eileen; McColl, Diane; Popping, Bert; Morrison-Rowe, Sara; Lane, Richard W; Scimeca, Joseph; Winter, Carl; Ebert, Andrew; Moore, Jeffrey C; Chin, Henry B

    2018-01-01

    Food fraud, the intentional misrepresentation of the true identity of a food product or ingredient for economic gain, is a threat to consumer confidence and public health and has received increased attention from both regulators and the food industry. Following updates to food safety certification standards and publication of new U.S. regulatory requirements, we undertook a project to (i) develop a scheme to classify food fraud-related adulterants based on their potential health hazard and (ii) apply this scheme to the adulterants in a database of 2,970 food fraud records. The classification scheme was developed by a panel of experts in food safety and toxicology from the food industry, academia, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Categories and subcategories were created through an iterative process of proposal, review, and validation using a subset of substances known to be associated with the fraudulent adulteration of foods. Once developed, the scheme was applied to the adulterants in the database. The resulting scheme included three broad categories: 1, potentially hazardous adulterants; 2, adulterants that are unlikely to be hazardous; and 3, unclassifiable adulterants. Categories 1 and 2 consisted of seven subcategories intended to further define the range of hazard potential for adulterants. Application of the scheme to the 1,294 adulterants in the database resulted in 45% of adulterants classified in category 1 (potentially hazardous). Twenty-seven percent of the 1,294 adulterants had a history of causing consumer illness or death, were associated with safety-related regulatory action, or were classified as allergens. These results reinforce the importance of including a consideration of food fraud-related adulterants in food safety systems. This classification scheme supports food fraud mitigation efforts and hazard identification as required in the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act Preventive Controls Rules.

  13. Near Infrared Spectroscopy Detection and Quantification of Herbal Medicines Adulterated with Sibutramine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Neirivaldo Cavalcante; Honorato, Ricardo Saldanha; Pimentel, Maria Fernanda; Garrigues, Salvador; Cervera, Maria Luisa; de la Guardia, Miguel

    2015-09-01

    There is an increasing demand for herbal medicines in weight loss treatment. Some synthetic chemicals, such as sibutramine (SB), have been detected as adulterants in herbal formulations. In this study, two strategies using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy have been developed to evaluate potential adulteration of herbal medicines with SB: a qualitative screening approach and a quantitative methodology based on multivariate calibration. Samples were composed by products commercialized as herbal medicines, as well as by laboratory adulterated samples. Spectra were obtained in the range of 14,000-4000 per cm. Using PLS-DA, a correct classification of 100% was achieved for the external validation set. In the quantitative approach, the root mean squares error of prediction (RMSEP), for both PLS and MLR models, was 0.2% w/w. The results prove the potential of NIR spectroscopy and multivariate calibration in quantifying sibutramine in adulterated herbal medicines samples. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  14. Detection of plant-based adulterants in turmeric powder using DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parvathy, V A; Swetha, V P; Sheeja, T E; Sasikumar, B

    2015-01-01

    In its powdered form, turmeric [Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae)], a spice of medical importance, is often adulterated lowering its quality. The study sought to detect plant-based adulterants in traded turmeric powder using DNA barcoding. Accessions of Curcuma longa L., Curcuma zedoaria Rosc. (Zingiberaceae), and cassava starch served as reference samples. Three barcoding loci, namely ITS, rbcL, and matK, were used for PCR amplification of the reference samples and commercial samples representing 10 different companies. PCR success rate, sequencing efficiency, occurrence of SNPs, and BLAST analysis were used to assess the potential of the barcoding loci in authenticating the traded samples of turmeric. The PCR and sequencing success of the loci rbcL and ITS were found to be 100%, whereas matK showed no amplification. ITS proved to be the ideal locus because it showed greater variability than rbcL in discriminating the Curcuma species. The presence of C. zedoaria could be detected in one of the samples whereas cassava starch, wheat, barley, and rye in other two samples although the label claimed nothing other than turmeric powder in the samples. Unlabeled materials in turmeric powder are considered as adulterants or fillers, added to increase the bulk weight and starch content of the commodity for economic gains. These adulterants pose potential health hazards to consumers who are allergic to these plants, lowering the product's medicinal value and belying the claim that the product is gluten free. The study proved DNA barcoding as an efficient tool for testing the integrity and the authenticity of commercial products of turmeric.

  15. Modern analytical methods for the detection of food fraud and adulteration by food category.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Eunyoung; Lee, Sang Yoo; Jeong, Jae Yun; Park, Jung Min; Kim, Byung Hee; Kwon, Kisung; Chun, Hyang Sook

    2017-09-01

    This review provides current information on the analytical methods used to identify food adulteration in the six most adulterated food categories: animal origin and seafood, oils and fats, beverages, spices and sweet foods (e.g. honey), grain-based food, and others (organic food and dietary supplements). The analytical techniques (both conventional and emerging) used to identify adulteration in these six food categories involve sensory, physicochemical, DNA-based, chromatographic and spectroscopic methods, and have been combined with chemometrics, making these techniques more convenient and effective for the analysis of a broad variety of food products. Despite recent advances, the need remains for suitably sensitive and widely applicable methodologies that encompass all the various aspects of food adulteration. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  16. Extent of awareness and prevalence of adulteration in selected food items in rural Dehradun

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashok Kumar Srivastava

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Adulteration of food items is common phenomenon in India. It includes both willful adulteration to improve texture and quality of food items and supply of substandard food items. The usual outcomes is outbreak of food borne illness. Aims & Objectives: i To estimate the prevalence of food adulteration in selected food items ii the awareness of subjects regarding food adulteration act and iii their buying practices. Material and Methods: Samplesize:150 households was sampled, based on prevalence of adulteration to be around 50%, with 95% confidence interval and absolute allowable error of 10%. Sample household were drawn from the selected villages randomly. Pre-designed and pretested questionnaires was administered to fulfill the objectives and food items were tested using NICE food adulteration kit. Data were analyzed by numeral with percentage, Pearson’s correlation test and F test. Results: In 59.3% households, housewives purchased the food items for the house. The prevalence of adulteration ranged from 17.3% to 66.2% in selected food items. Loose product was purchased by 54.3%. The food labels on packed items was not read by 86.3%. Mean percentage of purity was highest among literates (57.3 ±12.3 than illiterates and those having primary education. Statistically significant F ratio was seen for mean percentage of purity and respondent’s literacy status. Conclusion: Adulterant is rampant in poor strata of  society due to consumer’s illiteracy and lack of awareness towards food safety rules.

  17. Detecting Adulteration in Lotus Honey Using a Machine Olfactory System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Hajinezhad

    2017-10-01

    do more researches on the detection of adulteration in other agricultural and food products by electronic nose system.

  18. Voltamperometric Discrimination of Urea and Melamine Adulterated Skimmed Milk Powder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Cortón

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Nitrogen compounds like urea and melamine are known to be commonly used for milk adulteration resulting in undesired intoxication; a well-known example is the Chinese episode occurred in 2008. The development of a rapid, reliable and economic test is of relevance in order to improve adulterated milk identification. Cyclic voltammetry studies using an Au working electrode were performed on adulterated and non-adulterated milk samples from different independent manufacturers. Voltammetric data and their first derivative were subjected to functional principal component analysis (f-PCA and correctly classified by the KNN classifier. The adulterated and non-adulterated milk samples showed significant differences. Best results of prediction were obtained with first derivative data. Detection limits in milk samples adulterated with 1% of its total nitrogen derived from melamine or urea were as low as 85.0 mg·L−1 and 121.4 mg·L−1, respectively. We present this method as a fast and robust screening method for milk adulteration analysis and prevention of food intoxication.

  19. Oral fluid drug tests: effects of adulterants and foodstuffs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Raphael C; Tran, Minhchau; Tung, James K

    2005-06-10

    An on-site oral fluid drug screen, Oratect, was used to investigate the effects of adulterants and foodstuffs on oral fluid test results. Common foods, beverages, food ingredients, cosmetics and hygienic products were demonstrated not to cause false positive results when tested 30 min after their consumption. Evaluations of two commercial oral fluid adulterants, "Clear Choice Fizzy Flush" and "Test'in Spit n Kleen Mouthwash" suggest their mechanism of action is the clearing of residual drugs of abuse compounds through rinsing of the oral cavity. They do not directly destroy the drug compounds or change the pH of the oral fluid. It is also suggested that a common mouthwash would perform similar action.

  20. Updating a synchronous fluorescence spectroscopic virgin olive oil adulteration calibration to a new geographical region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunz, Matthew Ross; Ottaway, Joshua; Kalivas, John H; Georgiou, Constantinos A; Mousdis, George A

    2011-02-23

    Detecting and quantifying extra virgin olive adulteration is of great importance to the olive oil industry. Many spectroscopic methods in conjunction with multivariate analysis have been used to solve these issues. However, successes to date are limited as calibration models are built to a specific set of geographical regions, growing seasons, cultivars, and oil extraction methods (the composite primary condition). Samples from new geographical regions, growing seasons, etc. (secondary conditions) are not always correctly predicted by the primary model due to different olive oil and/or adulterant compositions stemming from secondary conditions not matching the primary conditions. Three Tikhonov regularization (TR) variants are used in this paper to allow adulterant (sunflower oil) concentration predictions in samples from geographical regions not part of the original primary calibration domain. Of the three TR variants, ridge regression with an additional 2-norm penalty provides the smallest validation sample prediction errors. Although the paper reports on using TR for model updating to predict adulterant oil concentration, the methods should also be applicable to updating models distinguishing adulterated samples from pure extra virgin olive oil. Additionally, the approaches are general and can be used with other spectroscopic methods and adulterants as well as with other agriculture products.

  1. Preliminary Study of 13C/12C Application for the Detection of Adulterated Honey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loestanatjaroen, S.

    2014-01-01

    Honey and pollen in natural products derived from the same plant both share the same carbon source; as a result their 13 C isotope signature should be identical. The majority of honey adulteration in Thailand was done particularly by adding cheap sugars such as high sucrose cane syrup (HSCS). The accepted differences in 13 C/ 12 C between honey and its associated protein extract is -1δ/ο deviation, which provides the international benchmark of 7% C4 sugar addition. This study reports the preliminary detection of adulterated Thai honey samples by using isotope ratio mass spectrometer coupled to elemental analyzer (EAIRMS). The 5 Thailand honey samples and the pure honey were adulterated with HSCS dilution as: 0, 0.5, 1, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 50%, respectively. The results were found that two of the Thai honey samples and of 10, 15, and 50% dilution were adulterated. The result of analyzed cane sugar of ten replicates were found -11.2 and -10.8 δdeviation, respectively.

  2. Adulterated and Counterfeit Male Enhancement Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements Pose a Real Threat to the Management of Erectile Dysfunction: A Global Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    ElAmrawy, Fatema; ElAgouri, Ghada; Elnoweam, Ola; Aboelazayem, Samar; Farouk, ElMohanad; Nounou, Mohamed I

    2016-11-01

    Erectile dysfunction prevalence globally is noticeably high. This is accompanied by an increase in the use of nutraceuticals for male enhancement. However, the global market is invaded by counterfeit and adulterated nutraceuticals claimed to be of natural origin sold with a therapeutic claim. The objective of this article is to review male enhancement nutraceuticals worldwide with respect to claim, adulterants, and safety. The definition of such products is variable across countries. Thus, the registration procedures differ as well. This facilitates the manipulation of the process, which leads to widespread adulterated and counterfeit products without control. The tele-advertisement and Internet pharmacies aided the widespread sale of male enhancement nutraceuticals, unfortunately, the spurious ones. Finally, based on literature, most of these products were found to be adulterated with active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and mislabeled as being natural. These products represent a major health hazard for consumers due to lack of clear regulations.

  3. Analysis method set up to check against adulterated export honey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyon, G.L.

    2001-01-01

    Over the past few years, North America has experienced occasional problems with the adulteration of honey, mainly by additions of other, cheaper sugar to increase bulk and lower production costs. The main addition was usually high fructose corn syrup, which had a similar chemical composition to that of honey. As a consequence of this type of adulteration, a method for its detection was developed using isotope ratio mass spectroscopy (IRMS). This was later refined to be more sensitive and is now specified as an Official Test. The Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences has now set up the analysis method to the international criteria at the Rafter Stable Isotope Laboratory in Lower Hutt. 2 refs

  4. Detection of Ophiocordyceps sinensis and Its Common Adulterates Using Species-Specific Primers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yang; Wang, Xiao-yue; Gao, Zi-tong; Han, Jian-ping; Xiang, Li

    2017-01-01

    Ophiocordyceps sinensis is a fungus that infects Hepialidae caterpillars, mummifying the larvae and producing characteristic fruiting bodies (stromata) that are processed into one of the most valued traditional Chinese medicines (TCM). The product commands a very high price due to a high demand but a very limited supply. Adulteration with other fungi is a common problem and there is a need to test preparation for the presence of the correct fungus. In the current study, a PCR-based approach for the identification of O. sinensis based on a segment of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was developed. The segments is 146-bp in size and is likely to be amplified even in materials where processing led to DNA fragmentation. Primer development was based on the alignment of sequence data generated from a total of 89 samples of O. sinensis and potential adulterants as well as sequences date from 41 Ophiocordyceps species and 26 Cordyceps species available in GenBank. Tests with primer pair, DCF4/DCR4, demonstrated generation of an amplicon from DNA extracted from O. sinensis stromata, but not from extracts derived from adulterants. Species-specific primer pairs were also developed and tested for detection of the common adulterants, Cordyceps gunnii, Cordyceps cicadae, Cordyceps militaris, Cordyceps liangshanensis and Ophiocordyceps nutans. The collection of primers developed in the present study will be useful for the authentication of preparation claiming to only contain O. sinensis and for the detection of fungi used as adulterants in these preparations. PMID:28680424

  5. [Molecular identification of astragali radix and its adulterants by ITS sequences].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Zhan-Hu; Li, Yue; Yuan, Qing-Jun; Zhou, Li-She; Li, Min-Hui

    2012-12-01

    To explore a new method for identification Astragali Radix from its adulterants by using ITS sequence. Thirteen samples of the different Astragali Radix materials and 6 samples of the adulterants of the roots of Hedysarum polybotrys, Medicago sativa and Althaea rosea were collected. ITS sequence was amplified by PCR and sequenced unidirectionally. The interspecific K-2-P distances of Astragali Radix and its adulterants were calculated, and NJ tree and UPGMA tree were constructed by MEGA 4. ITS sequences were obtained from 19 samples respectively, there were Astragali Radix 646-650 bp, H. polybotrys 664 bp, Medicago sativa 659 bp, Althaea rosea 728 bp, which were registered in the GenBank. Phylogeny trees reconstruction using NJ and UPGMA analysis based on ITS nucleotide sequences can effectively distinguish Astragali Radix from adulterants. ITS sequence can be used to identify Astragali Radix from its adulterants successfully and is an efficient molecular marker for authentication of Astragali Radix and its adulterants.

  6. Physico-chemical studies on adulteration of honey in Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawal, R A; Lawal, A K; Adekalu, J B

    2009-08-01

    The extent of adulteration of honey samples from various geographical locations in Nigeria was evaluated. In order to ascertain the quality and extent of adulteration of the honey samples, the total titrable acidity, brix content, pH, colour, viscosity, moisture content, total solids, ash content, hydroxymethyl furfural and microbiological analysis were carried out. Honey samples from Akwa-Ibom, Ondo and Ogun had a high hydroxymethyl furfural with coliforms and total bacteria counts being absent, while honey samples from Shaki, Yola and Ibadan had a low hydroxymethyl furfural and some total viable counts were present in them. These results indicate that honey samples from Akwa-Ibom, Ondo and Ogun were completely free of adulteration. However, honey samples obtained from Shaki, Yola and Ibadan were discovered to have undergone some form of adulteration.

  7. Adverse child health impacts resulting from food adulterations in the Greater China Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wai Chin; Chow, Chin Fung

    2017-09-01

    Food adulteration has a long history in human society, and it still occurs in modern times. Because children are relatively vulnerable to food adulterants, studying the health impacts of food adulteration on children is important. This article provides an overview of the child health impacts of food adulterants in two recent food adulteration incidents in the Greater China Region: (1) a plasticizer incident in Taiwan and (2) a 2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine (melamine)-tainted milk incident in China. The involved food adulterants, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) and melamine, are harmful to the hippocampus, kidneys, reproductive organs and immune system of children, and they also increase the risk of cancer. To detect food adulteration and to avoid further harm caused by food adulteration, simple screening methods have been developed, and they have recently emerged as a new focus area for research. This article also summarizes the simple screening methods used to analyse the aforementioned food adulterants and reports how governments reacted to the recent food incidents. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. Food adulteration and consumer awareness in Dhaka City, 1995-2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasreen, Sharifa; Ahmed, Tahmeed

    2014-09-01

    We conducted this study to investigate the magnitude of food adulteration during 1995-2011 and consumer awareness in Dhaka city. We reviewed results of food sample testing by Public Health Food Laboratory of Dhaka City Corporation, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, Consumers Association of Bangladesh publications, reports from lay press, including those on mobile magistrate court operations. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 96 residents of Dhaka city, using a structured questionnaire in 2006. The overall proportion of food samples adulterated decreased during 2001-2005, and 40-54% of daily-consumed food was adulterated during 1995-2011. More than 35 food items were commonly adulterated. Consumers considered expiry date and quality or freshness as the best criteria while buying packaged and open food items respectively; only 11 (12%) respondents considered approval of regulatory authority for buying packaged food items. More than half of the food consumed in Dhaka city is adulterated, which warrants actions by the Government, the industry, and the consumers.

  9. [Textual research on adulteration of Chinese materia medica in ancient China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Jin; Wang, De-Qun

    2013-09-01

    By investigating the mainstream works of herbal classics of successive ages, it is found that adulteration of Chinese materia medica appeared early in ancient China. The main methods of adulteration was producing fraud medicines in the Northern-Southern Dynasties, fake medicines began to appear in the Tang Dynasty, and status of adulteration of Chinese materia medica ran unchecked since the Ming and Qing Dynasty. By statistics, there were 76 kinds of adulteration varieties before the Republican period. The main varieties were precious drugs, animal drugs and artifacts. Commonly methods used in the process included forging and adulterating, dealing with 11 kinds and 68 kinds respectively. Adulteration probably lead to the result of imposing the changes of the used medicinal parts of Herba Pogostemonis; Radix Aconiti Lateralis prepared by adding salt, Radix Angelica Sinensis processed by wine, and Radix Astragalis seu Hedysaris processed with bee honey. However, the root cause of adulteration in Chinese materia medica was the dissociation of professional physician and pharmacist, resulting in the ignorance of medical practitioners became unable to recognize Chinese materia medica; and the immorality of medicinal merchants. Besides, rating the quality of materia medica based on its producing areas without differentiating the false from the genuine may also contribute to this result passively.

  10. The application of NMR and MS methods for detection of adulteration of wine, fruit juices, and olive oil. A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogrinc, N; Kosir, I J; Spangenberg, J E; Kidric, J

    2003-06-01

    This review covers two important techniques, high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS), used to characterize food products and detect possible adulteration of wine, fruit juices, and olive oil, all important products of the Mediterranean Basin. Emphasis is placed on the complementary use of SNIF-NMR (site-specific natural isotopic fractionation nuclear magnetic resonance) and IRMS (isotope-ratio mass spectrometry) in association with chemometric methods for detecting the adulteration.

  11. Analisis Adulterasi Jamu Pegal Linu yang Diperoleh dari Pasar di Jakarta dan Sekitarnya (Analysis of Adulterated Jamu Pegal Linu Obtained from the Market in Jakarta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Retno Gitawati

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: “Jamu Pegal Linu” (traditional Indonesian herb for rheumatoid and gouty arthritis is one of the mostpopular jamu products manufactured and widely consumed in the community. Despite the claims that they are made ofnatural herbs, these kinds of jamu are susceptible for being counterfeited and adulterated with drugs that is potentiallyharmful for health. The aim of this study was to identify medicinal adulteration in jamu pegal linu products obtained from the market in Jakarta and surroundings. Method: This study was an experimental laboratory in a cross-sectional design. About 450 samples of jamu pegal linu products were randomly chosen, and the products with different brands wereanalyzed for medicinal adulteration using a thin layer chromatography (TLC method. Product labels of the adulterated jamu were also analyzed for the appropriateness of the product information. Results: Out of the 114 brands of jamu pegal linu analyzed, 52 samples (45.6% were positive for medicinal. The medicinal types detected were paracetamol (30.7%, phenylbutazone (20.4%, piroxicam (7.1% and mefenamic acid (3.5%. Two samples of jamu has been contaminated with molds and found damp. Of the 52 samples positive medicinal, 92.3% include the registration number and only 30.8% include the expiration date in the product labels. About 44.2% include the name of ingredients compositions written incorrectly in the labels. Conclusion: A. limited numbers of Jamu pegal linu products adulterated with medicinal still existed in the market.

  12. Economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of food: common characteristics of EMA incidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Everstine, Karen; Spink, John; Kennedy, Shaun

    2013-04-01

    Economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of food, also known as food fraud, is the intentional adulteration of food for financial advantage. A common form of EMA, undeclared substitution with alternative ingredients, is usually a health concern because of allergen labeling requirements. As demonstrated by the nearly 300,000 illnesses in China from melamine adulteration of infant formula, EMA also has the potential to result in serious public health consequences. Furthermore, EMA incidents reveal gaps in quality assurance testing methodologies that could be exploited for intentional harm. In contrast to foodborne disease outbreaks, EMA incidents present a particular challenge to the food industry and regulators because they are deliberate acts that are intended to evade detection. Large-scale EMA incidents have been described in the scientific literature, but smaller incidents have been documented only in media sources. We reviewed journal articles and media reports of EMA since 1980. We identified 137 unique incidents in 11 food categories: fish and seafood (24 incidents), dairy products (15), fruit juices (12), oils and fats (12), grain products (11), honey and other natural sweeteners (10), spices and extracts (8), wine and other alcoholic beverages (7), infant formula (5), plant-based proteins (5), and other food products (28). We identified common characteristics among the incidents that may help us better evaluate and reduce the risk of EMA. These characteristics reflect the ways in which existing regulatory systems or testing methodologies were inadequate for detecting EMA and how novel detection methods and other deterrence strategies can be deployed. Prevention and detection of EMA cannot depend on traditional food safety strategies. Comprehensive food protection, as outlined by the Food Safety Modernization Act, will require innovative methods for detecting EMA and for targeting crucial resources toward the riskiest food products.

  13. A new comprehensive index for discriminating adulteration in bovine raw milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jing; Ren, Jing; Liu, Zhen-Min; Guo, Ben-Heng

    2015-04-01

    This paper proposes a new comprehensive index, called Q, which can effectively discriminate artificial adulterated milk from unadulterated milk. Both normal and adulterated samples of bovine raw milk were analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic instrument to measure the traditional indices of quality, including fat (FAT), protein (PRO), lactose (LAC), total solids (TS), non-fat solid (NFS), freezing point (FP) and somatic cell counts (SCC). From these traditional indices, this paper elaborates a method to build the index Q. First, correlated analysis and principle component analysis were used to select parameter pairs TS-FAT and FP-LAC as predominant variables. Second, linear-regression analysis and residual analysis are applied to determine the index Q and its discriminating ranges. The verification and two-blind trial results suggested that index Q could accurately detect milk adulteration with maltodextrin and water (as low as 1.0% of adulteration proportions), and with other nine kinds of synthetic adulterants (as low as 0.5% of adulteration proportions). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. [Molecular identification of Hibiscus syriacus and its adulterants using ITS2 barcode].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yi-Mei; Jin, Li-Na; Xiong, Yong-Xin; Wu, Lan; Chen, Ke-Li

    2014-03-01

    To identify Hibiscus syriacus and its adulterants using DNA barcoding technique. Nine samples of five species were PCR amplified and sequenced, and twelve samples were downloaded from the GenBank. The intra-specific and interspecific K2P distances were calculated, and neighbor-joining( NJ) tree was constructed by MEGA 5.0. The results showed the intra-specific genetic distances of Hibiscus syriacus were ranged from 0.009 to 0.056, which were far lower than inter-specific genetic distances between Hibiscus syriacus and its adulterants (0.236 - 0.301). Variable sites within Hibiscus syriacus ranged from 2 to 9 which were far less than the adulterants (45 - 52); Different samples of Hibiscus syriacus were gathered together and could be distinguished from its adulterants by NJ tree. ITS2 can discriminate Hibiscus syriacus from its adulterants correctly. The ITS2 region is an efficient barcode for authentication of Hibiscus syriacus and its adulterants.

  15. Taste characteristics based quantitative and qualitative evaluation of ginseng adulteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Shaoqing; Yang, Liangcheng; Wang, Jun; Wang, Xinlei

    2015-05-01

    Adulteration of American ginseng with Asian ginseng is common and has caused much damage to customers. Panel evaluation is commonly used to determine their differences, but it is subjective. Chemical instruments are used to identify critical compounds but they are time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, a fast, accurate and convenient method is required. A taste sensing system, combining both advantages of the above two technologies, provides a novel potential technology for determining ginseng adulteration. The aim is to build appropriate models to distinguish and predict ginseng adulteration by using taste characteristics. It was found that ginsenoside contents decreased linearly (R(2) = 0.92) with mixed ratios. A bioplot of principal component analysis showed a good performance in classing samples with the first two principal components reaching 89.7%, and it was noted that it was the bitterness, astringency, aftertaste of bitterness and astringency, and saltiness leading the successful determination. After factor screening, bitterness, astringency, aftertaste of bitterness and saltiness were employed to build latent models. Tastes of bitterness, astringency and aftertaste bitterness were demonstrated to be most effective in predicting adulteration ratio, mean while, bitterness and aftertaste bitterness turned out to be most effective in ginsenoside content prediction. Taste characteristics of adulterated ginsengs, considered as taste fingerprint, can provide novel guidance for determining the adulteration of American and Asian ginseng. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  16. Classification of adulterated honeys by multivariate analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amiry, Saber; Esmaiili, Mohsen; Alizadeh, Mohammad

    2017-06-01

    In this research, honey samples were adulterated with date syrup (DS) and invert sugar syrup (IS) at three concentrations (7%, 15% and 30%). 102 adulterated samples were prepared in six batches with 17 replications for each batch. For each sample, 32 parameters including color indices, rheological, physical, and chemical parameters were determined. To classify the samples, based on type and concentrations of adulterant, a multivariate analysis was applied using principal component analysis (PCA) followed by a linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Then, 21 principal components (PCs) were selected in five sets. Approximately two-thirds were identified correctly using color indices (62.75%) or rheological properties (67.65%). A power discrimination was obtained using physical properties (97.06%), and the best separations were achieved using two sets of chemical properties (set 1: lactone, diastase activity, sucrose - 100%) (set 2: free acidity, HMF, ash - 95%). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Barcoding melting curve analysis for rapid, sensitive, and discriminating authentication of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) from its adulterants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Chao; Cao, Liang; Yuan, Yuan; Chen, Min; Jin, Yan; Huang, Luqi

    2014-01-01

    Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is one of the most important and expensive medicinal spice products in the world. Because of its high market value and premium price, saffron is often adulterated through the incorporation of other materials, such as Carthamus tinctorius L. and Calendula officinalis L. flowers, Hemerocallis L. petals, Daucus carota L. fleshy root, Curcuma longa L. rhizomes, Zea may L., and Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. stigmas. To develop a straightforward, nonsequencing method for rapid, sensitive, and discriminating detection of these adulterants in traded saffron, we report here the application of a barcoding melting curve analysis method (Bar-MCA) that uses the universal chloroplast plant DNA barcoding region trnH-psbA to identify adulterants. When amplified at DNA concentrations and annealing temperatures optimized for the curve analysis, peaks were formed at specific locations for saffron (81.92°C) and the adulterants: D. carota (81.60°C), C. tinctorius (80.10°C), C. officinalis (79.92°C), Dendranthema morifolium (Ramat.) Tzvel. (79.62°C), N. nucifera (80.58°C), Hemerocallis fulva (L.) L. (84.78°C), and Z. mays (84.33°C). The constructed melting curves for saffron and its adulterants have significantly different peak locations or shapes. In conclusion, Bar-MCA could be a faster and more cost-effective method to authenticate saffron and detect its adulterants.

  18. Barcoding Melting Curve Analysis for Rapid, Sensitive, and Discriminating Authentication of Saffron (Crocus sativus L. from Its Adulterants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao Jiang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Saffron (Crocus sativus L. is one of the most important and expensive medicinal spice products in the world. Because of its high market value and premium price, saffron is often adulterated through the incorporation of other materials, such as Carthamus tinctorius L. and Calendula officinalis L. flowers, Hemerocallis L. petals, Daucus carota L. fleshy root, Curcuma longa L. rhizomes, Zea may L., and Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. stigmas. To develop a straightforward, nonsequencing method for rapid, sensitive, and discriminating detection of these adulterants in traded saffron, we report here the application of a barcoding melting curve analysis method (Bar-MCA that uses the universal chloroplast plant DNA barcoding region trnH-psbA to identify adulterants. When amplified at DNA concentrations and annealing temperatures optimized for the curve analysis, peaks were formed at specific locations for saffron (81.92°C and the adulterants: D. carota (81.60°C, C. tinctorius (80.10°C, C. officinalis (79.92°C, Dendranthema morifolium (Ramat. Tzvel. (79.62°C, N. nucifera (80.58°C, Hemerocallis fulva (L. L. (84.78°C, and Z. mays (84.33°C. The constructed melting curves for saffron and its adulterants have significantly different peak locations or shapes. In conclusion, Bar-MCA could be a faster and more cost-effective method to authenticate saffron and detect its adulterants.

  19. FTIR characterization of Mexican honey and its adulteration with sugar syrups by using chemometric methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rios-Corripio, M A; Rojas-Lopez, M; Delgado-Macuil, R [CIBA-Tlaxcala, IPN, Tlaxcala, Tlax. (Mexico); Rios-Leal, E [CINVESTAV, Zacatenco, Mexico D.F. (Mexico)

    2011-01-01

    A chemometric analysis of adulteration of Mexican honey by sugar syrups such as corn syrup and cane sugar syrup was realized. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to measure the absorption of a group of bee honey samples from central region of Mexico. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to process FTIR spectra to determine the adulteration of bee honey. In addition to that, the content of individual sugars from honey samples: glucose, fructose, sucrose and monosaccharides was determined by using PLS-FTIR analysis validated by HPLC measurements. This analytical methodology which is based in infrared spectroscopy and chemometry can be an alternative technique to characterize and also to determine the purity and authenticity of nutritional products as bee honey and other natural products.

  20. Adulteration of apple with pear juice: emphasis on major carbohydrates, proline, and arbutin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thavarajah, Pushparajah; Low, Nicholas H

    2006-06-28

    Detection of juice-to-juice adulteration based on chemical composition studies is a common method used by government regulatory agencies and food companies. This study investigated the use of major carbohydrate (fructose, glucose and sucrose), polyol (sorbitol), proline, and phenolic profiles as indicators of pear adulteration of apple juice (PAAJ). For this work, a total of 105 authentic apple juice samples from 13 countries and 27 authentic pear juice samples from 5 countries were analyzed. Because the major carbohydrate ranges for these juices showed significant overlap their use as markers for PAAJ detection would be very limited. It was found that sorbitol and proline means for apple and pear were significantly different; however, their broad natural ranges would afford PAAJ at levels up to 30% without detection. In addition, careful selection of the pear juice used as the adulterant would further limit the usefulness of these markers for PAAJ detection. Arbutin was conclusively identified as a marker for pear juice on the basis of its presence in all 27 authentic pear samples and its absence (apple juice samples analyzed in this study. The application of the developed HPLC-PDA method for arbutin analysis to detect PAAJ at levels as low as 2% (v/v) was demonstrated. A confirmation method for the presence of arbutin in pure pear juice and apple adulterated with pear juice was introduced on the basis of the hydrolysis of arbutin to hydroquinone employing beta-glucosidase, with reactant and product monitoring by HPLC-PDA.

  1. Detection of adulteration in mulberry pekmez samples added various sugar syrups with ¹³C/¹²C isotope ratio analysis method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosun, Murat

    2014-12-15

    Mulberry pekmez can be adulterated in different ways either during the production process or after production is completed. To identify these adulterations, stable carbon isotope ratio analysis (SCIRA) was performed on the model examples prepared by adding saccharose syrup (SS), glucose syrup (GS) and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) into two different pure mulberry pekmez samples in the ratios of 0%, 10%, 30% and 50%. The δ(13)C ratio of the pure mulberry pekmez was determined as -26.60‰ on average, the saccharose syrup as -24.80‰, the glucose syrup as -11.20‰ and the high-fructose corn syrup as -11.40‰. In identifying the adulteration made to pekmez, especially with the high-fructose corn syrup, which is obtained from corn starch, and with the glucose syrup, the δ(13)C ratio comes into prominence. However it remains impossible identify the adulterations made with the saccharose, which is obtained from beet sugar, or invert sugar syrups. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Physicochemical composition of pure and adulterated royal jelly

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Henrique Garcia-Amoedo

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available The physicochemical composition of pure royal jelly as well as of some adulterated samples was analyzed by determining moisture, ash, lipids, nitrogen/proteins, carbohydrates, starch and 10- HDA (10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid. The solubility in alkaline medium was used to detect the main frauds for adulterating royal jelly which comprise addition of yogurt, water, egg white, sweet condensed milk mixed with propolis, unripe banana and corn starch slurry.

  3. Detection of argan oil adulterated with vegetable oils: New markers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ourrach, I.; Rada, M.; Perez-Camino, M. C.; Benaissa, M.; Guinda, A

    2012-07-01

    This work aims to contribute to controlling the authenticity of pure argan oil, a valuable Moroccan product. Fatty acids, hydrocarbon fraction, 3,5-stigmastadiene, the alkyl esters of fatty acids, chlorophyllic pigments and physical properties such as viscosity, density and refractive index were studied in order to detect the adulteration of argan oil with edible vegetable oils. The results found in this study show that 3,5-stigmastadiene, kaurene and pheophytin-a can be used as possible new markers for argan oil blends of up to 5% with refined, sunflower and virgin olive oils. Due to the similarity of the fatty acid compositions of the edible oils studied and argan oil, fatty acids can be employed as markers for the detection of argan oil adulteration at levels higher than 10%. Among the physical properties studied, the refractive index shows significant differences for sunflower oil and its blend at 10% with argan oil. (Author) 35 refs.

  4. High-throughput analysis by SP-LDI-MS for fast identification of adulterations in commercial balsamic vinegars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guerreiro, Tatiane Melina; Oliveira, Diogo Noin de; Ferreira, Mônica Siqueira; Catharino, Rodrigo Ramos, E-mail: rrc@fcm.unicamp.br

    2014-08-01

    Highlights: • Rapid identification of adulteration in balsamic vinegars. • Minimal sample preparation. • No matrix required for assisting laser desorption/ionization. • Fast sample discrimination by multivariate data analysis. - Abstract: Balsamic vinegar (BV) is a typical and valuable Italian product, worldwide appreciated thanks to its characteristic flavors and potential health benefits. Several studies have been conducted to assess physicochemical and microbial compositions of BV, as well as its beneficial properties. Due to highly-disseminated claims of antioxidant, antihypertensive and antiglycemic properties, BV is a known target for frauds and adulterations. For that matter, product authentication, certifying its origin (region or country) and thus the processing conditions, is becoming a growing concern. Striving for fraud reduction as well as quality and safety assurance, reliable analytical strategies to rapidly evaluate BV quality are very interesting, also from an economical point of view. This work employs silica plate laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SP-LDI-MS) for fast chemical profiling of commercial BV samples with protected geographical indication (PGI) and identification of its adulterated samples with low-priced vinegars, namely apple, alcohol and red/white wines.

  5. High-throughput analysis by SP-LDI-MS for fast identification of adulterations in commercial balsamic vinegars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guerreiro, Tatiane Melina; Oliveira, Diogo Noin de; Ferreira, Mônica Siqueira; Catharino, Rodrigo Ramos

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Rapid identification of adulteration in balsamic vinegars. • Minimal sample preparation. • No matrix required for assisting laser desorption/ionization. • Fast sample discrimination by multivariate data analysis. - Abstract: Balsamic vinegar (BV) is a typical and valuable Italian product, worldwide appreciated thanks to its characteristic flavors and potential health benefits. Several studies have been conducted to assess physicochemical and microbial compositions of BV, as well as its beneficial properties. Due to highly-disseminated claims of antioxidant, antihypertensive and antiglycemic properties, BV is a known target for frauds and adulterations. For that matter, product authentication, certifying its origin (region or country) and thus the processing conditions, is becoming a growing concern. Striving for fraud reduction as well as quality and safety assurance, reliable analytical strategies to rapidly evaluate BV quality are very interesting, also from an economical point of view. This work employs silica plate laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SP-LDI-MS) for fast chemical profiling of commercial BV samples with protected geographical indication (PGI) and identification of its adulterated samples with low-priced vinegars, namely apple, alcohol and red/white wines

  6. Honey adulteration detection: voltammetric e-tongue versus official methods for physicochemical parameter determination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oroian, Mircea; Paduret, Sergiu; Ropciuc, Sorina

    2018-02-10

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a voltammetric e-tongue (three electrodes: reference electrode (Ag/AgCl), counter electrode (glassy carbon electrode rod) and working electrode (Au, Ag, Pt and glass electrode)) for honey adulteration detection. For this purpose, 55 samples of authentic honey (acacia, honeydew, sunflower, Tilia and polyfloral) and 150 adulterated ones were analyzed. The adulteration was made using fructose, glucose, inverted sugar, hydrolyzed inulin syrup and malt wort at different percentages: 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%, respectively. The e-tongue has been compared with the physicochemical parameters (pH, free acidity, electrical conductivity (EC) and CIEL*a*b* parameters (L*, a* and b*)) in order to achieve a suitable method for the classification of authentic and adulterated honeys. The e-tongue and physicochemical parameters reached a 97.50% correct classification of the authentic and adulterated honeys. In the case of the adulterated honey samples, the e-tongue achieved 83.33% correct classifications whereas the physicochemical parameters only achieved 73.33%. The e-tongue is a fast, easy and accurate method for honey adulteration detection which can be used in situ by beekeepers and provide useful information on EC and free acidity. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

  7. Detection and quantification of adulteration in sandalwood oil through near infrared spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuriakose, Saji; Thankappan, Xavier; Joe, Hubert; Venkataraman, Venkateswaran

    2010-10-01

    The confirmation of authenticity of essential oils and the detection of adulteration are problems of increasing importance in the perfumes, pharmaceutical, flavor and fragrance industries. This is especially true for 'value added' products like sandalwood oil. A methodical study is conducted here to demonstrate the potential use of Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy along with multivariate calibration models like principal component regression (PCR) and partial least square regression (PLSR) as rapid analytical techniques for the qualitative and quantitative determination of adulterants in sandalwood oil. After suitable pre-processing of the NIR raw spectral data, the models are built-up by cross-validation. The lowest Root Mean Square Error of Cross-Validation and Calibration (RMSECV and RMSEC % v/v) are used as a decision supporting system to fix the optimal number of factors. The coefficient of determination (R(2)) and the Root Mean Square Error of Prediction (RMSEP % v/v) in the prediction sets are used as the evaluation parameters (R(2) = 0.9999 and RMSEP = 0.01355). The overall result leads to the conclusion that NIR spectroscopy with chemometric techniques could be successfully used as a rapid, simple, instant and non-destructive method for the detection of adulterants, even 1% of the low-grade oils, in the high quality form of sandalwood oil.

  8. Detection of Virgin Olive Oil Adulteration Using Low Field Unilateral NMR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Xu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The detection of adulteration in edible oils is a concern in the food industry, especially for the higher priced virgin olive oils. This article presents a low field unilateral nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR method for the detection of the adulteration of virgin olive oil that can be performed through sealed bottles providing a non-destructive screening technique. Adulterations of an extra virgin olive oil with different percentages of sunflower oil and red palm oil were measured with a commercial unilateral instrument, the profile NMR-Mouse. The NMR signal was processed using a 2-dimensional Inverse Laplace transformation to analyze the transverse relaxation and self-diffusion behaviors of different oils. The obtained results demonstrated the feasibility of detecting adulterations of olive oil with percentages of at least 10% of sunflower and red palm oils.

  9. Differentiation of saraca asoca crude drug from its adulterant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathew, Samuel; Mathew, Gracy; Joy, P P; Skari, Baby P; Joseph, T S

    2005-04-01

    Saraca asoca commonly known as asoka, which is considered as a sacred tree by Hindus and Buddhists possesses various medicinal uses. The stem bark of the tree is the principal constituent of several ayurvedic preparations which are widely prescribed in leucorrhoea, haematuria, menorrhagia and other diseases of the female genitourinary system. Because of destructive extraction and the absence of an organized cultivation programme, the avilbility of the crude drug is diminishing and this has resulted in the sale of adulterants. The commonly used adulterant is the bark of Polyalthia longifolia which shows some similarity with that of asoka. Studies were conducted at Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Research station, Odakkali (Kerala Agricultural University) during 2001-2002 to evolve methods for differentiating the original drug from the adulterant species by anatomical biochemical and chromatographic techniques.

  10. Adulteration Practices of Psychoactive Illicit Drugs: An Updated Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solimini, Renata; Rotolo, Maria C; Pellegrini, Manuela; Minutillo, Adele; Pacifici, Roberta; Busardò, Francesco P; Zaami, Simona

    2017-01-01

    Powdery drugs such as cocaine and heroin are frequently adulterated or diluted predominantly to obtain more doses and to increase the drug dealer's profits, but also to enhance, to modify or to oppose drug effects. The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the recent scientific literature on medicines as well as on new psychoactive substances, used as cutting agents (i.e. pharmacologically active adulterants) and on the related adverse health effects on consumers, possibly due to the synergistic effect of the adulterants laced with substances of abuse. A literature search up to January 2017 was performed on MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science and reports and documents of international agencies or institutions were also searched. Pharmacologically active substances such as: paracetamol, caffeine, dextromethorphan, clenbuterol for heroin; levamisole, phenacetine, lidocaine, hydroxyzine and diltiazem for cocaine; caffeine and phentermine for amphetamine, have been identified over the years. Furthermore, since cocaine and morphine (this latter as a precursor of heroin) are both extracted from natural products, some impurities and minor alkaloids can be present in the final preparation. In this context, it is worth considering that new psychoactive substances are also used as cutting agents. The wide availability of illicit psychotropic drugs is the most serious hazard threatening consumers. Indeed emergency departments are often responsible in evaluating damages caused not only by the base substance, but also by other eventual compounds added to mimic or antagonize drug effects or simply dilute the drug amount, with a possible harmful synergic toxic action. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  11. Toward the development of Raman spectroscopy as a nonperturbative online monitoring tool for gasoline adulteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Khay M; Barman, Ishan; Dingari, Narahara C; Singh, Gajendra P; Chia, Tet F; Tok, Wee L

    2013-02-05

    There is a critical need for a real-time, nonperturbative probe for monitoring the adulteration of automotive gasoline. Running on adulterated fuel leads to a substantive increase in air pollution, because of increased tailpipe emissions of harmful pollutants, as well as a reduction in engine performance. Consequently, both classification of the gasoline type and quantification of the adulteration content are of great significance for quality control. Gasoline adulteration detection is currently carried out in the laboratory with gas chromatography, which is time-consuming and costly. Here, we propose the application of Raman spectroscopic measurements for on-site rapid detection of gasoline adulteration. In this proof-of-principle report, we demonstrate the effectiveness of Raman spectra, in conjunction with multivariate analysis methods, in classifying the base oil types and simultaneously detecting the adulteration content in a wide range of commercial gasoline mixtures, both in their native states and spiked with different adulterants. In particular, we show that Raman spectra acquired with an inexpensive noncooled detector provides adequate specificity to clearly discriminate between the gasoline samples and simultaneously characterize the specific adulterant content with a limit of detection below 5%. Our promising results in this study illustrate, for the first time, the capability and the potential of Raman spectroscopy, together with multivariate analysis, as a low-cost, powerful tool for on-site rapid detection of gasoline adulteration and opens substantive avenues for applications in related fields of quality control in the oil industry.

  12. Specific PCR Identification between Peucedanum praeruptorum and Angelica decursiva and Identification between Them and Adulterant Using DNA Barcode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Bang-Xing; Yuan, Yuan; Huang, Lu-Qi; Zhao, Qun; Tan, Ling-Ling; Song, Xiang-Wen; He, Xiao-Mei; Xu, Tao; Liu, Feng; Wang, Jian

    2017-01-01

    The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Qianhu and Zihuaqianhu are the dried roots of Peucedanum praeruptorum and Angelica decursiva , respectively. Since the plant sources of Qianhu and Zihuaqianhu are more complex, the chemical compositions of P. praeruptorum and A. decursiva are significantly different, and many adulterants exist because of the differences in traditional understanding and medication habits. Therefore, the rapid and accurate identification methods are required. The aim was to study the feasibility of using DNA barcoding to distinguish between Traditional Chinese medicine Qianhu ( Peucedanum praeruptorum ), Zihuaqianhu ( Angelica decursiva ), and common adulterants, based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, as well as specific PCR identification between P. praeruptorum and A. decursiva . The ITS sequences of P. praeruptorum , A. decursiva , and adulterant were studied, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. Based on the ITS barcode, the specific PCR primer pairs QH-CP19s/QH-CP19a and ZHQH-CP3s/ZHQH-CP3a were designed for P. praeruptorum and A. decursiva , respectively. The amplification conditions were optimized, and specific PCR products were obtained. The results showed that the phylogenetic trees constructed using the BI and MP methods were consistent, and P. praeruptorum and A. decursiva sequence haplotypes formed their own monophyly. The experimental results showed that in PCR products, the target bands appeared in the genuine drug and not in the adulterant, which suggests the high specificity of the two primer pairs. The ITS sequence was ideal DNA barcode to identify P. praeruptorum , A. decursiva , and adulterant. The specific PCR is a quick and effective method to distinguish between P. praeruptorum and A. decursiva . Peucedanum praeruptorum and Angelica decursiva sequence haplotypes formed their own monophyly.The ITS sequence was ideal DNA barcode to identify P. praeruptorum , A. decursiva , and adulterant.Specific PCR is a

  13. Detecting adulterants in milk with lower cost mid-infrared and Raman spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Changwon; Wang, Wenbo; Wilson, Benjamin K.; Connett, Marie; Keller, Matthew D.

    2018-02-01

    Adulteration of milk for economic gains is a widespread issue throughout the developing world that can have far-reaching health and nutritional impacts. Milk analysis technologies, such as infrared spectroscopy, can screen for adulteration, but the cost of these technologies has prohibited their use in low resource settings. Recent developments in infrared and Raman spectroscopy hardware have led to commercially available low-cost devices. In this work, we evaluated the performance of two such spectrometers in detecting and quantifying the presence of milk adulterants. Five common adulterants - ammonium sulfate, melamine, sodium bicarbonate, sucrose, and urea, were spiked into five different raw cow and goat milk samples at different concentrations. Collected MIR and Raman spectra were analyzed using partial least squares regression. The limit of detection (LOD) for each adulterant was determined to be in the range of 0.04 to 0.28% (400 to 2800 ppm) using MIR spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy showed similar LOD's for some of the adulterants, notably those with strong amine group signals, and slightly higher LOD's (up to 1.0%) for other molecules. Overall, the LODs were comparable to other spectroscopic milk analyzers on the market, and they were within the economically relevant concentration range of 100 to 4000 ppm. These lower cost spectroscopic devices therefore appear to hold promise for use in low resource settings.

  14. [Discrimination of Rice Syrup Adulterant of Acacia Honey Based Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yan-nan; Chen, Lan-zhen; Xue, Xiao-feng; Wu, Li-ming; Li, Yi; Yang, Juan

    2015-09-01

    At present, the rice syrup as a low price of the sweeteners was often adulterated into acacia honey and the adulterated honeys were sold in honey markets, while there is no suitable and fast method to identify honey adulterated with rice syrup. In this study, Near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) combined with chemometric methods were used to discriminate authenticity of honey. 20 unprocessed acacia honey samples from the different honey producing areas, mixed? with different proportion of rice syrup, were prepared of seven different concentration gradient? including 121 samples. The near infrared spectrum (NIR) instrument and spectrum processing software have been applied in the? spectrum? scanning and data conversion on adulterant samples, respectively. Then it was analyzed by Principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical discriminant analysis methods in order to discriminating adulterated honey. The results showed that after principal components analysis, the first two principal components accounted for 97.23% of total variation, but the regionalism of the score plot of the first two PCs was not obvious, so the canonical discriminant analysis was used to make the further discrimination, all samples had been discriminated correctly, the first two discriminant functions accounted for 91.6% among the six canonical discriminant functions, Then the different concentration of adulterant samples can be discriminated correctly, it illustrate that canonical discriminant analysis method combined with NIR spectroscopy is not only feasible but also practical for rapid and effective discriminate of the rice syrup adulterant of acacia honey.

  15. Adulteration and Counterfeiting of Online Nutraceutical Formulations in the United States: Time for Intervention?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nounou, Mohamed Ismail; Ko, Yamin; Helal, Nada A; Boltz, Jeremy F

    2017-10-11

    Global prevalence of nutraceuticals is noticeably high. The American market is flooded with nutraceuticals claiming to be of natural origin and sold with a therapeutic claim by major online retail stores such as Amazon and eBay. The objective of this commentary is to highlight the possible problems of online-sold nutraceuticals in the United States with respect to claim, adulterants, and safety. Furthermore, there is a lack of strict regulatory laws governing the sales, manufacturing, marketing, and label claims of nutraceutical formulations currently sold in the U.S. market. Major online retail stores and Internet pharmacies aid the widespread sale of nutraceuticals. Finally, according to the literature, many of these products were found to be either counterfeit or adulterated with active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and mislabeled as being safe and natural. Therefore, regulatory authorities along with the research community should intervene to draw attention to these products and their possible effects.

  16. Nanobioprobe for the Determination of Pork Adulteration in Burger Formulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. E. Ali

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the development of a swine-specific hybrid nanobioprobe through a covalent integration of a fluorophore-labeled 27-nucleotide AluI-fragment of swine cytochrome b gene to a 3 nm gold nanoparticle for the determination of pork adulteration in processed meat products. We tested the probe to estimate adulterated pork in ready-to-eat pork-spiked beef burgers. The probe quantitatively detected 1–100% spiked pork in burger formulations with ≥90% accuracy. A plot of observed fluorescence against the known concentration of AluI-digested pork DNA targets generated a concave curve, demonstrating a power relationship (y=2.956x0.509 with a regression coefficient (R2 of 0.986. No cross-species detection was found in a standard set of pork, beef, chicken, mutton, and chevon burgers. The method is suitable for the determination of very short-length nucleic acid targets which cannot be estimated by conventional and real-time PCR but are essential for the determination of microRNA in biodiagnostics and degraded DNA in forensic testing and food analysis.

  17. Nanobioprobe for the Determination of Pork Adulteration in Burger Formulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, M.E.; Hashim, U.K.; Foo, L.; Mustafa, S.; Che Man, Y.B.

    2012-01-01

    We report the development of a swine-specific hybrid nanobioprobe through a covalent integration of a fluorophore-labeled 27-nucleotide AluI-fragment of swine cytochrome b gene to a 3 nm gold nanoparticle for the determination of pork adulteration in processed meat products. We tested the probe to estimate adulterated pork in ready-to-eat pork-spiked beef burgers. The probe quantitatively detected 1-100% spiked pork in burger formulations with ≥90% accuracy. A plot of observed fluorescence against the known concentration of AluI-digested pork DNA targets generated a concave curve, demonstrating a power relationship (y=2.956x 0.509 ) with a regression coefficient (R 2 ) of 0.986. No cross-species detection was found in a standard set of pork, beef, chicken, mutton, and chevon burgers. The method is suitable for the determination of very short-length nucleic acid targets which cannot be estimated by conventional and real-time PCR but are essential for the determination of micro RNA in bio diagnostics and degraded DNA in forensic testing and food analysis.

  18. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of milk for the detection of adulteration by Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moncayo, S; Manzoor, S; Rosales, J D; Anzano, J; Caceres, J O

    2017-10-01

    The present work focuses on the development of a fast and cost effective method based on Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to the quality control, traceability and detection of adulteration in milk. Two adulteration cases have been studied; a qualitative analysis for the discrimination between different milk blends and quantification of melamine in adulterated toddler milk powder. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and neural networks (NN) have been used to analyze LIBS spectra obtaining a correct classification rate of 98% with a 100% of robustness. For the quantification of melamine, two methodologies have been developed; univariate analysis using CN emission band and multivariate calibration NN model obtaining correlation coefficient (R 2 ) values of 0.982 and 0.999 respectively. The results of the use of LIBS technique coupled with chemometric analysis are discussed in terms of its potential use in the food industry to perform the quality control of this dairy product. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Spectroscopic and Spectrometric Methods Used for the Screening of Certain Herbal Food Supplements Suspected of Adulteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mateescu, Cristina; Popescu, Anca Mihaela; Radu, Gabriel Lucian; Onisei, Tatiana; Raducanu, Adina Elena

    2017-06-01

    Purpose: This study was carried out in order to find a reliable method for the fast detection of adulterated herbal food supplements with sexual enhancement claims. As some herbal products are advertised as "all natural", their "efficiency" is often increased by addition of active pharmaceutical ingredients such as PDE-5 inhibitors, which can be a real health threat for the consumer. Methodes: Adulterants, potentially present in 50 herbal food supplements with sexual improvement claims, were detected using 2 spectroscopic methods - Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared - known for reliability, reproductibility, and an easy sample preparation. GC-MS technique was used to confirm the potential adulterants spectra. Results: About 22% (11 out of 50 samples) of herbal food supplements with sexual enhancement claims analyzed by spectroscopic and spectrometric methods proved to be "enriched" with active pharmaceutical compounds such as: sildenafil and two of its analogues, tadalafil and phenolphthalein. The occurence of phenolphthalein could be the reason for the non-relevant results obtained by FTIR method in some samples. 91% of the adulterated herbal food supplements were originating from China. Conclusion: The results of this screening highlighted the necessity for an accurate analysis of all alleged herbal aphrodisiacs on the Romanian market. This is a first such a screening analysis carried out on herbal food supplements with sexual enhancement claims.

  20. Detection and identification of extra virgin olive oil adulteration by GC-MS combined with chemometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yang; Ferro, Miguel Duarte; Cavaco, Isabel; Liang, Yizeng

    2013-04-17

    In this study, an analytical method for the detection and identification of extra virgin olive oil adulteration with four types of oils (corn, peanut, rapeseed, and sunflower oils) was proposed. The variables under evaluation included 22 fatty acids and 6 other significant parameters (the ratio of linoleic/linolenic acid, oleic/linoleic acid, total saturated fatty acids (SFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), MUFAs/PUFAs). Univariate analyses followed by multivariate analyses were applied to the adulteration investigation. As a result, the univariate analyses demonstrated that higher contents of eicosanoic acid, docosanoic acid, tetracosanoic acid, and SFAs were the peculiarities of peanut adulteration and higher levels of linolenic acid, 11-eicosenoic acid, erucic acid, and nervonic acid the characteristics of rapeseed adulteration. Then, PLS-LDA made the detection of adulteration effective with a 1% detection limit and 90% prediction ability; a Monte Carlo tree identified the type of adulteration with 85% prediction ability.

  1. The use of rapid spectroscopic screening methods to detect adulteration of food raw materials and ingredients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Klavs Martin; Khakimov, Bekzod; Engelsen, Søren Balling

    2016-01-01

    with chemometrics appears to be an efficient first choice for testing incoming raw materials and ingredients in the food production. However, in order to realize its full potential, it is necessary to move away from the current thoughts at the Parnassus, namely the targeted approach. This review will focus......International trade in food commodities will continue to increase and the complex food supply chains make adulteration detection and traceability a technical, logistical and financial challenge. There is no magic solution for adulteration testing, but NIR spectroscopy in combination...... on the exploitation of the capability of NIR spectroscopy to fingerprint incoming raw materials and ingredients as an integrated part of the industry's self-monitoring program typically called process analytical technology....

  2. Novel identification strategy for ground coffee adulteration based on UPLC-HRMS oligosaccharide profiling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Tie; Ting, Hu; Jin-Lan, Zhang

    2016-01-01

    Coffee is one of the most common and most valuable beverages. According to International Coffee Organization (ICO) reports, the adulteration of coffee for financial reasons is regarded as the most serious threat to the sustainable development of the coffee market. In this work, a novel strategy for adulteration identification in ground coffee was developed based on UPLC-HRMS oligosaccharide profiling. Along with integrated statistical analysis, 17 oligosaccharide composition were identified as markers for the identification of soybeans and rice in ground coffee. This strategy, validated by manual mixtures, optimized both the reliability and authority of adulteration identification. Rice and soybean adulterants present in ground coffee in amounts as low as 5% were identified and evaluated. Some commercial ground coffees were also successfully tested using this strategy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures and nitrogen profile to identify adulteration in organic fertilizers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verenitch, Sergei; Mazumder, Asit

    2012-08-29

    Recently it has been shown that stable isotopes of nitrogen can be used to discriminate between organic and synthetic fertilizers, but the robustness of the approach is questionable. This work developed a comprehensive method that is far more robust in identifying an adulteration of organic nitrogen fertilizers. Organic fertilizers of various types (manures, composts, blood meal, bone meal, fish meal, products of poultry and plant productions, molasses and seaweed based, and others) available on the North American market were analyzed to reveal the most sensitive criteria as well as their quantitative ranges, which can be used in their authentication. Organic nitrogen fertilizers of known origins with a wide δ(15)N range between -0.55 and 28.85‰ (n = 1258) were characterized for C and N content, δ(13)C, δ(15)N, viscosity, pH, and nitrogen profile (urea, ammonia, organic N, water insoluble N, and NO3). A statistically significant data set of characterized unique organic nitrogen fertilizers (n = 335) of various known origins has been assembled. Deliberately adulterated samples of different types of organic fertilizers mixed with synthetic fertilizers at a wide range of proportions have been used to develop the quantitative critical characteristics of organic fertilizers as the key indicators of their adulteration. Statistical analysis based on the discriminant functions of the quantitative critical characteristics of organic nitrogen fertilizers from 14 different source materials revealed a very high average rate of correct classification. The developed methodology has been successfully used as a source identification tool for numerous commercial nitrogen fertilizers available on the North American market.

  4. A Biomimetic Sensor for the Classification of Honeys of Different Floral Origin and the Detection of Adulteration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maz Jamilah Masnan

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The major compounds in honey are carbohydrates such as monosaccharides and disaccharides. The same compounds are found in cane-sugar concentrates. Unfortunately when sugar concentrate is added to honey, laboratory assessments are found to be ineffective in detecting this adulteration. Unlike tracing heavy metals in honey, sugar adulterated honey is much trickier and harder to detect, and traditionally it has been very challenging to come up with a suitable method to prove the presence of adulterants in honey products. This paper proposes a combination of array sensing and multi-modality sensor fusion that can effectively discriminate the samples not only based on the compounds present in the sample but also mimic the way humans perceive flavours and aromas. Conversely, analytical instruments are based on chemical separations which may alter the properties of the volatiles or flavours of a particular honey. The present work is focused on classifying 18 samples of different honeys, sugar syrups and adulterated samples using data fusion of electronic nose (e-nose and electronic tongue (e-tongue measurements. Each group of samples was evaluated separately by the e-nose and e-tongue. Principal Component Analysis (PCA and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA were able to separately discriminate monofloral honey from sugar syrup, and polyfloral honey from sugar and adulterated samples using the e-nose and e-tongue. The e-nose was observed to give better separation compared to e-tongue assessment, particularly when LDA was applied. However, when all samples were combined in one classification analysis, neither PCA nor LDA were able to discriminate between honeys of different floral origins, sugar syrup and adulterated samples. By applying a sensor fusion technique, the classification for the 18 different samples was improved. Significant improvement was observed using PCA, while LDA not only improved the discrimination but also gave better classification

  5. IMPACT OF ADULTERATION WITH GLUCOSE, FRUCTOSE AND HYDROLYSED INULIN SYRUP ON HONEY PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sorina ROPCIUC

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of the adulteration with glucose, fructose, hydrolysed inulin syrup on honey physico-chemical properties (pH, aw, electrical conductivity (EC, water activity and colour parameters (L*, a*, b*, chroma of three honey samples of different botanical origins (acacia, tilia and polyfloral. The honeys were adulterated in different percentages (10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% respectively with glucose, fructose and hydrolysed inulin syrup. The moisture content of all the three samples did not exceed the maximum allowable level of 20% established by the European Commission. The physico-chemical parameters (pH, aw, electrical conductivity (EC, water activity and colour parameters (L*, a*, b*, chroma of the analysed honeys are in agreement with other studies reported in the international scientific literature. The physico-chemical parameters prediction, in function of the botanical origin, adulteration agent and adulteration agent percentage have been made using the analysis of variance (ANOVA. According to the ANOVA it was observed that in the case of L*, pH and electrical conductivity (EC there is a good correlation (R2>0.90 between the parameters and the botanical origin, adulteration agent and adulteration agent percentages.

  6. The application of Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) to detect melamine adulteration of soya bean meal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haughey, Simon A; Graham, Stewart F; Cancouët, Emmanuelle; Elliott, Christopher T

    2013-02-15

    Soya bean products are used widely in the animal feed industry as a protein based feed ingredient and have been found to be adulterated with melamine. This was highlighted in the Chinese scandal of 2008. Dehulled soya (GM and non-GM), soya hulls and toasted soya were contaminated with melamine and spectra were generated using Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS). By applying chemometrics to the spectral data, excellent calibration models and prediction statistics were obtained. The coefficients of determination (R(2)) were found to be 0.89-0.99 depending on the mathematical algorithm used, the data pre-processing applied and the sample type used. The corresponding values for the root mean square error of calibration and prediction were found to be 0.081-0.276% and 0.134-0.368%, respectively, again depending on the chemometric treatment applied to the data and sample type. In addition, adopting a qualitative approach with the spectral data and applying PCA, it was possible to discriminate between the four samples types and also, by generation of Cooman's plots, possible to distinguish between adulterated and non-adulterated samples. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Identification of species adulteration in traded medicinal plant raw drugs using DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nithaniyal, Stalin; Vassou, Sophie Lorraine; Poovitha, Sundar; Raju, Balaji; Parani, Madasamy

    2017-02-01

    Plants are the major source of therapeutic ingredients in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). However, species adulteration in traded medicinal plant raw drugs threatens the reliability and safety of CAM. Since morphological features of medicinal plants are often not intact in the raw drugs, DNA barcoding was employed for species identification. Adulteration in 112 traded raw drugs was tested after creating a reference DNA barcode library consisting of 1452 rbcL and matK barcodes from 521 medicinal plant species. Species resolution of this library was 74.4%, 90.2%, and 93.0% for rbcL, matK, and rbcL + matK, respectively. DNA barcoding revealed adulteration in about 20% of the raw drugs, and at least 6% of them were derived from plants with completely different medicinal or toxic properties. Raw drugs in the form of dried roots, powders, and whole plants were found to be more prone to adulteration than rhizomes, fruits, and seeds. Morphological resemblance, co-occurrence, mislabeling, confusing vernacular names, and unauthorized or fraudulent substitutions might have contributed to species adulteration in the raw drugs. Therefore, this library can be routinely used to authenticate traded raw drugs for the benefit of all stakeholders: traders, consumers, and regulatory agencies.

  8. Visible and near-infrared spectral signatures for adulteration assessment of extra virgin olive oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mignani, A. G.; Ciaccheri, L.; Ottevaere, H.; Thienpont, H.; Conte, L.; Marega, M.; Cichelli, A.; Attilio, C.; Cimato, A.

    2010-04-01

    Because of its high price, the extra virgin olive oil is frequently target for adulteration with lower quality oils. This paper presents an innovative optical technique capable of quantifying the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil caused by lowergrade olive oils. It relies on spectral fingerprinting the test liquid by means of diffuse-light absorption spectroscopy carried out by optical fiber technology in the wide 400-1700 nm spectral range. Then, a smart multivariate processing of spectroscopic data is applied for immediate prediction of adulterant concentration.

  9. Quantitative evaluation of multiple adulterants in roasted coffee by Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and chemometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reis, Nádia; Franca, Adriana S; Oliveira, Leandro S

    2013-10-15

    The current study presents an application of Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy for detection and quantification of fraudulent addition of commonly employed adulterants (spent coffee grounds, coffee husks, roasted corn and roasted barley) to roasted and ground coffee. Roasted coffee samples were intentionally blended with the adulterants (pure and mixed), with total adulteration levels ranging from 1% to 66% w/w. Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS) was used to relate the processed spectra to the mass fraction of adulterants and the model obtained provided reliable predictions of adulterations at levels as low as 1% w/w. A robust methodology was implemented that included the detection of outliers. High correlation coefficients (0.99 for calibration; 0.98 for validation) coupled with low degrees of error (1.23% for calibration; 2.67% for validation) confirmed that DRIFTS can be a valuable analytical tool for detection and quantification of adulteration in ground, roasted coffee. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Ultra-HPLC method for quality and adulterant assessment of steviol glycosides sweeteners - Stevia rebaudiana and stevia products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yan-Hong; Avula, Bharathi; Tang, Wenzhao; Wang, Mei; Elsohly, Mahmoud A; Khan, Ikhlas A

    2015-01-01

    Stevia products are advertised as a zero-calorie sweetener. Glucose should not be an intrinsic component of this product, but it has been identified from some of stevia products in a preliminary study. An UHPLC-UV method was developed for the quantitative determination of glucose from stevia products. After stevia products reacted with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP), PMP derivatives were analysed and glucose was found in seven out of 35 products in the range 0.3-91.5% (w/w). Two products, SPR-12 and SPR-27, showed remarkable amounts of glucose at 61.6% and 91.5%, respectively. In addition, an UHPLC-UV-evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD) method was developed for the quantitative determination of rebaudioside A, stevioside, rebaudioside D, dulcoside A and steviolbioside from Stevia rebaudiana and related products. In a 12 min run, five steviol glycosides were baseline-separated. ELSD and ultraviolet (UV) detections showed comparable results. The LC methods were validated for linearity, repeatability, accuracy, limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ). For steviol glycosides, the LODs and LOQs were found to be less than 10 and 30 μg ml(-1), respectively. The RSD for intra- and inter-day analyses was less than 2.5%, and the recovery was 90-94%. For PMP derivative of glucose, the LOD and LOQ were 0.01 and 0.05 μg ml(-1), respectively. Repeatability (RSD) was less than 2.6%; recovery was 98.6-101.7%. The methods are useful for the identification, quality assurance, and adulterant assessment of S. rebaudiana and steviol glycosides sweeteners (stevia products).

  11. Fiber Optic Long Period Grating Based Sensor for Coconut Oil Adulteration Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. M. Libish

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available We report the development and demonstration of a Long-Period Grating (LPG based optical fiber sensor for determining the adulteration of coconut oil by palm oil. The fundamental principle of detection is the sensitive dependence of the resonance peaks of LPG on the changes of the refractive index of the environmental medium around the cladding surface of the grating. Refractive index sensing with LPGs employs light coupling between core and cladding modes in the grating section. The transmittance spectra of a long period grating element immersed in different mixtures of coconut oil and palm oil were recorded. Results show that resonance wavelengths and transmission intensities varied as a function of the adulteration level of coconut oil. Detection limit of adulteration was found to be 2 % for coconut oil–palm oil binary mixture.

  12. Purity and adulterant analysis of crack seizures in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukushima, André R; Carvalho, Virginia M; Carvalho, Débora G; Diaz, Ernesto; Bustillos, Jose Oscar William Vega; Spinosa, Helenice de S; Chasin, Alice A M

    2014-10-01

    Cocaine represents a serious problem to society. Smoked cocaine is very addictive and it is frequently associated with violence and health issues. Knowledge of the purity and adulterants present in seized cocaine, as well as variations in drug characteristics are useful to identify drug source and estimate health impact. No data are available regarding smoked cocaine composition in most countries, and the smoked form is increasing in the Brazilian market. The purpose of the present study is to contribute to the current knowledge on the status of crack cocaine seized samples on the illicit market by the police of São Paulo. Thus, 404 samples obtained from street seizures conducted by the police were examined. The specimens were macroscopically characterized by color, form, odor, purity, and adulterant type, as well as smoke composition. Samples were screened for cocaine using modified Scott test and thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) technique. Analyses of purity and adulterants were performed with gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Additionally, smoke composition was analyzed by GC-mass spectrometry (MS), after samples burning. Samples showed different colors and forms, the majority of which is yellow (74.0%) or white (20.0%). Samples free of adulterants represented 76.3% of the total. Mean purity of the analyzed drug was 71.3%. Crack cocaine presented no correlations between macroscopic characteristics and purity. Smoke analysis showed compounds found also in the degradation of diesel and gasoline. Therefore, the drug marketed as crack cocaine in São Paulo has similar characteristics to coca paste. High purity can represent a greater risk of dependency and smoke compounds are possibly worsening drug health impact. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Characterization of swiftlet edible bird nest, a mucin glycoprotein, and its adulterants by Raman microspectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shim, Eric K S; Chandra, Gleen F; Pedireddy, S; Lee, Soo-Y

    2016-09-01

    Edible bird's nest (EBN) is made from the glutinous salivary secretion of highly concentrated mucin glycoprotein by swiftlets (genus Aerodramus or Collocalia ) native to the Indo-Pacific region. The unique Raman spectrum of EBN has vibrational lines that can be assigned to peptides and saccharides in the glycoprotein, and it can be used to screen for adulteration. The common edible adulterants classified into two types. Type I adulterants, such as fish bladder, pork skin, karaya gum, coralline seaweed, agar strips, and tremella fungus, were solids which adhered externally on the surface of the EBN cement. They can usually be detected with a microscope based on differences in the surface structure. Type II adulterants were water soluble substances such as saccharides (e.g., glucose, sucrose), polypeptides (e.g., hydrolyzed collagen) and salts (e.g. monosodium glutamate) which can be readily soaked up by the EBN hydrogel when moist and adsorbed internally in the EBN cement matrix forming a composite upon drying, making them difficult to detect visually. The present study showed that Raman microspectroscopy offers a rapid, non-invasive, and label free technique to detect both Type I and II adulterants in EBN.

  14. DNA barcoding and NMR spectroscopy-based assessment of species adulteration in the raw herbal trade of Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Willd, an important medicinal plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urumarudappa, Santhosh Kumar Jayanthinagar; Gogna, Navdeep; Newmaster, Steven G; Venkatarangaiah, Krishna; Subramanyam, Ragupathy; Saroja, Seethapathy Gopalakrishnan; Gudasalamani, Ravikanth; Dorai, Kavita; Ramanan, Uma Shaanker

    2016-11-01

    Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Willd, commonly known as "Asoka" or "Ashoka," is one of the most important medicinal plants used in raw herbal trade in India. The bark extracts of the tree are used in the treatment of leucorrhea and other uterine disorders besides also having anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-pyretic, anti-helminthic, and analgesic activity. The indiscriminate and rampant extraction of the wood to meet the ever-increasing market demand has led to a sharp decline in naturally occurring populations of the species in the country. Consequently, the species has recently been classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Increasing deforestation and increasing demand for this medicinal plant have resulted in a limited supply and suspected widespread adulteration of the species in the raw herbal trade market. Adulteration is a serious concern due to: (i) reduction in the efficacy of this traditional medicine, (ii) considerable health risk to consumers, and (iii) fraudulent product substitution that impacts the economy for the Natural Health Product (NHP) Industry and consumers. In this paper, we provide the first attempt to assess the extent of adulteration in the raw herbal trade of S. asoca using DNA barcoding validated by NMR spectroscopic techniques. Analyzing market samples drawn from 25 shops, mostly from peninsular India, we show that more than 80 % of the samples were spurious, representing plant material from at least 7 different families. This is the first comprehensive and large-scale study to demonstrate the widespread adulteration of market samples of S. asoca in India. These results pose grave implications for the use of raw herbal drugs, such as that of S. asoca, on consumer health and safety. Based on these findings, we argue for a strong and robust regulatory framework to be put in place, which would ensure the quality of raw herbal trade products and reassure consumer confidence in indigenous

  15. NIR detection of honey adulteration reveals differences in water spectral pattern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bázár, György; Romvári, Róbert; Szabó, András; Somogyi, Tamás; Éles, Viktória; Tsenkova, Roumiana

    2016-03-01

    High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was mixed with four artisanal Robinia honeys at various ratios (0-40%) and near infrared (NIR) spectra were recorded with a fiber optic immersion probe. Levels of HFCS adulteration could be detected accurately using leave-one-honey-out cross-validation (RMSECV=1.48; R(2)CV=0.987), partial least squares regression and the 1300-1800nm spectral interval containing absorption bands related to both water and carbohydrates. Aquaphotomics-based evaluations showed that unifloral honeys contained more highly organized water than the industrial sugar syrup, supposedly because of the greater variety of molecules dissolved in the multi-component honeys. Adulteration with HFCS caused a gradual reduction of water molecular structures, especially water trimers, which facilitate interaction with other molecules. Quick, non-destructive NIR spectroscopy combined with aquaphotomics could be used to describe water molecular structures in honey and to detect a rather common form of adulteration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The use of the Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy to determine adulterants in raw milk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laerte Dagher Cassoli

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to develop calibrations to determine the concentration of some milk adulterants by using the automated methodology of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR. For construction of calibrations, samples were collected from 100 farms in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Samples were tainted with three different adulterants commonly used in the adulteration of raw milk: sodium bicarbonate (SB, sodium citrate (SC and cheese whey (W. Each adulterant was used at three different concentrations (SB: 0.05, 0.10 and 0.25%; SC: 0.025, 0.050 and 0.075% and W: 5, 10 and 20%. For validation, 60 samples were collected in other farms, which were not considered at the development stage of calibration. Adulterants were added at the following concentrations: 0.03, 0.06, 0.10 and 0.12% for SB; 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08% for SC and 5, 10 and 20% for W. Performance of each calibration was evaluated in terms of accuracy (Se, detection limit (DL and determination coefficient (R². All calibrations presented R² higher than 0.91 with DL of 0.015%; 0.017% and 3.9% for SB, SC and W, respectively. Accuracy was 0.005%, 0.009% and 2.26% for SB, SC and W, respectively. Results show that the FTIR methodology can be used for determining the concentration of sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate and whey in raw milk. Associated with automated equipment, it is a viable option for monitoring these adulterants, having low operational costs and high analytical performance as additional features.

  17. Computational estimation of soybean oil adulteration in Nepalese mustard seed oil based on fatty acid composition

    OpenAIRE

    Shrestha, Kshitij; De Meulenaer, Bruno

    2011-01-01

    The experiment was carried out for the computational estimation of soybean oil adulteration in the mustard seed oil using chemometric technique based on fatty acid composition. Principal component analysis and K-mean clustering of fatty acid composition data showed 4 major mustard/rapeseed clusters, two of high erucic and two of low erucic mustard type. Soybean and other possible adulterants made a distinct cluster from them. The methodology for estimation of soybean oil adulteration was deve...

  18. Barcode DNA length polymorphisms vs fatty acid profiling for adulteration detection in olive oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uncu, Ali Tevfik; Uncu, Ayse Ozgur; Frary, Anne; Doganlar, Sami

    2017-04-15

    The aim of this study was to compare the performance of a DNA-barcode assay with fatty acid profile analysis to authenticate the botanical origin of olive oil. To achieve this aim, we performed a PCR-capillary electrophoresis (PCR-CE) approach on olive oil: seed oil blends using the plastid trnL (UAA) intron barcode. In parallel to genomic analysis, we subjected the samples to gas chromatography analysis of fatty acid composition. While the PCR-CE assay proved equally efficient as gas chromatography analysis in detecting adulteration with soybean, palm, rapeseed, sunflower, sesame, cottonseed and peanut oils, it was superior to the widely utilized analytical chemistry approach in revealing the adulterant species and detecting small quantities of corn and safflower oils in olive oil. Moreover, the DNA-based test correctly identified all tested olive oil: hazelnut oil blends whereas it was not feasible to detect hazelnut oil adulteration through fatty acid profile analysis. Thus, the present research has shown the feasibility of a PCR-CE barcode assay to detect adulteration in olive oil. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Discrimination of Dendrobium officinale and Its Common Adulterants by Combination of Normal Light and Fluorescence Microscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chu Chu

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The stems of Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo, named Tie-pi-shi-hu, is one of the most endangered and precious species in China. Because of its various pharmacodynamic effects, D. officinale is widely recognized as a high-quality health food in China and other countries in south and south-east Asia. With the rising interest of D. officinale, its products have a high price due to a limited supply. This high price has led to the proliferation of adulterants in the market. To ensure the safe use of D. officinale, a fast and convenient method combining normal and fluorescence microscopy was applied in the present study to distinguish D. officinale from three commonly used adulterants including Zi-pi-shi-hu (D. devonianum, Shui-cao-shi-hu (D. aphyllum, Guang-jie-shi-hu (D. gratiosissimum. The result demonstrated that D. officinale could be identified by the characteristic “two hat-shaped” vascular bundle sheath observed under the fluorescence microscopy and the distribution of raphides under normal light microscopy. The other three adulterants could be discriminated by the vascular bundle differences and the distribution of raphides under normal light microscopy. This work indicated that combination of normal light and fluorescence microscopy is a fast and efficient technique to scientifically distinguish D. officinale from the commonly confused species.

  20. Detection of Low Molecular Weight Adulterants in Beverages by Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sisco, Edward; Dake, Jeffrey

    2016-04-14

    Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) has been used to detect the presence of non-narcotic adulterants in beverages. The non-narcotic adulterants that were examined in this work incorporated a number low molecular weight alcohols, acetone, ammonium hydroxide, and sodium hypochlorite. Analysis of the adulterants was completed by pipetting 1 µL deposits onto glass microcapillaries along with an appropriate dopant species followed by introduction into the DART gas stream. It was found that detection of these compounds in the complex matrices of common beverages (soda, energy drinks, etc.) was simplified through the use of a dopant species to allow for adduct formation with the desired compound(s) of interest. Other parameters that were investigated included DART gas stream temperature, in source collision induced dissociation, ion polarity, and DART needle voltage. Sensitivities of the technique were found to range from 0.001 % volume fraction to 0.1 % volume fraction, comparable to traditional analyses completed using headspace gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS). Once a method was established using aqueous solutions, , fifteen beverages were spiked with each of the nine adulterants, to simulate real world detection, and in nearly all cases the adulterant could be detected either in pure form, or complexed with the added dopant species. This technique provides a rapid way to directly analyze beverages believed to be contaminated with non-narcotic adulterants at sensitivities similar to or exceeding those of traditional confirmatory analyses.

  1. Diffuse-light absorption spectroscopy by fiber optics for detecting and quantifying the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mignani, A. G.; Ciaccheri, L.; Ottevaere, H.; Thienpont, H.; Conte, L.; Marega, M.; Cichelli, A.; Attilio, C.; Cimato, A.

    2010-09-01

    A fiber optic setup for diffuse-light absorption spectroscopy in the wide 400-1700 nm spectral range is experimented for detecting and quantifying the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil caused by lower-grade olive oils. Absorption measurements provide spectral fingerprints of authentic and adulterated oils. A multivariate processing of spectroscopic data is applied for discriminating the type of adulterant and for predicting its fraction.

  2. Combination of mass spectrometry-based targeted lipidomics and supervised machine learning algorithms in detecting adulterated admixtures of white rice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Dong Kyu; Long, Nguyen Phuoc; Mo, Changyeun; Dong, Ziyuan; Cui, Lingmei; Kim, Giyoung; Kwon, Sung Won

    2017-10-01

    The mixing of extraneous ingredients with original products is a common adulteration practice in food and herbal medicines. In particular, authenticity of white rice and its corresponding blended products has become a key issue in food industry. Accordingly, our current study aimed to develop and evaluate a novel discrimination method by combining targeted lipidomics with powerful supervised learning methods, and eventually introduce a platform to verify the authenticity of white rice. A total of 30 cultivars were collected, and 330 representative samples of white rice from Korea and China as well as seven mixing ratios were examined. Random forests (RF), support vector machines (SVM) with a radial basis function kernel, C5.0, model averaged neural network, and k-nearest neighbor classifiers were used for the classification. We achieved desired results, and the classifiers effectively differentiated white rice from Korea to blended samples with high prediction accuracy for the contamination ratio as low as five percent. In addition, RF and SVM classifiers were generally superior to and more robust than the other techniques. Our approach demonstrated that the relative differences in lysoGPLs can be successfully utilized to detect the adulterated mixing of white rice originating from different countries. In conclusion, the present study introduces a novel and high-throughput platform that can be applied to authenticate adulterated admixtures from original white rice samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Application of lag-k autocorrelation coefficient and the TGA signals approach to detecting and quantifying adulterations of extra virgin olive oil with inferior edible oils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Torrecilla, Jose S., E-mail: jstorre@quim.ucm.es [Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, University Complutense of Madrid, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Garcia, Julian; Garcia, Silvia; Rodriguez, Francisco [Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, University Complutense of Madrid, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2011-03-04

    The combination of lag-k autocorrelation coefficients (LCCs) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) equipment is defined here as a tool to detect and quantify adulterations of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) with refined olive (ROO), refined olive pomace (ROPO), sunflower (SO) or corn (CO) oils, when the adulterating agents concentration are less than 14%. The LCC is calculated from TGA scans of adulterated EVOO samples. Then, the standardized skewness of this coefficient has been applied to classify pure and adulterated samples of EVOO. In addition, this chaotic parameter has also been used to quantify the concentration of adulterant agents, by using successful linear correlation of LCCs and ROO, ROPO, SO or CO in 462 EVOO adulterated samples. In the case of detection, more than 82% of adulterated samples have been correctly classified. In the case of quantification of adulterant concentration, by an external validation process, the LCC/TGA approach estimates the adulterant agents concentration with a mean correlation coefficient (estimated versus real adulterant agent concentration) greater than 0.90 and a mean square error less than 4.9%.

  4. Application of lag-k autocorrelation coefficient and the TGA signals approach to detecting and quantifying adulterations of extra virgin olive oil with inferior edible oils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torrecilla, Jose S.; Garcia, Julian; Garcia, Silvia; Rodriguez, Francisco

    2011-01-01

    The combination of lag-k autocorrelation coefficients (LCCs) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) equipment is defined here as a tool to detect and quantify adulterations of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) with refined olive (ROO), refined olive pomace (ROPO), sunflower (SO) or corn (CO) oils, when the adulterating agents concentration are less than 14%. The LCC is calculated from TGA scans of adulterated EVOO samples. Then, the standardized skewness of this coefficient has been applied to classify pure and adulterated samples of EVOO. In addition, this chaotic parameter has also been used to quantify the concentration of adulterant agents, by using successful linear correlation of LCCs and ROO, ROPO, SO or CO in 462 EVOO adulterated samples. In the case of detection, more than 82% of adulterated samples have been correctly classified. In the case of quantification of adulterant concentration, by an external validation process, the LCC/TGA approach estimates the adulterant agents concentration with a mean correlation coefficient (estimated versus real adulterant agent concentration) greater than 0.90 and a mean square error less than 4.9%.

  5. Polymer platforms for selective detection of cocaine in street samples adulterated with levamisole

    OpenAIRE

    Florea, Anca; Cowen, Todd; Piletsky, Sergey; Wael, De, Karolien

    2018-01-01

    Abstract: Accurate drug detection is of utmost importance for fighting against drug abuse. With a high number of cutting agents and adulterants being added to cut or mask drugs in street powders the number of false results is increasing. We demonstrate for the first time the usefulness of employing polymers readily synthesized by electrodeposition to selectively detect cocaine in the presence of the commonly used adulterant levamisole. The polymers were selected by computational modelling to ...

  6. Applying Fourier Transform Mid Infrared Spectroscopy to Detect the Adulteration of Salmo salar with Oncorhynchus mykiss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreira, Maria João

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy coupled with chemometric methods to detect fish adulteration. Muscles of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) (SS) and Salmon trout (Onconrhynchus mykiss) (OM) muscles were mixed in different percentages and transformed into mini-burgers. These were stored at 3 °C, then examined at 0, 72, 160, and 240 h for deteriorative microorganisms. Mini-burgers was submitted to Soxhlet extraction, following which lipid extracts were analyzed by FTIR. The principal component analysis (PCA) described the studied adulteration using four principal components with an explained variance of 95.60%. PCA showed that the absorbance in the spectral region from 721, 1097, 1370, 1464, 1655, 2805, to 2935, 3009 cm−1 may be attributed to biochemical fingerprints related to differences between SS and OM. The partial least squares regression (PLS-R) predicted the presence/absence of adulteration in fish samples of an external set with high accuracy. The proposed methods have the advantage of allowing quick measurements, despite the storage time of the adulterated fish. FTIR combined with chemometrics showed that a methodology to identify the adulteration of SS with OM can be established, even when stored for different periods of time. PMID:29621135

  7. Rapid discrimination between buffalo and cow milk and detection of adulteration of buffalo milk with cow milk using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy in combination with multivariate methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durakli Velioglu, Serap; Ercioglu, Elif; Boyaci, Ismail Hakki

    2017-05-01

    This research paper describes the potential of synchronous fluorescence (SF) spectroscopy for authentication of buffalo milk, a favourable raw material in the production of some premium dairy products. Buffalo milk is subjected to fraudulent activities like many other high priced foodstuffs. The current methods widely used for the detection of adulteration of buffalo milk have various disadvantages making them unattractive for routine analysis. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess the potential of SF spectroscopy in combination with multivariate methods for rapid discrimination between buffalo and cow milk and detection of the adulteration of buffalo milk with cow milk. SF spectra of cow and buffalo milk samples were recorded between 400-550 nm excitation range with Δλ of 10-100 nm, in steps of 10 nm. The data obtained for ∆λ = 10 nm were utilised to classify the samples using principal component analysis (PCA), and detect the adulteration level of buffalo milk with cow milk using partial least square (PLS) methods. Successful discrimination of samples and detection of adulteration of buffalo milk with limit of detection value (LOD) of 6% are achieved with the models having root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) and the root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) values of 2, 7, and 4%, respectively. The results reveal the potential of SF spectroscopy for rapid authentication of buffalo milk.

  8. Synchronous front-face fluorescence spectroscopy for authentication of the adulteration of edible vegetable oil with refined used frying oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Jin; Li, Rong; Jiang, Zi-Tao; Tang, Shu-Hua; Wang, Ying; Shi, Meng; Xiao, Yi-Qian; Jia, Bin; Lu, Tian-Xiang; Wang, Hao

    2017-02-15

    Synchronous front-face fluorescence spectroscopy has been developed for the discrimination of used frying oil (UFO) from edible vegetable oil (EVO), the estimation of the using time of UFO, and the determination of the adulteration of EVO with UFO. Both the heating time of laboratory prepared UFO and the adulteration of EVO with UFO could be determined by partial least squares regression (PLSR). To simulate the EVO adulteration with UFO, for each kind of oil, fifty adulterated samples at the adulterant amounts range of 1-50% were prepared. PLSR was then adopted to build the model and both full (leave-one-out) cross-validation and external validation were performed to evaluate the predictive ability. Under the optimum condition, the plots of observed versus predicted values exhibited high linearity (R(2)>0.96). The root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) were both lower than 3%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Trends of non-destructive analytical methods for identification of biodiesel feedstock in diesel-biodiesel blend according to European Commission Directive 2012/0288/EC and detecting diesel-biodiesel blend adulteration: A brief review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazivila, Sarmento Júnior

    2018-04-01

    Discrimination of biodiesel feedstock present in diesel-biodiesel blend is challenging due to the great similarity in the spectral profile as well as digital image profile of each type of feedstock employed in biodiesel production. Once the marketed diesel-biodiesel blend is subsidized, in which motivates adulteration in biofuel blend by cheaper supplies with high solubility to obtain profits associated with the subsidies involved in biodiesel production. Non-destructive analytical methods based on qualitative and quantitative analysis for detecting marketed diesel-biodiesel blend adulteration are reviewed. Therefore, at the end is discussed the advantage of the qualitative analysis over quantitative analysis, when the systems require immediate decisions such as to know if the marketed diesel-biodiesel blend is unadulterated or adulterated in order to aid the analyst in selecting the most appropriate green analytical procedure for detecting diesel-biodiesel blend adulteration proceeding in fast way. This critical review provides a brief review on the non-destructive analytical methods reported in scientific literature based on different first-order multivariate calibration models coupled with spectroscopy data and digital image data to identify the type of biodiesel feedstock present in diesel-biodiesel blend in order to meets the strategies adopted by European Commission Directive 2012/0288/EC as well as to monitoring diesel-biodiesel adulteration. According to that Directive, from 2020 biodiesel produced from first-generation feedstock, that is, oils employed in human food such as sunflower, soybean, rapeseed, palm oil, among other oils should not be subsidized. Therefore, those non-destructive analytical methods here reviewed are helpful for discrimination of biodiesel feedstock present in diesel-biodiesel blend according to European Commission Directive 2012/0288/EC as well as for detecting diesel-biodiesel blend adulteration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B

  10. Effect of Temperature on Ultrasonic Signal Propagation for Extra Virgin Olive Oil Adulteration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alias, N. A.; Hamid, S. B. Abdul; Sophian, A.

    2017-11-01

    Fraud cases involving adulteration of extra virgin olive oil has become significant nowadays due to increasing in cost of supply and highlight given the benefit of extra virgin olive oil for human consumption. This paper presents the effects of temperature variation on spectral formed utilising pulse-echo technique of ultrasound signal. Several methods had been introduced to characterize the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil with other fluid sample such as mass chromatography, standard method by ASTM (density test, distillation test and evaporation test) and mass spectrometer. Pulse-echo method of ultrasound being a non-destructive method to be used to analyse the sound wave signal captured by oscilloscope. In this paper, a non-destructive technique utilizing ultrasound to characterize extra virgin olive oil adulteration level will be presented. It can be observed that frequency spectrum of sample with different ratio and variation temperature shows significant percentages different from 30% up to 70% according to temperature variation thus possible to be used for sample characterization.

  11. Probability of identification: adulteration of American Ginseng with Asian Ginseng.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harnly, James; Chen, Pei; Harrington, Peter De B

    2013-01-01

    The AOAC INTERNATIONAL guidelines for validation of botanical identification methods were applied to the detection of Asian Ginseng [Panax ginseng (PG)] as an adulterant for American Ginseng [P. quinquefolius (PQ)] using spectral fingerprints obtained by flow injection mass spectrometry (FIMS). Samples of 100% PQ and 100% PG were physically mixed to provide 90, 80, and 50% PQ. The multivariate FIMS fingerprint data were analyzed using soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) based on 100% PQ. The Q statistic, a measure of the degree of non-fit of the test samples with the calibration model, was used as the analytical parameter. FIMS was able to discriminate between 100% PQ and 100% PG, and between 100% PQ and 90, 80, and 50% PQ. The probability of identification (POI) curve was estimated based on the SD of 90% PQ. A digital model of adulteration, obtained by mathematically summing the experimentally acquired spectra of 100% PQ and 100% PG in the desired ratios, agreed well with the physical data and provided an easy and more accurate method for constructing the POI curve. Two chemometric modeling methods, SIMCA and fuzzy optimal associative memories, and two classification methods, partial least squares-discriminant analysis and fuzzy rule-building expert systems, were applied to the data. The modeling methods correctly identified the adulterated samples; the classification methods did not.

  12. Fuel cycles using adulterated plutonium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brooksbank, R.E.; Bigelow, J.E.; Campbell, D.O.; Kitts, F.G.; Lindauer, R.B.

    1978-01-01

    Adjustments in the U-Pu fuel cycle necessitated by decisions made to improve the nonproliferation objectives of the US are examined. The uranium-based fuel cycle, using bred plutonium to provide the fissile enrichment, is the fuel system with the highest degree of commercial development at the present time. However, because purified plutonium can be used in weapons, this fuel cycle is potentially vulnerable to diversion of that plutonium. It does appear that there are technologically sound ways in which the plutonium might be adulterated by admixture with 238 U and/or radioisotopes, and maintained in that state throughout the fuel cycle, so that the likelihood of a successful diversion is small. Adulteration of the plutonium in this manner would have relatively little effect on the operations of existing or planned reactors. Studies now in progress should show within a year or two whether the less expensive coprocessing scheme would provide adequate protection (coupled perhaps with elaborate conventional safeguards procedures) or if the more expensive spiked fuel cycle is needed as in the proposed civex pocess. If the latter is the case, it will be further necessary to determine the optimum spiking level, which could vary as much as a factor of a billion. A very basic question hangs on these determinations: What is to be the nature of the recycle fuel fabrication facilities. If the hot, fully remote fuel fabrication is required, then a great deal of further development work will be required to make the full cycle fully commercial

  13. Raman detection of extra virgin olive oil adulterated with cheaper oils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farley, Carlton; Kassu, Aschalew; Mills, Jonathan; Kenney, Brianna; Ruffin, Paul; Sharma, Anup

    2016-09-01

    Pure extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is mixed with cheaper edible oils and samples are kept inside clear glass containers, while a 785nm Raman system is used to take measurements as Raman probe is placed against glass container. Several types of oils at various concentrations of adulteration are used. Ratios of peak intensities are used to analyze raw data, which allows for quick, easy, and accurate analysis. While conventional Raman measurements of EVOO may take as long as 2 minutes, all measurements reported here are for integration times of 15s. It is found that adulteration of EVOO with cheaper oils is detectable at concentrations as low as 5% for all oils used in this study.

  14. Detection of corn adulteration in Brazilian coffee (Coffea arabica) by tocopherol profiling and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coffee is a high-value commodity that is a target for adulteration, especially after the beans have been roasted and ground. Countries such as Brazil, the second largest coffee producer, have set limits on the allowable amount of coffee contamination and adulteration. Therefore, there is significant...

  15. Derivative Technology of DNA Barcoding (Nucleotide Signature and SNP Double Peak Methods) Detects Adulterants and Substitution in Chinese Patent Medicines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Zitong; Liu, Yang; Wang, Xiaoyue; Song, Jingyuan; Chen, Shilin; Ragupathy, Subramanyam; Han, Jianping; Newmaster, Steven G

    2017-07-19

    Lonicerae japonicae Flos has been used to produce hundred kinds of Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) in China. Economically motivated adulterants have been documented, leading to market instability and a decline in consumer confidence. ITS2 has been used to identify raw medicinal materials, but it's not suitable for the identification of botanical extracts and complex CPMs. Therefore, a short barcode for the identification of processed CPMs would be profitable. A 34 bp nucleotide signature (5' CTAGCGGTGGTCGTACGATAGCCAATGCATGAGT 3') was developed derived from ITS2 region of Eucommiae Folium based on unique motifs. Mixtures of powdered Lonicerae japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos resulted in double peaks at the expected SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) positions, of which the height of the peaks were roughly indicative of the species' ratio in the mixed powder. Subsequently we tested 20 extracts and 47 CPMs labelled as containing some species of Lonicera. The results revealed only 17% of the extracts and 22% of the CPMs were authentic, others exist substitution or adulterant; 7% were shown to contain both of two adulterants Eucommiae Folium and Lonicerae Flos. The methods developed in this study will widely broaden the application of DNA barcode in quality assurance of natural health products.

  16. Colorimetric Sensor for Detection of Adulteration in Gasoline using Polydiacetyleneelectro-Spun Fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shamshad Ali

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available We report the successful incorporation of pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA in poly(Ɛ-caprolactone (PCL by electro-spinning technique for sensor application. The UV-polymerization of the resulting electro-spun fibers mats (EFMs produced polydiacetylenes (PDA polymer exhibiting blue color. The PCL-PDA EFMs were characterized by Raman Spectroscopy, UV-Vis Spectroscopy and FE-SEM analysis. Sensor test results revealed that the treatment of the PCL-PDA EFMs with adulterated gasoline showed a blue to red color transitionrapidly. FE-SEM images demonstrated that the thinner or toluene used as an adulterant in the gasoline destroyed the PCL electro-spun fibers; which gave access to PDA polymer producing red color.

  17. Discrimination between authentic and adulterated liquors by near-infrared spectroscopy and ensemble classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hui; Tan, Chao; Wu, Tong; Wang, Li; Zhu, Wanping

    2014-09-01

    Chinese liquor is one of the famous distilled spirits and counterfeit liquor is becoming a serious problem in the market. Especially, age liquor is facing the crisis of confidence because it is difficult for consumer to identify the marked age, which prompts unscrupulous traders to pose off low-grade liquors as high-grade liquors. An ideal method for authenticity confirmation of liquors should be non-invasive, non-destructive and timely. The combination of near-infrared spectroscopy with chemometrics proves to be a good way to reach these premises. A new strategy is proposed for classification and verification of the adulteration of liquors by using NIR spectroscopy and chemometric classification, i.e., ensemble support vector machines (SVM). Three measures, i.e., accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were used for performance evaluation. The results confirmed that the strategy can serve as a screening tool applied to verify adulteration of the liquor, that is, a prior step used to condition the sample to a deeper analysis only when a positive result for adulteration is obtained by the proposed methodology.

  18. Development and application of a database of food ingredient fraud and economically motivated adulteration from 1980 to 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Jeffrey C; Spink, John; Lipp, Markus

    2012-04-01

    Food ingredient fraud and economically motivated adulteration are emerging risks, but a comprehensive compilation of information about known problematic ingredients and detection methods does not currently exist. The objectives of this research were to collect such information from publicly available articles in scholarly journals and general media, organize into a database, and review and analyze the data to identify trends. The results summarized are a database that will be published in the US Pharmacopeial Convention's Food Chemicals Codex, 8th edition, and includes 1305 records, including 1000 records with analytical methods collected from 677 references. Olive oil, milk, honey, and saffron were the most common targets for adulteration reported in scholarly journals, and potentially harmful issues identified include spices diluted with lead chromate and lead tetraoxide, substitution of Chinese star anise with toxic Japanese star anise, and melamine adulteration of high protein content foods. High-performance liquid chromatography and infrared spectroscopy were the most common analytical detection procedures, and chemometrics data analysis was used in a large number of reports. Future expansion of this database will include additional publically available articles published before 1980 and in other languages, as well as data outside the public domain. The authors recommend in-depth analyses of individual incidents. This report describes the development and application of a database of food ingredient fraud issues from publicly available references. The database provides baseline information and data useful to governments, agencies, and individual companies assessing the risks of specific products produced in specific regions as well as products distributed and sold in other regions. In addition, the report describes current analytical technologies for detecting food fraud and identifies trends and developments. © 2012 US Pharmacupia Journal of Food Science

  19. Application of FTIR Spectroscopy and Chemometrics for Halal Authentication of Beef Meatball Adulterated with Dog Meat

    OpenAIRE

    Rahayu, Wiranti Sri; Rohman, Abdul; Martono, Sudibyo; Sudjadi, Sudjadi

    2018-01-01

    Beef meatball is one of the favorite meat-based food products among Indonesian community. Currently, beef is very expensive in Indonesian market compared to other common meat types such as chicken and lamb. This situation has intrigued some unethical meatball producers to replace or adulterate beef with lower priced-meat like dog meat. The objective of this study was to evaluate the capability of FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics for identification and quantification of dog meat (D...

  20. IMPACT OF ADULTERATION WITH GLUCOSE, FRUCTOSE AND HYDROLYSED INULIN SYRUP ON HONEY PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

    OpenAIRE

    Sorina ROPCIUC; Mircea OROIAN; Vlad OLARIU

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of the adulteration with glucose, fructose, hydrolysed inulin syrup on honey physico-chemical properties (pH, aw, electrical conductivity (EC), water activity and colour parameters (L*, a*, b*, chroma)) of three honey samples of different botanical origins (acacia, tilia and polyfloral). The honeys were adulterated in different percentages (10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% respectively) with glucose, fructose and hydrolysed inulin syrup. The moistu...

  1. Detection and quantification of adulteration of sesame oils with vegetable oils using gas chromatography and multivariate data analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Dan; Bi, Yanlan; Ren, Xiaona; Yang, Guolong; Sun, Shangde; Wang, Xuede

    2015-12-01

    This study was performed to develop a hierarchical approach for detection and quantification of adulteration of sesame oil with vegetable oils using gas chromatography (GC). At first, a model was constructed to discriminate the difference between authentic sesame oils and adulterated sesame oils using support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. Then, another SVM-based model is developed to identify the type of adulterant in the mixed oil. At last, prediction models for sesame oil were built for each kind of oil using partial least square method. To validate this approach, 746 samples were prepared by mixing authentic sesame oils with five types of vegetable oil. The prediction results show that the detection limit for authentication is as low as 5% in mixing ratio and the root-mean-square errors for prediction range from 1.19% to 4.29%, meaning that this approach is a valuable tool to detect and quantify the adulteration of sesame oil. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Talcum induced pneumoconiosis following inhalation of adulterated marijuana, a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scheel Andreas

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Talcosis, a granulomatous inflammation of the lungs caused by inhalation of talcum dust, is a rare form of pneumoconiosis. Besides inhalative occupational exposure, intravenous abuse of adulterated drugs is a major cause for this condition. Minerals such as talcum (magnesium silicate and sand (predominant silicon dioxide are used to increase both volume and weight of illicit substances. In intravenous heroin-abuse, talcosis is a well-known complication. Here we describe a case of talcosis caused by inhalative abuse of adulterated marijuana. Clinical history A 29-year old man presented with persistent fever, dyspnea and cervical emphysema. He admitted consumption of 'cut' marijuana for several years, preferentially by water pipe smoking. Morphologic findings Lung-biopsies showed chronic interstitial lung disease, anthracotic pigments and birefringent material. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy revealed silicon-containing particles (1-2 μm and fine aluminum particles ( Conclusions The exacerbated chronic interstitial lung disease in a 29-year old patient could be attributed to his prolonged abuse of talcum-adulterated marjuana by histopathology and x-ray spectroscopy. Since cannabis consumption is widely spread among young adults, it seems to be justified to raise attention to this form of interstitial pulmonary disease. Virtual slides The virtual slide(s for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnomx.eu/vs/krause/html/start.html.

  3. A novel FT-IR spectroscopic method based on lipid characteristics for qualitative and quantitative analysis of animal-derived feedstuff adulterated with ruminant ingredients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Fei; Zhou, Simiao; Han, Lujia; Yang, Zengling; Liu, Xian

    2017-12-15

    The objective of this study was to explore the ability of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to authenticate adulterated animal-derived feedstuff. A total of 18 raw meat and bone meals (MBMs), including 9 non-ruminant MBMs and 9 ruminant MBMs, were mixed to obtain 81 binary mixtures with specific proportions (1-35%). Lipid spectral characteristics were analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics. Changes in FT-IR spectra were observed as adulterant concentration was varied. The results illustrate ruminant adulteration can be successfully distinguished based on lipid characteristics. PLS model was established to quantify ruminant adulteration, which was shown to be valid (R 2 P >0.90). Furthermore, the ratios of CC/CO and CC/CH(CH 2 ), as well as the number of CH(CH 2 ) in the fatty acids of adulterated lipids, were calculated, which showed that differences in the trans fatty acid content and the degree of unsaturation were the main contributors to determination of adulteration based on FT-IR spectroscopy. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Identifying and Quantifying Adulterants in Extra Virgin Olive Oil of the Picual Varietal by Absorption Spectroscopy and Nonlinear Modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aroca-Santos, Regina; Cancilla, John C; Matute, Gemma; Torrecilla, José S

    2015-06-17

    In this research, the detection and quantification of adulterants in one of the most common varieties of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) have been successfully carried out. Visible absorption information was collected from binary mixtures of Picual EVOO with one of four adulterants: refined olive oil, orujo olive oil, sunflower oil, and corn oil. The data gathered from the absorption spectra were used as input to create an artificial neural network (ANN) model. The designed mathematical tool was able to detect the type of adulterant with an identification rate of 96% and to quantify the volume percentage of EVOO in the samples with a low mean prediction error of 1.2%. These significant results make ANNs coupled with visible spectroscopy a reliable, inexpensive, user-friendly, and real-time method for difficult tasks, given that the matrices of the different adulterated oils are practically alike.

  5. Determination of vegetable oils and fats adulterants in diesel oil by high performance liquid chromatography and multivariate methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandão, Luiz Filipe Paiva; Braga, Jez Willian Batista; Suarez, Paulo Anselmo Ziani

    2012-02-17

    The current legislation requires the mandatory addition of biodiesel to all Brazilian road diesel oil A (pure diesel) marketed in the country and bans the addition of vegetable oils for this type of diesel. However, cases of irregular addition of vegetable oils directly to the diesel oil may occur, mainly due to the lower cost of these raw materials compared to the final product, biodiesel. In Brazil, the situation is even more critical once the country is one of the largest producers of oleaginous products in the world, especially soybean, and also it has an extensive road network dependent on diesel. Therefore, alternatives to control the quality of diesel have become increasingly necessary. This study proposes an analytical methodology for quality control of diesel with intention to identify and determine adulterations of oils and even fats of vegetable origin. This methodology is based on detection, identification and quantification of triacylglycerols on diesel (main constituents of vegetable oils and fats) by high performance liquid chromatography in reversed phase with UV detection at 205nm associated with multivariate methods. Six different types of oils and fats were studied (soybean, frying oil, corn, cotton, palm oil and babassu) and two methods were developed for data analysis. The first one, based on principal component analysis (PCA), nearest neighbor classification (KNN) and univariate regression, was used for samples adulterated with a single type of oil or fat. In the second method, partial least square regression (PLS) was used for the cases where the adulterants were mixtures of up to three types of oils or fats. In the first method, the techniques of PCA and KNN were correctly classified as 17 out of 18 validation samples on the type of oil or fat present. The concentrations estimated for adulterants showed good agreement with the reference values, with mean errors of prediction (RMSEP) ranging between 0.10 and 0.22% (v/v). The PLS method was

  6. Rapid on-site detection of ephedrine and its analogues used as adulterants in slimming dietary supplements by TLC-SERS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Diya; Cao, Yan; Lou, Ziyang; Li, Shujin; Chen, Xiaofei; Chai, Yifeng; Lu, Feng

    2015-02-01

    Ephedrine and its analogues are in the list of prohibited substance in adulteration to botanical dietary supplements (BDS) for their uncontrollable stimulating side effects. However, they were always adulterated illegally in BDS to promote losing weight. In order to avoid detection, various kinds of ephedrine analogues were added rather than ephedrine itself. This has brought about great difficulties in authentication of BDS. In this study, we put forward for the first time a method which combined thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to directly identify trace adulterant. Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, methylephedrine, and norephedrine were mixed and used in this method to develop an analytical model. As a result, the four analogues were separated efficiently in TLC analysis, and trace-components and low-background SERS detection was realized. The limit of detection (LOD) of the four analogues was 0.01 mg/mL. Eight common Raman peaks (△υ = 620, 1003, 1030, 1159, 1181, 1205, 1454, 1603 cm(-1)) were extracted experimentally and statistically to characterize the common feature of ephedrine analogues. A TLC-SERS method coupled with common-peak model was adopted to examine nine practical samples, two of which were found to be adulterated with ephedrine analogues. Identification results were then confirmed by UPLC-QTOF/MS analysis. The proposed method was simple, rapid, and accurate and can also be employed to trace adulterant identification even when there are no available reference derivatives on-site or unknown types of ephedrine analogues are adulterated.

  7. Preliminary Discrimination of Cheese Adulteration by FT-IR Spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucian Cuibus

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The present work describes a preliminary study to compare some traditional Romanian cheeses and adulterated cheeses using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR. For PLS model calibration (6 concentration levels and validation (5 concentration levels sets were prepared from commercial Dalia Cheese from different manufacturers by spiking it with palm oil at concentrations ranging 2-50 % and 5-40 %, respectively. Fifteen Dalia Cheese were evaluated as external set. The spectra of each sample, after homogenization, were acquired in triplicate using a FTIR Shimatsu Prestige 21 Spectrophotometer, with a horizontal diamond ATR accessory in the MIR region 4000-600 cm-1. Statistical methods as PLS were applied using MVC1 routines written for Matlab R2010a. As first step the optimal condition for PLS model were obtained using cross-validation on the Calibration set. Spectral region in 3873-652 cm-1, and 3 PLS-factors were stated as the best conditions and showed an R2 value of 0.9338 and a relative error in the calibration of 17.2%. Then validation set was evaluated, obtaining good recovery rates (108% and acceptable dispersion of the data (20%. The curve of actual vs. predicted values shows slope near to 1 and origin close to 0, with an R2 of 0.9695. When the external sample set was evaluated, samples F19, F21, F22 and F24, showed detectable levels of palm fats. The results proved that FTIR-PLS is a reliable non-destructive technique for a rapid quantification the level of adulteration in cheese.  The spectroscopic methods could assist the quality control authority, traders and the producers to discriminate the adulterated cheeses with palm oil.

  8. Short Distance Standoff Raman Detection of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Adulterated with Canola and Grapeseed Oils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farley, Carlton; Kassu, Aschalew; Bose, Nayana; Jackson-Davis, Armitra; Boateng, Judith; Ruffin, Paul; Sharma, Anup

    2017-06-01

    A short distance standoff Raman technique is demonstrated for detecting economically motivated adulteration (EMA) in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Using a portable Raman spectrometer operating with a 785 nm laser and a 2-in. refracting telescope, adulteration of olive oil with grapeseed oil and canola oil is detected between 1% and 100% at a minimum concentration of 2.5% from a distance of 15 cm and at a minimum concentration of 5% from a distance of 1 m. The technique involves correlating the intensity ratios of prominent Raman bands of edible oils at 1254, 1657, and 1441 cm -1 to the degree of adulteration. As a novel variation in the data analysis technique, integrated intensities over a spectral range of 100 cm -1 around the Raman line were used, making it possible to increase the sensitivity of the technique. The technique is demonstrated by detecting adulteration of EVOO with grapeseed and canola oils at 0-100%. Due to the potential of this technique for making measurements from a convenient distance, the short distance standoff Raman technique has the promise to be used for routine applications in food industry such as identifying food items and monitoring EMA at various checkpoints in the food supply chain and storage facilities.

  9. Rapid on-site TLC-SERS detection of four antidiabetes drugs used as adulterants in botanical dietary supplements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Qingxia; Cao, Yongbing; Cao, Yingying; Chai, Yifeng; Lu, Feng

    2014-03-01

    A novel facile method has been established for rapid on-site detection of antidiabetes chemicals used to adulterate botanical dietary supplements (BDS) for diabetes. Analytes and components of pharmaceutical matrices were separated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) then surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was used for qualitative identification of trace substances on the HPTLC plate. Optimization and standardization of the experimental conditions, for example the method used for preparation of silver colloids, the mobile phase, and the concentration of colloidal silver, resulted in a very robust and highly sensitive method which enabled successful detection when the amount of adulteration was as low as 0.001 % (w/w). The method was also highly selective, enabling successful identification of some chemicals in extremely complex herbal matrices. The established TLC-SERS method was used for analysis of real BDS used to treat diabetes, and the results obtained were verified by liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). The study showed that TLC-SERS could be used for effective separation and detection of four chemicals used to adulterate BDS, and would have good prospects for on-site qualitative screening of BDS for adulterants.

  10. Authentication of edible vegetable oils adulterated with used frying oil by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qing; Liu, Cheng; Sun, Zhijian; Hu, Xiaosong; Shen, Qun; Wu, Jihong

    2012-06-01

    The application of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy to authenticate edible vegetable oils (corn, peanut, rapeseed and soybean oil) adulterated with used frying oil was introduced in this paper. The FTIR spectrum of oil was divided into 22 regions which corresponded to the constituents and molecular structures of vegetable oils. Samples of calibration set were classified into four categories for corn and peanut oils and five categories for rapeseed and soybean oils by cluster analysis. Qualitative analysis of validation set was obtained by discriminant analysis. Area ratio between absorption band 19 and 20 and wavenumber shift of band 19 were treated by linear regression for quantitative analysis. For four adulteration types, LODs of area ratio were 6.6%, 7.2%, 5.5%, 3.6% and wavenumber shift were 8.1%, 9.0%, 6.9%, 5.6%, respectively. The proposed methodology is a useful tool to authenticate the edible vegetable oils adulterated with used frying oil. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Rapid identification of illegal synthetic adulterants in herbal anti-diabetic medicines using near infrared spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yanchun; Lei, Deqing; Hu, Changqin

    We created a rapid detection procedure for identifying herbal medicines illegally adulterated with synthetic drugs using near infrared spectroscopy. This procedure includes a reverse correlation coefficient method (RCCM) and comparison of characteristic peaks. Moreover, we made improvements to the RCCM based on new strategies for threshold settings. Any tested herbal medicine must meet two criteria to be identified with our procedure as adulterated. First, the correlation coefficient between the tested sample and the reference must be greater than the RCCM threshold. Next, the NIR spectrum of the tested sample must contain the same characteristic peaks as the reference. In this study, four pure synthetic anti-diabetic drugs (i.e., metformin, gliclazide, glibenclamide and glimepiride), 174 batches of laboratory samples and 127 batches of herbal anti-diabetic medicines were used to construct and validate the procedure. The accuracy of this procedure was greater than 80%. Our data suggest that this protocol is a rapid screening tool to identify synthetic drug adulterants in herbal medicines on the market.

  12. Barcoding Melting Curve Analysis for Rapid, Sensitive, and Discriminating Authentication of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) from Its Adulterants

    OpenAIRE

    Jiang, Chao; Cao, Liang; Yuan, Yuan; Chen, Min; Jin, Yan; Huang, Luqi

    2014-01-01

    Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is one of the most important and expensive medicinal spice products in the world. Because of its high market value and premium price, saffron is often adulterated through the incorporation of other materials, such as Carthamus tinctorius L. and Calendula officinalis L. flowers, Hemerocallis L. petals, Daucus carota L. fleshy root, Curcuma longa L. rhizomes, Zea may L., and Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. stigmas. To develop a straightforward, nonsequencing method for rapi...

  13. Phosphodiesterase (PDE5) inhibition assay for rapid detection of erectile dysfunction drugs and analogs in sexual enhancement products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santillo, Michael F; Mapa, Mapa S T

    2018-02-28

    Products marketed as dietary supplements for sexual enhancement are frequently adulterated with phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitors, which are erectile dysfunction drugs or their analogs that can cause adverse health effects. Due to widespread adulteration, a rapid screening assay was developed to detect PDE5 inhibitors in adulterated products. The assay employs fluorescence detection and is based on measuring inhibition of PDE5 activity, the pharmacological mechanism shared among the adulterants. Initially, the assay reaction scheme was established and characterized, followed by analysis of 9 representative PDE5 inhibitors (IC 50 , 0.4-4.0 ng mL -1 ), demonstrating sensitive detection in matrix-free solutions. Next, dietary supplements serving as matrix blanks (n = 25) were analyzed to determine matrix interference and establish a threshold value; there were no false positives. Finally, matrix blanks were spiked with 9 individual PDE5 inhibitors, along with several mixtures. All 9 adulterants were successfully detected (≤ 5 % false negative rate; n = 20) at a concentration of 1.00 mg g -1 , which is over 5 times lower than concentrations commonly encountered in adulterated products. A major distinction of the PDE5 inhibition assay is the ability to detect adulterants without prior knowledge of their chemical structures, demonstrating a broad-based detection capability that can address a continuously evolving threat of new adulterants. The PDE5 inhibition assay can analyze over 40 samples simultaneously within 15 minutes and involves a single incubation step and simple data analysis, all of which are advantageous for combating the widespread adulteration of sex-enhancement products. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  14. Validation of Fluorescence Spectroscopy to Detect Adulteration of Edible Oil in Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) by Applying Chemometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Hina; Saleem, Muhammad; Anser, Muhammad Ramzan; Khan, Saranjam; Ullah, Rahat; Bilal, Muhammad

    2018-01-01

    Due to high price and nutritional values of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), it is vulnerable to adulteration internationally. Refined oil or other vegetable oils are commonly blended with EVOO and to unmask such fraud, quick, and reliable technique needs to be standardized and developed. Therefore, in this study, adulteration of edible oil (sunflower oil) is made with pure EVOO and analyzed using fluorescence spectroscopy (excitation wavelength at 350 nm) in conjunction with principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) regression. Fluorescent spectra contain fingerprints of chlorophyll and carotenoids that are characteristics of EVOO and differentiated it from sunflower oil. A broad intense hump corresponding to conjugated hydroperoxides is seen in sunflower oil in the range of 441-489 nm with the maximum at 469 nm whereas pure EVOO has low intensity doublet peaks in this region at 441 nm and 469 nm. Visible changes in spectra are observed in adulterated EVOO by increasing the concentration of sunflower oil, with an increase in doublet peak and correspondingly decrease in chlorophyll peak intensity. Principal component analysis showed a distinct clustering of adulterated samples of different concentrations. Subsequently, the PLS regression model was best fitted over the complete data set on the basis of coefficient of determination (R 2 ), standard error of calibration (SEC), and standard error of prediction (SEP) of values 0.99, 0.617, and 0.623 respectively. In addition to adulterant, test samples and imported commercial brands of EVOO were also used for prediction and validation of the models. Fluorescence spectroscopy combined with chemometrics showed its robustness to identify and quantify the specified adulterant in pure EVOO.

  15. A digital PCR method for identifying and quantifying adulteration of meat species in raw and processed food.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junan Ren

    Full Text Available Meat adulteration is a worldwide concern. In this paper, a new droplet digital PCR (ddPCR method was developed for the quantitative determination of the presence of chicken in sheep and goat meat products. Meanwhile, a constant (multiplication factor was introduced to transform the ratio of copy numbers to the proportion of meats. The presented ddPCR method was also proved to be more accurate (showing bias of less than 9% in the range from 5% to 80% than real-time PCR, which has been widely used in this determination. The method exhibited good repeatability and stability in different thermal treatments and at ultra-high pressure. The relative standard deviation (RSD values of 5% chicken content was less than 5.4% for ultra-high pressure or heat treatment. Moreover, we confirmed that different parts of meat had no effect on quantification accuracy of the ddPCR method. In contrast to real-time PCR, we examined the performance of ddPCR as a more precise, sensitive and stable analytical strategy to overcome potential problems of discrepancies in amplification efficiency discrepancy and to obtain the copy numbers directly without standard curves. The method and strategy developed in this study can be applied to quantify the presence and to confirm the absence of adulterants not only to sheep but also to other kinds of meat and meat products.

  16. Detection of Adulterated Vegetable Oils Containing Waste Cooking Oils Based on the Contents and Ratios of Cholesterol, β-Sitosterol, and Campesterol by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Haixiang; Wang, Yongli; Xu, Xiuli; Ren, Heling; Li, Li; Xiang, Li; Zhong, Weike

    2015-01-01

    A simple and accurate authentication method for the detection of adulterated vegetable oils that contain waste cooking oil (WCO) was developed. This method is based on the determination of cholesterol, β-sitosterol, and campesterol in vegetable oils and WCO by GC/MS without any derivatization. A total of 148 samples involving 12 types of vegetable oil and WCO were analyzed. According to the results, the contents and ratios of cholesterol, β-sitosterol, and campesterol were found to be criteria for detecting vegetable oils adulterated with WCO. This method could accurately detect adulterated vegetable oils containing 5% refined WCO. The developed method has been successfully applied to multilaboratory analysis of 81 oil samples. Seventy-five samples were analyzed correctly, and only six adulterated samples could not be detected. This method could not yet be used for detection of vegetable oils adulterated with WCO that are used for frying non-animal foods. It provides a quick method for detecting adulterated edible vegetable oils containing WCO.

  17. A rapid screening for adulterants in olive oil using DNA barcodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    A distinctive methodology is developed to trace out the mixing into olive oil, which is marketed every year with 20% or more fraudulent oils. Such adulteration has been difficult to differentiate using fatty acid analysis and other available current techniques, as chemically fatty acids are the same...

  18. The effect of thermal treatment on the enhancement of detection of adulteration in extra virgin olive oils by synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and chemometric analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mabood, F.; Boqué, R.; Folcarelli, R.; Busto, O.; Jabeen, F.; Al-Harrasi, Ahmed; Hussain, J.

    2016-05-01

    In this study the effect of thermal treatment on the enhancement of synchronous fluorescence spectroscopic method for discrimination and quantification of pure extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) samples from EVOO samples adulterated with refined oil was investigated. Two groups of samples were used. One group was analyzed at room temperature (25 °C) and the other group was thermally treated in a thermostatic water bath at 75 °C for 8 h, in contact with air and with light exposure, to favor oxidation. All the samples were then measured with synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy. Synchronous fluorescence spectra were acquired by varying the wavelength in the region from 250 to 720 nm at 20 nm wavelength differential interval of excitation and emission. Pure and adulterated olive oils were discriminated by using partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). It was found that the best PLS-DA models were those built with the difference spectra (75 °C-25 °C), which were able to discriminate pure from adulterated oils at a 2% level of adulteration of refined olive oils. Furthermore, PLS regression models were also built to quantify the level of adulteration. Again, the best model was the one built with the difference spectra, with a prediction error of 3.18% of adulteration.

  19. Dose-to-dose variations with single packages of counterfeit medicines and adulterated dietary supplements as a potential source of false negatives and inaccurate health risk assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venhuis, B J; Zwaagstra, M E; Keizers, P H J; de Kaste, D

    2014-02-01

    In this report, we show three examples of how the variability in dose units in single packages of counterfeit medicines and adulterated dietary supplements may contribute to a false negative screening result and inaccurate health risk assessments. We describe a counterfeit Viagra 100mg blister pack and a box of an instant coffee both containing dose units with and without an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). We also describe a purportedly herbal slimming product with capsules that mutually differed in API and impurities. The adulterated dietary supplements contained sibutramine, benzyl-sibutramine, N-desmethyl-sibutramine (DMS), N,N-didesmethyl-sibutramine (DDMS) and several other related impurities. Counterfeit medicines and adulterated dietary supplements are a health risk because their quality is unreliable. Health risks are even greater when such unreliability extends to fundamental differences between dose units in one package. Because dose-to-dose variability for these products is unpredictable, the confidence interval of a sample size is unknown. Consequently, the analyses of a selection of dose units may not be representative for the package. In the worst case, counterfeit or unauthorised medicines are not recognised as such or a health risk is not identified. In order to reduce erroneous results particular care should be taken when analysing a composite of dose units, when finding no API in a dietary supplement and when finding conformity in a suspect counterfeit medicine. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Identification of maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) and its adulterants by a DNA-barcoding approach based on the ITS sequence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jin-Jin; Zhao, Qing-Sheng; Liu, Yi-Lan; Zha, Sheng-Hua; Zhao, Bing

    2015-09-01

    Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is an herbaceous plant that grows in high plateaus and has been used as both food and folk medicine for centuries because of its benefits to human health. In the present study, ITS (internal transcribed spacer) sequences of forty-three maca samples, collected from different regions or vendors, were amplified and analyzed. The ITS sequences of nineteen potential adulterants of maca were also collected and analyzed. The results indicated that the ITS sequence of maca was consistent in all samples and unique when compared with its adulterants. Therefore, this DNA-barcoding approach based on the ITS sequence can be used for the molecular identification of maca and its adulterants. Copyright © 2015 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Preliminary study on classification of rice and detection of paraffin in the adulterated samples by Raman spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Xinwei; Zhang, Qinghua; Cong, Peisheng; Zhu, Zhongliang

    2013-10-15

    Rice has played an important role in staple food supply of over approximately one-half of the world population. In this study, Raman spectroscopy and several multivariate data analysis methods were applied for discrimination of rice samples from different districts of China. A total of 42 samples were examined. It is shown that the representative Raman spectra in each group are different according to geographical origin after baseline correction to enhance spectral features. Moreover, adulteration of rice is a serious problem for consumers. In addition to the obvious effect on producer profits, adulteration can also cause severe health and safety problems. Paraffin was added to give the rice a desirable translucent appearance and increase its marketability. Detection of paraffin in the adulterated rice samples was preliminarily investigated as well. The results showed that Raman spectroscopy data with chemometric techniques can be applied to rapid detecting rice adulteration with paraffin. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Food Adulteration and Bio-magnification of Environmental Contaminants: A Comprehensive Risk Framework for Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nehreen eMajed

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This article thoroughly investigates the severity of the prevailing environmental conditions and evaluates the resulting threats to food intake and public health in Bangladesh by establishing relationship among different contaminant transfer mechanisms to human. It describes the potential of certain contaminants to get bio-magnified through the food chain. A database was prepared on a number of contaminants in the study area that are responsible for rendering different foods vulnerable to produce long term or short-term health effects. Contaminants that have been identified in the food sources were categorized in a continuum based on their allowable daily intake. A protocol has been developed which will enable the assessment of the potential of a contaminant to bio-magnify through food chain to understand the contribution of a contaminant on different levels of food chain. The study also provides a detailed assessment of the public health risks associated with direct ingestion of adulterated foods and intake of contaminants through food chain or water intake. Their intake to human body was quantified, which provides an indication of the toxicity level of the contaminants and possible impact on human health. The traditional four steps of risk assessment technique have been employed for some model contaminants (including metals, organic contaminants and food adulterants. Additionally, existing rules and regulations of Bangladesh were identified with possible limitations that can play significant role in controlling the food adulteration practices and concentration of contaminants in the environment and human body. Finally, a holistic approach to necessary interventions has been prescribed at policy, treatment and evaluation level to prevent the water pollution and food adulteration. Thus, a much-needed comprehensive framework is prescribed in this study to promote safety in food handling, preserve environment and improve health-based strategies in

  3. Differentiating Authentic Adenophorae Radix from Its Adulterants in Commercially-Processed Samples Using Multiplexed ITS Sequence-Based SCAR Markers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byeong Cheol Moon

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Determining the precise botanical origin of a traditional herbal medicine is important for basic quality control. In both the Chinese and Korean herbal pharmacopoeia, authentic Adenophorae Radix is defined as the roots of Adenophora stricta and Adenophora triphylla. However, the roots of Codonopsis lanceolata, Codonopsis pilosula, and Glehnia littoralis are frequently distributed as Adenophorae Radix in Korean herbal markets. Unfortunately, correctly identifying dried roots is difficult using conventional methods because the roots of those species are morphologically similar. Therefore, we developed DNA-based markers for the identification of authentic Adenophorae Radix and its common adulterants in commercially-processed samples. To develop a reliable method to discriminate between Adenophorae Radix and its adulterants, we sequenced the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacers (nrDNA-ITS and designed sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR primers specific to the authentic and adulterant species. Using these primers, we developed SCAR markers for each species and established a multiplex-PCR method that can authenticate the four herbal medicines in a single PCR reaction. Furthermore, we confirmed that commercially-processed herbal medicines, which often have degraded DNA, could be assessed with our method. Therefore, our method is a reliable genetic tool to protect against adulteration and to standardize the quality of Adenophorae Radix.

  4. Detection of olive oil adulteration by low-field NMR relaxometry and UV-Vis spectroscopy upon mixing olive oil with various edible oils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Ok

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Adulteration of olive oil using unhealthy substitutes is considered a threat for public health. Low-field (LF proton (1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR relaxometry and ultra-violet (UV visible spectroscopy are used to detect adulteration of olive oil. Three different olive oil with different oleoyl acyl contents were mixed with almond, castor, corn, and sesame oils with three volumetric ratios, respectively. In addition, Arbequina olive oil was mixed with canola, flax, grape seed, peanut, soybean, and sunflower seed oils with three volumetric ratios. Transverse magnetization relaxation time (T2 curves were fitted with bi-exponential decaying functions. T2 times of each mixture of olive oils and castor oils, and olive oils and corn oils changed systematically as a function of volumetric ratio. To detect the adulteration in the mixtures with almond and sesame oils, both LF 1H NMR relaxometry and UV-Vis spectroscopy were needed, where UV-Vis-spectroscopy detected the adulteration qualitatively. In the mixtures of Arbequina olive oil and flax, peanut, soybean, and sunflower seed oils, both T21 and T22 values became longer systematically as the content of the olive oil was decreased. The unique UV-Vis maximum absorbance of flax oil at 320.0 nm shows the adulteration of olive oil qualitatively.

  5. Detection of olive oil adulteration by low-field NMR relaxometry and UV-Vis spectroscopy upon mixing olive oil with various edible oils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ok, S.

    2017-01-01

    Adulteration of olive oil using unhealthy substitutes is considered a threat for public health. Low-field (LF) proton (1H) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry and ultra-violet (UV) visible spectroscopy are used to detect adulteration of olive oil. Three different olive oil with different oleoyl acyl contents were mixed with almond, castor, corn, and sesame oils with three volumetric ratios, respectively. In addition, Arbequina olive oil was mixed with canola, flax, grape seed, peanut, soybean, and sunflower seed oils with three volumetric ratios. Transverse magnetization relaxation time (T2) curves were fitted with bi-exponential decaying functions. T2 times of each mixture of olive oils and castor oils, and olive oils and corn oils changed systematically as a function of volumetric ratio. To detect the adulteration in the mixtures with almond and sesame oils, both LF 1H NMR relaxometry and UV-Vis spectroscopy were needed, where UV-Vis-spectroscopy detected the adulteration qualitatively. In the mixtures of Arbequina olive oil and flax, peanut, soybean, and sunflower seed oils, both T21 and T22 values became longer systematically as the content of the olive oil was decreased. The unique UV-Vis maximum absorbance of flax oil at 320.0 nm shows the adulteration of olive oil qualitatively. [es

  6. Development and detection efficiency of sequence characterized amplified region markers for authentication of medicinal plant Ruta graveolens and its adulterant Euphorbia dracunculoides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irum Gul

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: With the increase in demand of herbal medicines, adulteration in these drugs is also gaining momentum and remains an indispensable problem in domestic and export markets. Correct identification is the first step toward assuring quality, safety, and efficacy of indigenous herbal medicines. Materials and Methods: In this study, sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR markers were developed to discriminate Ruta graveolens from its adulterant Euphorbia dracunculoides. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD was performed and subsequently converted into SCAR markers. Results: After performing RAPD, SCAR primers were designed from the selected unique RAPD amplicons of the genuine drug as well as its adulterant. These primers produced 670 bp and 750 bp SCAR markers with genomic DNA sample of R. graveolens and E. dracunculoides, respectively. Conclusion: Development of these markers will help in the quality control of herbal drugs and monitoring widespread adulteration of these drugs by pharmaceutical industries and government agencies.

  7. Identification of Ginkgo biloba supplements adulteration using high performance thin layer chromatography and ultra high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avula, Bharathi; Sagi, Satyanarayanaraju; Gafner, Stefan; Upton, Roy; Wang, Yan-Hong; Wang, Mei; Khan, Ikhlas A

    2015-10-01

    Ginkgo biloba is one of the most widely sold herbal supplements and medicines in the world. Its popularity stems from having a positive effect on memory and the circulatory system in clinical studies. As ginkgo popularity increased, non-proprietary extracts were introduced claiming to have a similar phytochemical profile as the clinically tested extracts. The standardized commercial extracts of G. biloba leaf used in ginkgo supplements contain not less than 6% sesquiterpene lactones and 24% flavonol glycosides. While sesquiterpene lactones are unique constituents of ginkgo leaf, the flavonol glycosides are found in many other botanical extracts. Being a high value botanical, low quality ginkgo extracts may be subjected to adulteration with flavonoids to meet the requirement of 24% flavonol glycosides. Chemical analysis by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that adulteration of ginkgo leaf extracts in many of these products is common, the naturally flavonol glycoside-rich extract being spiked with pure flavonoids or extracts made from another flavonoid-rich material, such as the fruit/flower of Japanese sophora (Styphnolobium japonicum), which also contains the isoflavone genistein. Recently, genistein has been proposed as an analytical marker for the detection of adulteration of ginkgo extracts with S. japonicum. This study confirms that botanically authenticated G. biloba leaf and extracts made therefrom do not contain genistein, and the presence of which even in trace amounts is suggestive of adulteration. In addition to the mass spectrometric approach, a high performance thin layer chromatography method was developed as a fast and economic method for chemical fingerprint analysis of ginkgo samples.

  8. Calibration of shahid's analytical method for adulterated Zn-edta fertilizers by ion chromatography and atomic absorption spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, M.S.A.; Akram, M.; Qazi, M.A.

    2010-01-01

    Chelated zinc fertilizers are usually recommended in calcareous alkaline soils to provide Zn nutrition in order to prevent possible Zn precipitation. In Punjab (Pakistan), Zn EDTA products are being manufactured, and marketed to meet the zinc requirement of various crops grown in Zn deficient soils. Under fertilizer control order, 1973 (amended), their quality has to be monitored by the Agriculture Department, Government of the Punjab. None of the traditional method was found suitable which can separate the mineral fraction from that of chelated adulterated fertilizer except for those methods based on ion chromatography. Calibration of ion chromatography method was carried out by determining the mineral Zn fraction leading to estimate remaining Zn EDTA fraction in fertilizer samples of adulterated nature i.e. mixture of chelated and mineral fraction. In order to achieve the objective atomic absorption spectroscopy was coupled with ion chromatography. The method offers a specific, reliable technique for determination of chelated zinc in fertilizers. In the first step chelation was broken down with concentrated sulphuric acid treatment and total zinc contents were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. In second step, non-chelated (mineral) portion of zinc was determined by ion chromatography using cation column and conductivity detector. Chelated zinc was calculated by subtracting non-chelated (mineral) fraction from total zinc contents. (author)

  9. A Rare Case of Psychomotor Disturbances Linked to the Use of an Adulterated Dietary Supplement Containing Sibutramine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapira, Barak; Goldstein, Lee; Reshef, Amikam; Poperno, Alina

    2016-01-01

    Sibutramine, an oral anorexiant, is often found as an adulterant in various counterfeit herbal slimming products and dietary supplements. The use of sibutramine has been associated with various cardiovascular and psychiatric symptoms. Here, we report a rare case of psychomotor disturbances, in a patient with no previously diagnosed movement disorders. A 26-year-old woman developed abnormal behavior, visual hallucinations, hyperkinesia, facial flushing, and dizziness after taking a counterfeit dietary supplement which contained undeclared sibutramine and phenolphtalein. Laboratory work-up revealed microcytic anemia; leucopenia; and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein levels, and antistreptolysin O titer, but rheumatic fever was ruled out. After a neurologic examination, involuntary movements were classified as chorea. The psychiatric examination result was unremarkable. The patient responded well to haloperidol therapy. Body temperature, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein levels eventually normalized. The patient was discharged. This is the first report we are aware of about a transient, chorea-like psychomotor movement disorder associated with sibutramine. Although the causal relationship between sibutramine and the patient's symptoms cannot be proven definitely, the temporal dimension does suggest sibutramine initiation and termination led to onset and resolution of symptoms, respectively. Furthermore, because of the widespread availability of adulterated food supplements containing sibutramine, physicians should be more aware of their implications for patients.

  10. Adequacy of the measurement capability of fatty acid compositions and sterol profiles to determine authenticity of milk fat through formulation of adulterated butter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soha, Sahel; Mortazavian, Amir M.; Piravi-Vanak, Zahra

    2015-01-01

    In this research a comparison has been made between the fatty acid and sterol compositions of Iranian pure butter and three samples of adulterated butter. These samples were formulated using edible vegetable fats/oils with similar milk fat structures including palm olein, palm kernel and coconut...... butter (B1), and 97.61%, 98.48% and 97.98% of the total sterols in the samples adulterated with palm olein, palm kernel and coconut oil (B2, B3, and B4), respectively. Contents of the main phytosterol profiles such as β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol were also determined. The β...... oil to determine the authenticity of milk fat. The amount of vegetable fats/oils used in the formulation of the adulterated butter was 10%. The adulterated samples were formulated so that their fatty acid profiles were comforted with acceptable levels of pure butter as specified by the Iranian...

  11. The indirect detection of bleach (sodium hypochlorite) in beverages as evidence of product tampering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, David S; Crockett, David F; Wolnik, Karen A

    2006-07-01

    Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) has been identified as the adulterant in a relatively large number of product tamperings that have been investigated by the Forensic Chemistry Center (FCC) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this work, household bleach was added to 23 different beverages at each of three levels. The impact of sodium hypochlorite on these beverages over a 13-day study period was evaluated using the following techniques: diphenylamine spot test for oxidizing agents, potassium iodide-starch test paper for oxidizing agents, pH, iodometric titration for quantitating hypochlorite, ion chromatography for chloride and chlorate quantitation, automated headspace sampling with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) for determination of chloroform, and visual and organoleptic observations. This study has shown that hypochlorite is fragile when added to most common beverages and typically breaks down either partially or completely over time. In cases where a beverage is suspected of being adulterated with bleach but tests for hypochlorite are negative, it is still possible to characterize the product to demonstrate that the results are consistent with the addition of bleach. An adulterated product will give a positive test for oxidizing agents using the diphenylamine spot test. It is likely that the pH of the adulterated product will be higher than a control of that product. Ion chromatographic analysis shows elevated chloride and chlorate as compared with a control. And, chloroform may also be detected by GC-FID especially if the beverage that was adulterated contains citric acid.

  12. Rapid screening and quantification of residual pesticides and illegal adulterants in red wine by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Tianyang; Fang, Pingping; Jiang, Juanjuan; Zhang, Feng; Yong, Wei; Liu, Jiahui; Dong, Yiyang

    2016-11-04

    A rapid method to screen and quantify multi-class analytic targets in red wine has been developed by direct analysis in real time (DART) coupled with triple quadruple tandem mass spectrometry (QqQ-MS). A modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) procedure was used for increasing analytical speed and reducing matrix effect, and the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in DART-MS/MS ensured accurate analysis. One bottle of wine containing 50 pesticides and 12 adulterants, i.e., preservatives, antioxidant, sweeteners, and azo dyes, could be totally determined less than 12min. This method exhibited proper linearity (R 2 ≥0.99) in the range of 1-1000ng/mL for pesticides and 10-5000ng/mL for adulterants. The limits of detection (LODs) were obtained in a 0.5-50ng/mL range for pesticides and 5-50ng/mL range for adulterants, and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were in a 1-100ng/mL range for pesticides and 10-250ng/mL range for adulterants. Three spiked levels for each analyte in wine were evaluated, and the recoveries were in a scope of 75-120%. The results demonstrated DART-MS/MS was a rapid and simple method, and could be applied to rapid analyze residual pesticides and illegal adulterants in a large quantities of red wine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Purity, adulteration and price of drugs bought on-line versus off-line in the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Gouwe, Daan; Brunt, Tibor M; van Laar, Margriet; van der Pol, Peggy

    2017-04-01

    On-line drug markets flourish and consumers have high expectations of on-line quality and drug value. The aim of this study was to (i) describe on-line drug purchases and (ii) compare on-line with off-line purchased drugs regarding purity, adulteration and price. Comparison of laboratory analyses of 32 663 drug consumer samples (stimulants and hallucinogens) purchased between January 2013 and January 2016, 928 of which were bought on-line. The Netherlands. Primary outcome measures were (i) the percentage of samples purchased on-line and (ii) the chemical purity of powders (or dosage per tablet); adulteration; and the price per gram, blotter or tablet of drugs bought on-line compared with drugs bought off-line. The proportion of drug samples purchased on-line increased from 1.4% in 2013 to 4.1% in 2015. The frequency varied widely, from a maximum of 6% for controlled, traditional substances [ecstasy tablets, 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) powder, amphetamine powder, cocaine powder, 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B) and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)] to more than a third for new psychoactive substances (NPS) [4-fluoroamphetamine (4-FA), 5/6-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran (5/6-APB) and methoxetamine (MXE)]. There were no large differences in drug purity, yet small but statistically significant differences were found for 4-FA (on-line 59% versus off-line 52% purity for 4-FA on average, P = 0.001), MDMA powders (45 versus 61% purity for MDMA, P = 0.02), 2C-B tablets (21 versus 10 mg 2C-B/tablet dosage, P = 0.49) and ecstasy tablets (131 versus 121 mg MDMA/tablet dosage, P = 0.05). The proportion of adulterated samples purchased on-line and off-line did not differ, except for 4-FA powder, being less adulterated on-line (χ 2  = 8.3; P < 0.02). Drug prices were mainly higher on-line, ranging for various drugs from 10 to 23% higher than that of drugs purchased off-line (six of 10 substances: P < 0.05). Dutch drug users increasingly

  14. Authentication of ruta graveolens and its adulterant using internal transcribed spacer (its) sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qurainy, F.A.; Khan, S.; Ali, M.A.; Hemaid, M.A.; Ashraf, M.

    2011-01-01

    Ruta graveolens L. (Rutaceae) is commonly known as 'Sudab' which is well known for hippocratic medicine and is commonly used in indigenous health-care system in India. Euphorbia dracunculoides Lam. (Euphorbiaceae) in raw drug trading has almost similar morphology to R. graveolens in dried state, is being sold locally or used clinically as an adulterant of R. graveolens (genuine) at a relatively low price under the same name 'Sudab' which has ultimately reduced the efficacy and quality of this herb. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence of nuclear ribosomal DNA gene of genuine and adulterant were sequenced and analyzed to assess species admixture in raw drug trading of genuine herbal drug. The BLAST search results of ITS sequence of genuine sample of 'Sudab' i.e., R. graveolens showed 99% similarity to the sequence of R. graveolens, however, E. dracunculoides showed 100% similarity to the species of Euphorbia and did not show any similarity with R. graveolens. The sequence alignment of both species was entirely different to each other. Phylogenetic analysis based on ITS sequence of adulterant sample i.e., E. dracunculoides together with sequences of Euphorbia species available in the GenBank has also clearly showed its nesting within the Euphorbia tree. The generated ITS sequences of both samples in the present study may be referred hereafter as species-specific DNA barcode signature, which can be used in authenticating and validating the exact species identities to discriminate the genuine sample of 'Sudab' from its adulterants if any available to guarantee the quality and purity of this drug in the herbal drug market. (author)

  15. Spreeta-based biosensor immunoassays to detect fraudulent adulteration in milk and milk powder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haasnoot, W.; Marchesini, G.R.; Koopal, K.

    2006-01-01

    Biacore biosensors (Biacore AB, Uppsala, Sweden) have proven to be robust analytical tools for the automated immunochemical detection of different adulterants and contaminants in milk and milk powder. However, the significant cost of the instruments is a disincentive for their wide application in

  16. Polymer platforms for selective detection of cocaine in street samples adulterated with levamisole.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florea, Anca; Cowen, Todd; Piletsky, Sergey; De Wael, Karolien

    2018-08-15

    Accurate drug detection is of utmost importance for fighting against drug abuse. With a high number of cutting agents and adulterants being added to cut or mask drugs in street powders the number of false results is increasing. We demonstrate for the first time the usefulness of employing polymers readily synthesized by electrodeposition to selectively detect cocaine in the presence of the commonly used adulterant levamisole. The polymers were selected by computational modelling to exhibit high binding affinity towards cocaine and deposited directly on the surface of graphene-modified electrodes via electropolymerization. The resulting platforms allowed a distinct electrochemical signal for cocaine, which is otherwise suppressed by levamisole. Square wave voltammetry was used to quantify cocaine alone and in the presence of levamisole. The usefulness of the platforms was demonstrated in the screening of real street samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Comparison of Three Analytical Methods for Separation of Mineral and Chelated Fraction from an Adulterated Zn-EDTA Fertilizer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, M.S.; Qazi, M.A.; Khan, N.A.; Mian, S.M.; Ahmed, N.; Ahmed, N.

    2013-01-01

    Summary: Different analytical procedures are being employed in the world to quantify the chelated portion in a Zn-EDTA fertilizer. Agriculture Department, Government of the Punjab is following Shahid's analytical method in this regard. This method is based on Ion-chromatography (IC) that separates the mineral zinc (Zn) from an adulterated Zn-EDTA fertilizer sample i.e. mixture of mineral and chelated Zn fractions. To find out its effectiveness and suitability, this comparative study was carried out by analyzing adulterated, non-adulterated Zn-EDTA standard and Zn-EDTA samples taken from market in thrice following three methods namely Shahid's (IC) analytical method, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric (AAS) method based on the principle of precipitating the mineral Zn fraction at high pH value by using alkali solution of suitable concentration and analysis of filtrate containing only chelated fraction and Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) method FM-841 respectively. Adulterated Zn-EDTA samples were prepared by mixing of known quantity of mineral Zn with chelated Zn-EDTA standard. The results showed that Shahid's analytical method and AAS method, both successfully estimated the chelated fraction. The AOAC FM-841 method was insensitive to put a ceiling on the mineral fraction hence did not furnish the reliable results. The Shahid's analytical method was selected being equallyeffective to produce reliable results both for solid and liquid Zn-EDTA samples. The AAS method was comparable in only liquid samples. (author)

  18. Chemical profiling and adulteration screening of Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and two-dimensional correlation infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Lei; Chen, Jian-bo; Zhang, Gui-Jun; Sun, Su-qin; Zheng, Jing

    2017-03-01

    As a kind of expensive perfume and valuable herb, Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum (ALR) is often adulterated for economic motivations. In this research, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is employed to establish a simple and quick method for the adulteration screening of ALR. First, the principal chemical constituents of ALR are characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy at room temperature and two-dimensional correlation infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy with thermal perturbation. Besides the common cellulose and lignin compounds, a certain amount of resin is the characteristic constituent of ALR. Synchronous and asynchronous 2D-IR spectra indicate that the resin (an unstable secondary metabolite) is more sensitive than cellulose and lignin (stable structural constituents) to the thermal perturbation. Using a certified ALR sample as the reference, the infrared spectral correlation threshold is determined by 30 authentic samples and 6 adulterated samples. The spectral correlation coefficient of an authentic ALR sample to the standard reference should be not less than 0.9886 (p = 0.01). Three commercial adulterated ALR samples are identified by the correlation threshold. Further interpretation of the infrared spectra of the adulterated samples indicates the common adulterating methods - counterfeiting with other kind of wood, adding ingredient such as sand to increase the weight, and adding the cheap resin such as rosin to increase the content of resin compounds. Results of this research prove that FT-IR spectroscopy can be used as a simple and accurate quality control method of ALR.

  19. Nanomaterial-based sensors for detection of foodborne bacterial pathogens and toxins as well as pork adulteration in meat products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Stephen Inbaraj

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Food safety draws considerable attention in the modern pace of the world owing to rapid-changing food recipes and food habits. Foodborne illnesses associated with pathogens, toxins, and other contaminants pose serious threat to human health. Besides, a large amount of money is spent on both analyses and control measures, which causes significant loss to the food industry. Conventional detection methods for bacterial pathogens and toxins are time consuming and laborious, requiring certain sophisticated instruments and trained personnel. In recent years, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising field for solving food safety issues in terms of detecting contaminants, enabling controlled release of preservatives to extend the shelf life of foods, and improving food-packaging strategies. Nanomaterials including metal oxide and metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and quantum dots are gaining a prominent role in the design of sensors and biosensors for food analysis. In this review, various nanomaterial-based sensors reported in the literature for detection of several foodborne bacterial pathogens and toxins are summarized highlighting their principles, advantages, and limitations in terms of simplicity, sensitivity, and multiplexing capability. In addition, the application through a noncross-linking method without the need for any surface modification is also presented for detection of pork adulteration in meat products.

  20. Novel strategy for the determination of illegal adulterants in health foods and herbal medicines using high-performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhe; Wu, Caisheng; Wang, Gangli; Zhang, Qingsheng; Zhang, Jinlan

    2015-03-01

    The detection, confirmation, and quantification of multiple illegal adulterants in health foods and herbal medicines by using a single analytical method are a challenge. This paper reports on a new strategy to meet this challenge by employing high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry and a mass spectral tree similarity filter technique. This analytical method can rapidly collect high-resolution, high-accuracy, optionally multistage mass data for compounds in samples. After a preliminary screening by retention time and high-resolution mass spectral data, known illegal adulterants can be detected. The mass spectral tree similarity filter technique has been applied to rapidly confirm these adulterants and simultaneously discover unknown ones. By using full-scan mass spectra as stem and data-dependent subsequent stage mass spectra to form branches, mass spectrometry data from detected compounds are converted into mass spectral trees. The known or unknown illegal adulterants in the samples are confirmed or discovered based on the similarity between their mass spectral trees and those of the references in a library, and they are finally quantified against standard curves. This new strategy has been tested by using 50 samples, and the illegal adulterants were rapidly and effectively detected, confirmed and quantified. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Applying quantitative metabolomics based on chemical isotope labeling LC-MS for detecting potential milk adulterant in human milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mung, Dorothea; Li, Liang

    2018-02-25

    There is an increasing demand for donor human milk to feed infants for various reasons including that a mother may be unable to provide sufficient amounts of milk for their child or the milk is considered unsafe for the baby. Selling and buying human milk via the Internet has gained popularity. However, there is a risk of human milk sold containing other adulterants such as animal or plant milk. Analytical tools for rapid detection of adulterants in human milk are needed. We report a quantitative metabolomics method for detecting potential milk adulterants (soy, almond, cow, goat and infant formula milk) in human milk. It is based on the use of a high-performance chemical isotope labeling (CIL) LC-MS platform to profile the metabolome of an unknown milk sample, followed by multivariate or univariate comparison of the resultant metabolomic profile with that of human milk to determine the differences. Using dansylation LC-MS to profile the amine/phenol submetabolome, we could detect an average of 4129 ± 297 (n = 9) soy metabolites, 3080 ± 470 (n = 9) almond metabolites, 4256 ± 136 (n = 18) cow metabolites, 4318 ± 198 (n = 9) goat metabolites, 4444 ± 563 (n = 9) infant formula metabolites, and 4020 ± 375 (n = 30) human metabolites. This high level of coverage allowed us to readily differentiate the six different types of samples. From the analysis of binary mixtures of human milk containing 5, 10, 25, 50 and 75% other type of milk, we demonstrated that this method could be used to detect the presence of as low as 5% adulterant in human milk. We envisage that this method could be applied to detect contaminant or adulterant in other types of food or drinks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Application of LC-ESI-MS-MS for detection of synthetic adulterants in herbal remedies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogusz, Maciej J; Hassan, Huda; Al-Enazi, Eid; Ibrahim, Zuhour; Al-Tufail, Mohammed

    2006-05-03

    Adulteration of allegedly "natural herbal medicines" with undeclared synthetic drugs is a common and dangerous phenomenon of alternative medicine. The purpose of the study was to develop a procedure for detection of most common synthetic adulterants in herbal remedies, using high-pressure liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS-MS). Eighty drugs belonging to various pharmacological classes were included in the study. For most drugs two transitions were monitored, using protonated or deprotonated molecules as precursor ions. The drugs were isolated from herbal remedies using simple methanol extraction. Chromatographic separation was done in gradient of acetonitrile-10 mM ammonium formate buffer (pH 3.0). Drugs tested were grouped in suites, comprising analgesic drugs, antibiotics, antidiabetic drugs, antiepileptic drugs, aphrodisiacs, hormones and anabolic drugs, psychotropic drugs, and weight reducing compounds. These suites were used according to the declared benefits of examined preparations. Limits of detection ranged from 5 pg to 1 ng per injected sample. Drug-free herbal remedy spiked with eight various pharmaceuticals occurring in adulterated herbal preparations was used for internal proficiency testing. The recoveries of spiked drugs ranged from 63 to 100%. The procedure was applied in everyday casework. Several undeclared drugs were identified in "herbal" remedies, like e.g. sildenafil, tadalafil, testosterone, or glibenclamide. Pharmacological properties of detected drugs always corresponded with the claims of the "natural" remedies. The method presents a valuable extension of standard GC-MS screening used for this purpose.

  3. Chemical profiling and adulteration screening of Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and two-dimensional correlation infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Lei; Chen, Jian-Bo; Zhang, Gui-Jun; Sun, Su-Qin; Zheng, Jing

    2017-03-05

    As a kind of expensive perfume and valuable herb, Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum (ALR) is often adulterated for economic motivations. In this research, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is employed to establish a simple and quick method for the adulteration screening of ALR. First, the principal chemical constituents of ALR are characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy at room temperature and two-dimensional correlation infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy with thermal perturbation. Besides the common cellulose and lignin compounds, a certain amount of resin is the characteristic constituent of ALR. Synchronous and asynchronous 2D-IR spectra indicate that the resin (an unstable secondary metabolite) is more sensitive than cellulose and lignin (stable structural constituents) to the thermal perturbation. Using a certified ALR sample as the reference, the infrared spectral correlation threshold is determined by 30 authentic samples and 6 adulterated samples. The spectral correlation coefficient of an authentic ALR sample to the standard reference should be not less than 0.9886 (p=0.01). Three commercial adulterated ALR samples are identified by the correlation threshold. Further interpretation of the infrared spectra of the adulterated samples indicates the common adulterating methods - counterfeiting with other kind of wood, adding ingredient such as sand to increase the weight, and adding the cheap resin such as rosin to increase the content of resin compounds. Results of this research prove that FT-IR spectroscopy can be used as a simple and accurate quality control method of ALR. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Heroin uncertainties: Exploring users' perceptions of fentanyl-adulterated and -substituted 'heroin'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciccarone, Daniel; Ondocsin, Jeff; Mars, Sarah G

    2017-08-01

    The US is experiencing an unprecedented opioid overdose epidemic fostered in recent years by regional contamination of the heroin supply with the fentanyl family of synthetic opioids. Since 2011 opioid-related overdose deaths in the East Coast state of Massachusetts have more than tripled, with 75% of the 1374 deaths with an available toxicology positive for fentanyl. Fentanyl is 30-50X more potent than heroin and its presence makes heroin use more unpredictable. A rapid ethnographic assessment was undertaken to understand the perceptions and experiences of people who inject drugs sold as 'heroin' and to observe the drugs and their use. A team of ethnographers conducted research in northeast Massachusetts and Nashua, New Hampshire in June 2016, performing (n=38) qualitative interviews with persons who use heroin. (1) The composition and appearance of heroin changed in the last four years; (2) heroin is cheaper and more widely available than before; and (3) heroin 'types' have proliferated with several products being sold as 'heroin'. These consisted of two types of heroin (alone), fentanyl (alone), and heroin-fentanyl combinations. In the absence of available toxicological information on retail-level heroin, our research noted a hierarchy of fentanyl discernment methods, with embodied effects considered most reliable in determining fentanyl's presence, followed by taste, solution appearance and powder color. This paper presents a new 'heroin' typology based on users' reports. Massachusetts' heroin has new appearances and is widely adulterated by fentanyl. Persons who use heroin are trying to discern the substances sold as heroin and their preferences for each form vary. The heroin typology presented is inexact but can be validated by correlating users' discernment with drug toxicological testing. If validated, this typology would be a valuable harm reduction tool. Further research on adaptations to heroin adulteration could reduce risks of using heroin and

  5. Authenticity control of game meat products--a single method to detect and quantify adulteration of fallow deer (Dama dama), red deer (Cervus elaphus) and sika deer (Cervus nippon) by real-time PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Druml, Barbara; Grandits, Stephanie; Mayer, Walter; Hochegger, Rupert; Cichna-Markl, Margit

    2015-03-01

    This contribution presents a single real-time PCR assay allowing the determination of the deer content (the sum of fallow deer (Dama dama), red deer (Cervus elaphus) and sika deer (Cervus nippon)) in meat products to detect food adulteration. The PCR assay does not show cross-reactivity with 20 animal species and 43 botanical species potentially contained in game meat products. The limit of quantification is 0.5% for fallow deer and red deer and 0.1% for sika deer. The deer content in meat products is determined by relating the concentration obtained with the deer PCR assay to that obtained with a reference system which amplifies mammals and poultry DNA. The analysis of binary meat mixtures with pork, a meat mixture containing equal amounts of fallow deer, red deer and sika deer in pork and a model game sausage showed that the quantification approach is very accurate (systematic error generally <25%). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) products - an assessment of their authenticity and quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booker, Anthony; Agapouda, Anastasia; Frommenwiler, Débora A; Scotti, Francesca; Reich, Eike; Heinrich, Michael

    2018-02-01

    St John's wort products (Hypericum perforatum L.) are widely available for sale in many countries including the UK via the internet. In the UK, these products are required to hold either a marketing authorisation or Traditional herbal registration (THR) to be sold legally. The THR and other regulatory schemes help to ensure product safety and quality providing an example of best practice but there is a risk if both regulated and un-regulated products continue to be available to consumers. The project is embedded in a larger study aiming to investigate the quality of different herbal medicinal products along diverse value chains. Here we focus on a comparison of the quality of the finished products and assess phytochemical variation between registered products (THRs) and products obtained from the market without any registration. 47 commercial products (granulated powders and extracts) were sourced from different suppliers. We analysed these samples using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and 1 H NMR spectroscopy coupled with multi-variate analysis software following a method previously developed by our group. The consistency of the products varies significantly. Adulteration of the products (36%), possibly with other Hypericum species obtained from China or use of chemically distinct H. perforatum cultivars or chemotypes, and adulteration of the products (19%) with food dyes (tartrazine, amaranth, brilliant blue, sunset yellow) were the principle findings of this study. There is significant compositional variation among commercial finished products and two main causative quality problems were identified as adulteration by incorrect species or adulteration with food dyes. Generally, food supplements and unlicensed products were found to be of poorer quality than the regulated ones including THRs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  7. Design and analysis of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor to check the quality of food from adulteration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Manish; Raghuwanshi, Sanjeev Kumar

    2018-02-01

    In recent years, food safety issues caused by contamination of chemical substances or microbial species have raised a major area of concern to mankind. The conventional chromatography-based methods for detection of chemical are based on human-observation and slow for real-time monitoring. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors offers the capability of detection of very low concentrations of adulterated chemical and biological agents for real-time by monitoring. Thus, adulterant agent in food gives change in refractive index of pure food result in corresponding phase change. These changes can be detected at the output and can be related to the concentration of the chemical species present at the point.

  8. Highly sensitive on-site detection of drugs adulterated in botanical dietary supplements using thin layer chromatography combined with dynamic surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Fang; Qi, Yunpeng; Lu, Feng; Yang, Liangbao

    2016-01-01

    The phenomenon of botanical dietary supplements (BDS) doped with illegal adulterants has become a serious problem all over the world, which could cause great threat to human's health. Therefore, it is of great value to identify BDS. Herein, we put forward a highly sensitive method for on-site detection of antitussive and antiasthmatic drugs adulterated in BDS using thin layer chromatography (TLC) combined with dynamic surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (DSERS). Adulterants in BDS were separated on a TLC plate and located under UV illumination. Then DSERS detection was performed using a portable Raman spectrometer with 50% glycerol silver colloid serving as DSERS active substrate. Here, the effects of different solvents on detection efficacy were evaluated using phenformin hydrochloride (PHE) as a probe. It was shown that 50% glycerol resulted in higher SERS enhancement and relatively higher stability. Moreover, practical application of this novel TLC-DSERS method was demonstrated with rapid analysis of real BDS samples and one sample adulterated with benproperine phosphate (BEN) was found. Furthermore, the obtained result was verified by ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS). The sensitivity of the TLC-DSERS technique is 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than that of TLC-SERS technique. The results turned out that this combined method would have good prospects for on-site and sensitive detection of adulterated BDS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Screening and determination of sibutramine in adulterated herbal slimming supplements by HPTLC-UV densitometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathon, Caroline; Ankli, Anita; Reich, Eike; Bieri, Stefan; Christen, Philippe

    2014-01-01

    The adulteration of herbal supplements is of growing importance, especially when they contain undeclared compounds like sibutramine that are unsafe drugs. Sibutramine was withdrawn from US and European markets in 2010. In this study, an HPTLC-UV densitometric method was developed for the quantification of sibutramine in herbal diet foods. Sample extracts were directly applied onto HPTLC silica gel plates and separated with a mobile phase made of a toluene-methanol mixture. Sibutramine was quantified at 225 nm and its unequivocal identification was confirmed by MS using a TLC-MS interface. During two surveys, 52 weight loss supplements obtained via the Internet were screened. Half of those were adulterated with sibutramine at amounts reaching up to 35 mg per capsule. The results of this validated HPTLC method were compared with those obtained by HPLC-UV and HPLC-MS/MS. The results were not significantly different with the three methods.

  10. Investigation of adulteration of sunflower oil with thermally deteriorated oil using Fourier transform mid-infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joana Vilela

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy based on attenuated total reflectance sampling technique, combined with multivariate analysis methods was used to monitor the adulteration of pure sunflower oil (SO with thermally deteriorated oil (TDO. Contrary to published research, in this work, SO was thermally deteriorated in the absence of foodstuff. SO samples were exposed to temperatures between 125 and 225°C from 6 to 24 h. Quantification of adulteration of SO with TDO, based on principal components regression (PCR, partial least squares regression (PLS-R, and linear discriminant analysis (LDA applied to mid-infrared spectra and to their first and second derivatives is reported for the first time. Infrared frequencies associated with the biochemical differences between TDO samples deteriorated in different conditions were investigated by principal component analysis (PCA. LDA was effective in the twofold classification presence/absence of TDO in adulterated SO (with 5% V/V of less of TDO. It provided 93.7% correct classification for the calibration set and 91.3% correct classification when cross-validated. A detection limit of 1% V/V of TDO in SO was determined. Investigation of an external set of samples allowed the evaluation of the predictability of the models. The regression coefficient (R2 for prediction was 0.95 and 0.96 and the RMSE was 2.1 and 1.9% V/V when using the PCR or PLS-R models, respectively, and the first derivative of spectra. To the best of our knowledge, no investigation of adulteration of SO with TDO based on PCR, PLS-R, and LDA has been reported so far.

  11. Development of a quantitative multi-compound method for the detection of 14 nitrogen-rich adulterants by LC-MS/MS in food materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, Nancy; Bessaire, Thomas; Tarres, Adrienne; Goyon, Alexandre; Delatour, Thierry

    2017-11-01

    The increasing number of food frauds using exogenous nitrogen-rich adulterants to artificially raise the protein content for economically motivated adulteration has demonstrated the need for a robust analytical methodology. This method should be applicable for quality control in operations covering a wide range of analyte concentrations to be able to analyse high levels as usually found in adulteration, as well as low levels due to contamination. The paper describes a LC-MS/MS method covering 14 nitrogen-rich adulterants using a simple and fast sample preparation based on dilution and clean-up by dispersive SPE. Quantification is carried out by isotopic dilution reaching LOQs of 0.05-0.20 mg/kg in a broad range of food matrices (infant formula, liquid milk, dairy ingredient, high protein meal, cereal, infant cereal, and meat/fish powder). Validation of seven commodity groups was performed according to SANCO 12571/2013, giving satisfactory results demonstrating the method's fitness for purpose at the validated range at contamination level. Method ruggedness was further assessed by transferring the developed method into another laboratory devoted to routine testing for quality control. Next to the method description, emphasis is placed on challenges and problems appearing during method development as well as validation. They are discussed in detail and solutions are provided.

  12. Xylazine intoxication in humans and its importance as an emerging adulterant in abused drugs: A comprehensive review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz-Colón, Kazandra; Chavez-Arias, Carlos; Díaz-Alcalá, José Eric; Martínez, María A

    2014-07-01

    Xylazine is not a controlled substance; it is marketed as a veterinary drug and used as a sedative, analgesic and muscle relaxant. In humans, it could cause central nervous system depression, respiratory depression, bradycardia, hypotension, and even death. There have been publications of 43 cases of xylazine intoxication in humans, in which 21 (49%) were non-fatal scenarios and 22 (51%) resulted in fatalities. Most of the non-fatal cases required medical intervention. Over recent years xylazine has emerged as an adulterant in recreational drugs, such as heroin or speedball (a cocaine and heroin mixture). From the 43 reported cases, 17 (40%) were associated with the use of xylazine as an adulterant of drugs of abuse. Its chronic use is reported to be associated with physical deterioration and skin ulceration. Literature shows some similar pharmacologic effects between xylazine and heroin in humans. These similar pharmacologic effects may create synergistic toxic effects in humans. Therefore, fatalities among drug users may increase due to the use of xylazine as an adulterant. Xylazine alone has proven harmful to humans and even more when it is combined with drugs of abuse. A comprehensive review of the literature of non-fatal and fatal xylazine intoxication cases including those in which the substance was used as adulterant is presented, in order to increase the awareness in the forensic community, law enforcement, and public health agencies. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  13. Identification of 3-MCPD esters to verify the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Wei-Ching; Peng, Guan-Jhih; Tsai, Wen-Ju; Chang, Mei-Hua; Liao, Chia-Ding; Tseng, Su-Hsiang; Kao, Ya-Min; Wang, Der-Yuan; Cheng, Hwei-Fang

    2017-09-01

    The adulteration of olive oil is an important issue around the world. This paper reports an indirect method by which to identify 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) esters in olive oils. Following sample preparation, the samples were spiked with 1,2-bis-palmitoyl-3-chloropropanediol standard for analysis using gas chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry. The total recovery ranged from 102.8% to 105.5%, the coefficient of variation ranged from 1.1% to 10.1%, and the limit of quantification was 0.125 mg/kg. The content of 3-MCPD esters in samples of refined olive oil (0.97-20.53 mg/kg) exceeded those of extra virgin olive oil (non-detected to 0.24 mg/kg). These results indicate that the oil refining process increased the content of 3-MCPD esters, which means that they could be used as a target compound for the differentiation of extra virgin olive oil from refined olive oil in order to prevent adulteration.

  14. Molecular Authentication of the Traditional Medicinal Plant "Lakshman Booti" (Smithia conferta Sm.) and Its Adulterants through DNA Barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umdale, Suraj D; Kshirsagar, Parthraj R; Lekhak, Manoj M; Gaikwad, Nikhil B

    2017-07-01

    Smithia conferta Sm. is an annual herb widely used in Indian traditional medical practice and commonly known as "Lakshman booti" in Sanskrit. Morphological resemblance among the species of genus Smithia Aiton . leads to inaccurate identification and adulteration. This causes inconsistent therapeutic effects and also affects the quality of herbal medicine. This study aimed to generate potential barcode for authentication of S. conferta and its adulterants through DNA barcoding technique. Genomic DNA extracted from S. conferta and its adulterants was used as templates for polymerase chain reaction amplification of the barcoding regions. The amplicons were directed for sequencing, and species identification was conducted using BLASTn and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean trees. In addition, the secondary structures of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 2 region were predicted. The nucleotide sequence of ITS provides species-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms and sequence divergence (22%) than psb A- trn H (10.9%) and rbc L (3.1%) sequences. The ITS barcode indicates that S. conferta and Smithia sensitiva are closely related compared to other species. ITS is the most applicable barcode for molecular authentication of S. conferta , and further chloroplast barcodes should be tested for phylogenetic analysis of genus Smithia. The present investigation is the first effort of utilization of DNA barcode for molecular authentication of S. conferta and its adulterants. Also, this study expanded the application of the ITS2 sequence data in the authentication. The ITS has been proved as a potential and reliable candidate barcode for the authentication of S. conferta . Abbreviations used: BLASTn: Basic Local Alignment Search Tool for Nucleotide; MEGA: Molecular Evolutionary Genetic Analysis; EMBL: European Molecular Biology Laboratory; psb A- trn H: Photosystem II protein D1- stuctural RNA: His tRNA gene; rbcL: Ribulose 1,5 bi-phosphate carboxylase

  15. Olive oil adulterated with hazelnut oils: simulation to identify possible risks to allergic consumers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arlorio, M.; Coisson, J. D.; Bordiga, M.; Travaglia, F.; Garino, C.; Zuidmeer, L.; van Ree, R.; Giuffrida, M. G.; Conti, A.; Martelli, A.

    2010-01-01

    According to European Union Regulation EC 1531/2001, olive oil labelled as oextra-virgino should be cold-pressed and contain no refined oil or oil from other oleaginous seeds or nuts. Adulteration of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) with hazelnut oil (HAO) is a serious concern both for oil suppliers

  16. Crystals and tablets in the Spanish ecstasy market 2000-2014: Are they the same or different in terms of purity and adulteration?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidal Giné, Claudio; Ventura Vilamala, Mireia; Fornís Espinosa, Iván; Gil Lladanosa, Cristina; Calzada Álvarez, Nú; Fitó Fruitós, Ariadna; Rodríguez Rodríguez, Joan; Domíngo Salvany, Antonia; de la Torre Fornell, Rafael

    2016-06-01

    Although 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has a long history in recreational settings, research on its composition (purity and adulteration) has focused only on tablets even though crystal format is readily available for users. Drug specimens collected between January 2000 and December 2014 were analyzed at Energy Control's facilities. All samples were voluntarily provided by drug users. Sample identification was made with thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and quantification with ultraviolet spectrophotometry (only in unadulterated samples). Between January 2000 and December 2014, 6200 samples purchased as ecstasy by their users were analyzed. Crystals were the most frequent format (60.6%) followed by tablets (38.8%). During the study period, the proportion of samples containing only MDMA was higher in crystals than in tablets. Compared with tablets, adulterated crystal samples contained the same number of adulterants but more combinations of different substances. Although caffeine was commonly detected as adulterant both in crystals and tablets, other substances such as phenacetin, lidocaine, dextrometorphan or methamphetamine were detected almost exclusively in crystal samples. The amount of MDMA in crystal samples remained stable unlike tablets for which a huge increase in MDMA dose was observed since 2010. Crystal samples of ecstasy showed clear differences compared to ecstasy tablets and this must be taken into account both in research and harm reduction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Analysis and confirmation of synthetic anorexics in adulterated traditional Chinese medicines by high-performance capillary electrophoresis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ku, Y R; Chang, Y S; Wen, K C; Ho, L K

    1999-07-02

    Six synthetic anorexics, clobenzorex, diethylpropion, fenfluramine, methamphetamine, phenylpropanolamine and phentermine, which can be found as adulterants in traditional Chinese medicines were assayed simultaneously by high-performance capillary electrophoresis. The electrolyte was a buffer solution containing 120 mM phosphate buffer (NaH2PO4/H3PO4, pH 2.0) and 15% acetonitrile. Applied voltage was 16 kV and temperature was 30 degrees C. Fluoren-2,7-diammonium chloride was used as an internal standard and detector set at 200 nm. The recoveries of the synthetic anorexic adulterants in traditional Chinese medicinal formula using C8-SCX mixed solid-phase extraction were studied. Several traditional Chinese medicinal powders obtained from clinics were also studied by the above HPCE method and confirmed by GC-MS. Clobenzorex, diethylpropion and fenfluramine were found and determine in these samples.

  18. Animal Products and Handling: A Caution for Consumers and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study reviewed pertinent literature on edible animal products and handling with respect to contaminations and adulterations. Animal products include eggs, meat, milk, fish, skin/hide that are processed into other by products for human consumption. There is the need for awareness campaignsto consumers and ...

  19. Evaluation of turmeric powder adulterated with metanil yellow using FT-Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turmeric powder (Curcuma longa L.) is valued both for its medicinal properties and for its popular culinary use such as being a component in curry powder. Due to its high demand in international trade, turmeric powder has been subject to economically driven, hazardous chemical adulteration. This stu...

  20. New method for the discovery of adulterated cognacs and brandies based on solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography - mass spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darya Mozhayeva

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The article represents new method for discovery of adulterated cognacs and brandies based on solidphase microextraction (SPME in combination with gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS. The work comprised optimization of SPME parameters (extraction temperature and time, concentration of added salt with subsequent analysis of authentic samples and comparison of the obtained chromatograms using principal component analysis (PCA. According to the obtained results, increase of extraction temperature resulted in an increase of response of the most volatile brandy constituents. To avoid chemical transformations and/or degradation of the samples, the extraction temperature must be limited to 30!C. Increase of the extraction time lead to higher total peak area, but longer extraction times (>10 min for 100 µm polydimethylsiloxane and >2 min for divinylbenzene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane fibers caused displacement of analytes. Salt addition increased total response of analytes, but caused problems with reproducibility. The developed method was successfully applied for discovery of adulterated samples of brandy, cognac, whisky and whiskey sold in Kazakhstan. The obtained data was analyzed applying principal component analysis (PCA. Five adulterated brandy and whisky samples were discovered and confirmed. The developed method is recommended for application in forensic laboratories.

  1. Qualitative analysis of pure and adulterated canola oil via SIMCA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basri, Katrul Nadia; Khir, Mohd Fared Abdul; Rani, Rozina Abdul; Sharif, Zaiton; Rusop, M.; Zoolfakar, Ahmad Sabirin

    2018-05-01

    This paper demonstrates the utilization of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to classify pure and adulterated sample of canola oil. Soft Independent Modeling Class Analogies (SIMCA) algorithm was implemented to discriminate the samples to its classes. Spectral data obtained was divided using Kennard Stone algorithm into training and validation dataset by a fixed ratio of 7:3. The model accuracy obtained based on the model built is 0.99 whereas the sensitivity and precision are 0.92 and 1.00. The result showed the classification model is robust to perform qualitative analysis of canola oil for future application.

  2. A Simple and Effective Mass Spectrometric Approach to Identify the Adulteration of the Mediterranean Diet Component Extra-Virgin Olive Oil with Corn Oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Girolamo, Francesco; Masotti, Andrea; Lante, Isabella; Scapaticci, Margherita; Calvano, Cosima Damiana; Zambonin, Carlo; Muraca, Maurizio; Putignani, Lorenza

    2015-09-01

    Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) with its nutraceutical characteristics substantially contributes as a major nutrient to the health benefit of the Mediterranean diet. Unfortunately, the adulteration of EVOO with less expensive oils (e.g., peanut and corn oils), has become one of the biggest source of agricultural fraud in the European Union, with important health implications for consumers, mainly due to the introduction of seed oil-derived allergens causing, especially in children, severe food allergy phenomena. In this regard, revealing adulterations of EVOO is of fundamental importance for health care and prevention reasons, especially in children. To this aim, effective analytical methods to assess EVOO purity are necessary. Here, we propose a simple, rapid, robust and very sensitive method for non-specialized mass spectrometric laboratory, based on the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) coupled to unsupervised hierarchical clustering (UHC), principal component (PCA) and Pearson's correlation analyses, to reveal corn oil (CO) adulterations in EVOO at very low levels (down to 0.5%).

  3. Untargeted LC-Q-TOF mass spectrometry method for the detection of adulterations in skimmed-milk powder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cordewener, J.H.G.; Luykx, D.M.A.M.; Frankhuizen, R.; Bremer, M.G.E.G.; Hooijerink, H.; America, A.H.P.

    2009-01-01

    A nontargeted protein identification method was developed to screen for adulterations in skimmed-milk powder (SMP). There are indications of falsified SMP content due to the addition of plant proteins. To demonstrate the reliability and accuracy of the developed comparative LC-MS method using a

  4. Detection of argan oil adulteration with vegetable oils by high-performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salghi, Rachid; Armbruster, Wolfgang; Schwack, Wolfgang

    2014-06-15

    Triacylglycerol profiles were selected as indicator of adulteration of argan oils to carry out a rapid screening of samples for the evaluation of authenticity. Triacylglycerols were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detection. Different peak area ratios were defined to sensitively detect adulteration of argan oil with vegetable oils such as sunflower, soy bean, and olive oil up to the level of 5%. Based on four reference argan oils, mean limits of detection and quantitation were calculated to approximately 0.4% and 1.3%, respectively. Additionally, 19 more argan oil reference samples were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography-refractive index detection, resulting in highly comparative results. The overall strategy demonstrated a good applicability in practise, and hence a high potential to be transferred to routine laboratories. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Voltammetric fingerprinting of oils and its combination with chemometrics for the detection of extra virgin olive oil adulteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsopelas, Fotios; Konstantopoulos, Dimitris; Kakoulidou, Anna Tsantili

    2018-07-26

    In the present work, two approaches for the voltammetric fingerprinting of oils and their combination with chemometrics were investigated in order to detect the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil with olive pomace oil as well as the most common seed oils, namely sunflower, soybean and corn oil. In particular, cyclic voltammograms of diluted extra virgin olive oils, regular (pure) olive oils (blends of refined olive oils with virgin olive oils), olive pomace oils and seed oils in presence of dichloromethane and 0.1 M of LiClO 4 in EtOH as electrolyte were recorded at a glassy carbon working electrode. Cyclic voltammetry was also employed in methanolic extracts of olive and seed oils. Datapoints of cyclic voltammograms were exported and submitted to Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Partial Least Square- Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). In diluted oils, PLS-DA provided a clear discrimination between olive oils (extra virgin and regular) and olive pomace/seed oils, while SIMCA showed a clear discrimination of extra virgin olive oil in regard to all other samples. Using methanolic extracts and considering datapoints recorded between 0.6 and 1.3 V, PLS-DA provided more information, resulting in three clusters-extra virgin olive oils, regular olive oils and seed/olive pomace oils-while SIMCA showed inferior performance. For the quantification of extra virgin olive oil adulteration with olive pomace oil or seed oils, a model based on Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis was developed. Detection limit of adulteration in olive oil was found to be 2% (v/v) and the linearity range up to 33% (v/v). Validation and applicability of all models was proved using a suitable test set. In the case of PLS, synthetic oil mixtures with 4 known adulteration levels in the range of 4-26% were also employed as a blind test set. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Detection and quantification of extra virgin olive oil adulteration by means of autofluorescence excitation-emission profiles combined with multi-way classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durán Merás, Isabel; Domínguez Manzano, Jaime; Airado Rodríguez, Diego; Muñoz de la Peña, Arsenio

    2018-02-01

    Within olive oils, extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality and, in consequence, the most expensive one. Because of that, it is common that some merchants attempt to take economic advantage by mixing it up with other less expensive oils, like olive oil or olive pomace oil. In consequence, the characterization and authentication of extra virgin olive oils is a subject of great interest, both for industry and consumers. This paper reports the potential of front-face total fluorescence spectroscopy combined with second-order chemometric methods for the detection of extra virgin olive oils adulteration with other olive oils. Excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) of extra virgin olive oils and extra virgin olive oils adulterated with olive oils or with olive pomace oils were recorded using front-face fluorescence spectroscopy. The full information content in these fluorescence images was analyzed with the aid of unsupervised parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), PARAFAC supervised by linear discriminant analysis (LDA-PARAFAC), and discriminant unfolded partial least-squares (DA-UPLS). The discriminant ability of LDA-PARAFAC was studied through the tridimensional plots of the canonical vectors, defining a surface separating the established categories. For DA-UPLS, the discriminant ability was established through the bidimensional plots of predicted values of calibration and validation samples, in order to assign each sample to a given class. The models demonstrated the possibility of detecting adulterations of extra virgin olive oils with percentages of around 15% and 3% of olive and olive pomace oils, respectively. Also, UPLS regression was used to quantify the adulteration level of extra virgin olive oils with olive oils or with olive pomace oils. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Rapid analysis of adulterations in Chinese lotus root powder (LRP) by near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy coupled with chemometric class modeling techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Lu; Shi, Peng-Tao; Ye, Zi-Hong; Yan, Si-Min; Yu, Xiao-Ping

    2013-12-01

    This paper develops a rapid analysis method for adulteration identification of a popular traditional Chinese food, lotus root powder (LRP), by near-infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics. 85 pure LRP samples were collected from 7 main lotus producing areas of China to include most if not all of the significant variations likely to be encountered in unknown authentic materials. To evaluate the model specificity, 80 adulterated LRP samples prepared by blending pure LRP with different levels of four cheaper and commonly used starches were measured and predicted. For multivariate quality models, two class modeling methods, the traditional soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) and a recently proposed partial least squares class model (PLSCM) were used. Different data preprocessing techniques, including smoothing, taking derivative and standard normal variate (SNV) transformation were used to improve the classification performance. The results indicate that smoothing, taking second-order derivatives and SNV can improve the class models by enhancing signal-to-noise ratio, reducing baseline and background shifts. The most accurate and stable models were obtained with SNV spectra for both SIMCA (sensitivity 0.909 and specificity 0.938) and PLSCM (sensitivity 0.909 and specificity 0.925). Moreover, both SIMCA and PLSCM could detect LRP samples mixed with 5% (w/w) or more other cheaper starches, including cassava, sweet potato, potato and maize starches. Although it is difficult to perform an exhaustive collection of all pure LRP samples and possible adulterations, NIR spectrometry combined with class modeling techniques provides a reliable and effective method to detect most of the current LRP adulterations in Chinese market. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Rosaceae products: Anthocyanin quality and comparisons between dietary supplements and foods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jungmin Lee

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Rosaceae (strawberry, cherry, blackberry, red raspberry, and black raspberry dietary supplements and food products (total n = 74 were purchased and analyzed to determine their anthocyanin concentrations and profiles. Eight of the 33 dietary supplements had no detectable anthocyanins (five samples or were adulterated with anthocyanins from unlabeled sources (three samples. Five of 41 food products contained no detectable anthocyanins. In mg per serving, the dietary supplements tested contained 0.02–86.27 (average 10.00, and food products contained 0.48–39.66 (average 7.76. Anthocyanin levels between the dietary supplements and food products were not significantly different in mg per serving. Individual anthocyanin profiles can be used to evaluate quality of Rosaceae food products and dietary supplements. These findings show that increasing anthocyanin content and reducing adulteration could improve the quality of Rosaceae products available in the marketplace. Keywords: Rubus, Fragaria, Prunus, Dietary supplement, Nonmineral dietary supplement, Nonvitamin dietary supplement

  9. Effects of oxidizing adulterants on detection of 11-nor-delta9-THC-9-carboxylic acid in urine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Buddha D; Jacobs, Aaron

    2002-10-01

    Bleach, nitrite, chromate, and hydrogen peroxide-peroxidase are effective urine adulterants used by the illicit drug users to conceal marijuana-positive results. Methods for detecting nitrite and chromate are available. Effects of other oxidizing agents that could possibly be used as adulterants and are difficult to detect or measure are presented in this report. Urine samples containing 40 ng/mL of 11-nor-delta9-THC-9-carboxylic acid (THC-acid) were treated with 10 mmol/L of commonly available oxidizing agents. Effects of horseradish peroxidase of activity 10 unit/mL and extracts from 2.5 g of red radish (Raphanus sativus, Radicula group), horseradish (Armoracia rusticana), Japanese radish (Raphanus sativus, Daikon group), and black mustard seeds (Brassica nigra), all with 10 mmol/L of hydrogen peroxide, were also examined. After 5 min, 16 h and 48 h of exposure at room temperature (23 degrees C) the specimens were tested by a gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method for THC-acid. A control group treated with sodium hydrosulfite to reduce the oxidants, was also tested to investigate the effect of oxidizing agents on THC-acid in the extraction method. THC-acid was lost completely in the extraction method when treated with chromate, nitrite, oxone, and hydrogen peroxide/ferrous ammonium sulfate (Fenton's reagent). Some losses were also observed with persulfate and periodate (up to 25%). These oxidants, and other oxidizing agents like permanganate, periodate, peroxidase, and extracts from red radish, horseradish, Japanese radish and black mustard seeds destroyed most of the THC-acid (> 94%) within 48 h of exposure. Chlorate, perchlorate, iodate, and oxychloride under these conditions showed little or no effect. Complete loss was observed when THC-acid was exposed to 50 mmol/L of oxychloride for 48 h. Several oxidizing adulterants that are difficult to test by the present urine adulterant testing methods showed considerable effects on the destruction of THC

  10. Determination of five abused drugs in nitrite-adulterated urine by immunoassays and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, S C; ElSohly, M A; Dubrovsky, T; Twarowska, B; Towt, J; Salamone, S J

    1998-10-01

    The adulteration of urine specimens with nitrite ion hasseen shown to mask the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) confirmation testing of marijuana use. This study was designed to further investigate the effect of nitrite adulteration on the detection of five commonly abused drugs by immunoassay screening and GC-MS analysis. The drugs tested are cocaine metabolite (benzoylecgonine), morphine, 11-nor-delta-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THCCOOH), amphetamine, and phencyclidine. The immunoassays evaluated included the instrument-based Abuscreen ONLINE assays, the on-site Abuscreen ONTRAK assays, and the one-step ONTRAK TESTCUP-5 assay. Multianalyte standards containing various levels of drugs were used to test the influence of both potassium and sodium nitrite. In the ONLINE immunoassays, the presence of up to 1.0M nitrite in the multianalyte standards had no significant effect for benzoylecgonine, morphine, and phencyclidine assays. With a high concentration of nitrite, ONLINE became more sensitive for amphetamine (detected more drug than what was expected) and less sensitive for THCCOOH (detected less drug than what was expected). No effects of nitrite were observed on the results of the Abuscreen ONTRAK assays. Similarly, no effects were observed on the absolute qualitative results of the TESTCUP-5 when testing the nitrite-adulterated standards. However, the produced intensities of the signals that indicate the negative test results were slightly lowered in the THC and phencyclidine assays. The presence of 1.0M of nitrite did not show dramatic interference with the GC-MS analysis of benzoylecgonine, morphine, amphetamine, and phencyclidine. In contrast, nitrite ion significantly interfered with the detection of THCCOOH by GC-MS. The presence of 0.03M of nitrite ion resulted in significant loss in the recovery of THCCOOH and its internal standard by GC-MS. The problem of nitrite adulteration could be alleviated by sodium bisulfite treatment even

  11. Adulterants and diluents in heroin, amphetamine, and cocaine found on the illicit drug market in Aarhus, Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Mette Findal; Lindholst, Christian; Kaa, Elisabet

    2009-01-01

    of adulterants and diluents present in the drugs. Results are compared with a similar study conducted ten years earlier. The concentrations of the active substances in illicit heroin, amphetamine, and cocaine samples have decreased significantly over a 10-year period. This finding shows that the "cutting...

  12. Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR spectroscopy and chemometric techniques for the determination of adulteration in petrodiesel/biodiesel blends

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Armando Guerrero Peña

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available We propose an analytical method based on fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR spectroscopy to detect the adulteration of petrodiesel and petrodiesel/palm biodiesel blends with African crude palm oil. The infrared spectral fingerprints from the sample analysis were used to perform principal components analysis (PCA and to construct a prediction model using partial least squares (PLS regression. The PCA results separated the samples into three groups, allowing identification of those subjected to adulteration with palm oil. The obtained model shows a good predictive capacity for determining the concentration of palm oil in petrodiesel/biodiesel blends. Advantages of the proposed method include cost-effectiveness and speed; it is also environmentally friendly.

  13. [Rapid detection of four antipertensive chemicals adulterated in traditional Chinese medicine for hypertension using TLC-SERS].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Qing-Xia; Cao, Yong-Bing; Cao, Ying-Ying; Lu, Feng

    2014-04-01

    A novel facile method for on-site detection of antipertensive chemicals (e. g. nicardipine hydrochloride, doxazosin mesylate, propranolol hydrochloride, and hydrochlorothiazide) adulterated in traditional Chinese medicine for hypertension using thin layer chromatography (TLC) combined with surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was reported in the present paper. Analytes and pharmaceutical matrices was separated by TLC, then SERS method was used to complete qualitative identification of trace substances on TLC plate. By optimizing colloidal silver concentration and developing solvent, as well as exploring the optimal limits of detection (LOD), the initially established TLC-SERS method was used to detect real hypertension Chinese pharmaceuticals. The results showed that this method had good specificity for the four chemicals and high sensitivity with a limit of detection as lower as to 0.005 microg. Finally, two of the ten antipertensive drugs were detected to be adulterated with chemicals. This simple and fast method can realize rapid detection of chemicals illegally for doping in antipertensive Chinese pharmaceuticals, and would have good prospects in on-site detection of chemicals for doping in Chinese pharmaceuticals.

  14. Gold Nanoparticle Sensor for the Visual Detection of Pork Adulteration in Meatball Formulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. E. Ali

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We visually identify pork adulteration in beef and chicken meatball preparations using 20 nm gold nanoparticles (GNPs as colorimetric sensors. Meatball is a popular food in certain Asian and European countries. Verification of pork adulteration in meatball is necessary to meet the Halal and Kosher food standards. Twenty nm GNPs change color from pinkish-red to gray-purple, and their absorption peak at 525 nm is red-shifted by 30–50 nm in 3 mM phosphate buffer saline (PBS. Adsorption of single-stranded DNA protects the particles against salt-induced aggregation. Mixing and annealing of a 25-nucleotide (nt single-stranded (ss DNA probe with denatured DNA of different meatballs differentiated well between perfectly matched and mismatch hybridization at a critical annealing temperature. The probes become available in nonpork DNA containing vials due to mismatches and interact with GNPs to protect them from salt-induced aggregation. Whereas, all the pork containing vials, either in pure and mixed forms, consumed the probes totally by perfect hybridization and turned into grey, indicating aggregation. This is clearly reflected by a well-defined red-shift of the absorption peak and significantly increased absorbance in 550–800 nm regimes. This label-free low-cost assay should find applications in food analysis, genetic screening, and homology studies.

  15. What's NOT to eat--food adulteration in the context of human biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schell, Lawrence M; Gallo, Mia V; Cook, Katsi

    2012-01-01

    Food has nutritional and non-nutritional components. The latter are not well-studied despite the fact that food adulteration has been common. Food adulteration may have reached its peak in cities of Western Europe and the US in the 18th and 19th centuries when foods were often purposely contaminated with additives to increase bulk, attractiveness, disguise spoilage, and increase profit. Effective regulation of food began in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Nevertheless, today food recalls for bacterial contamination are common, while pesticides and compounds from manufacturing are detected in many foods. Foods with strong reputations for healthiness, such as salmon, may have sizable contaminant contents. The contaminant content of many foods varies by origin and season. Nearly all commercially raised salmon has higher contaminant levels than wild caught salmon. Opting out of the commercial food distribution system is an option, but the value depends on the habitat in which the food is obtained. Traditionally, the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation has depended on local fish and wildlife for their diet. Now pollution of local waterways has led to the contamination of many local foods, and levels of the contaminant polychlorinated biphenyls in the Akwesasne Mohawk people reflect current or past dietary patterns. Many other communities in nonurban settings are exposed to contaminants through long-trail distribution of contaminants in food, air, and/or water. Human biologists considering nutrition, disease, growth, reproduction, aging, to name a few areas, may consider the non-nutritional components of food as many have the ability to alter physiological functioning. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Rapid, sensitive and reproducible method for point-of-collection screening of liquid milk for adulterants using a portable Raman spectrometer with novel optimized sample well

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieuwoudt, Michel K.; Holroyd, Steve E.; McGoverin, Cushla M.; Simpson, M. Cather; Williams, David E.

    2017-02-01

    Point-of-care diagnostics are of interest in the medical, security and food industry, the latter particularly for screening food adulterated for economic gain. Milk adulteration continues to be a major problem worldwide and different methods to detect fraudulent additives have been investigated for over a century. Laboratory based methods are limited in their application to point-of-collection diagnosis and also require expensive instrumentation, chemicals and skilled technicians. This has encouraged exploration of spectroscopic methods as more rapid and inexpensive alternatives. Raman spectroscopy has excellent potential for screening of milk because of the rich complexity inherent in its signals. The rapid advances in photonic technologies and fabrication methods are enabling increasingly sensitive portable mini-Raman systems to be placed on the market that are both affordable and feasible for both point-of-care and point-of-collection applications. We have developed a powerful spectroscopic method for rapidly screening liquid milk for sucrose and four nitrogen-rich adulterants (dicyandiamide (DCD), ammonium sulphate, melamine, urea), using a combined system: a small, portable Raman spectrometer with focusing fibre optic probe and optimized reflective focusing wells, simply fabricated in aluminium. The reliable sample presentation of this system enabled high reproducibility of 8% RSD (residual standard deviation) within four minutes. Limit of detection intervals for PLS calibrations ranged between 140 - 520 ppm for the four N-rich compounds and between 0.7 - 3.6 % for sucrose. The portability of the system and reliability and reproducibility of this technique opens opportunities for general, reagentless adulteration screening of biological fluids as well as milk, at point-of-collection.

  17. Screening of pharmacologic adulterant classes in herbal formulations using voltammetry of microparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doménech-Carbó, Antonio; Martini, Mariele; de Carvalho, Leandro Machado; Viana, Carine; Doménech-Carbó, María Teresa; Silva, Miguel

    2013-02-23

    A solid state electrochemical method for screening different families of adulterant chemicals illegally added to commercial phytotherapuetic formulations is described. The proposed method, based on the voltammetry of microparticles approach, permits a fast and sensitive way to distinguish between anorexics (amfepramone, fenproporex, sibutramine), benzozodiazepinic anxiolytics (clonazepam, flurazepam, alprazolam, midazolam, medazepam, chlordiazepoxide, diazepam), antidepressants (bupropione, fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine), diuretics (hydrochlorothiazide, furosemide, chlortalidone, amiloride, spironolactone), and hypoglycemics (glimepiride, chlorpropamide, glibenclamide) based on characteristic voltammetric signals recorded on solid micro- or nanosamples attached to graphite electrodes immersed into aqueous electrolytes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Evaluation of Turmeric Powder Adulterated with Metanil Yellow Using FT-Raman and FT-IR Spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sagar Dhakal

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Turmeric powder (Curcuma longa L. is valued both for its medicinal properties and for its popular culinary use, such as being a component in curry powder. Due to its high demand in international trade, turmeric powder has been subject to economically driven, hazardous chemical adulteration. This study utilized Fourier Transform-Raman (FT-Raman and Fourier Transform-Infra Red (FT-IR spectroscopy as separate but complementary methods for detecting metanil yellow adulteration of turmeric powder. Sample mixtures of turmeric powder and metanil yellow were prepared at concentrations of 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, 1%, and 0.01% (w/w. FT-Raman and FT-IR spectra were acquired for these mixture samples as well as for pure samples of turmeric powder and metanil yellow. Spectral analysis showed that the FT-IR method in this study could detect the metanil yellow at the 5% concentration, while the FT-Raman method appeared to be more sensitive and could detect the metanil yellow at the 1% concentration. Relationships between metanil yellow spectral peak intensities and metanil yellow concentration were established using representative peaks at FT-Raman 1406 cm−1 and FT-IR 1140 cm−1 with correlation coefficients of 0.93 and 0.95, respectively.

  19. Analysis of volatile compounds of Ilex paraguariensis A. St. - Hil. and its main adulterating species Ilex theizans Mart. ex Reissek and Ilex dumosa Reissek Análise de compostos voláteis de Ilex paraguariensis A. St. - Hil. e suas principais espécies adulterantes Ilex theizans Mart. ex Reissek e Ilex dumosa Reissek

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rogério Marcos Dallago

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The adulteration of the product Ilex paraguariensis with other Ilex species is a mAjor problem for maté tea producers. In this work, three species of Ilex were evaluated for their volatile composition by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography and mass spectrum detector (HS-SPME/GC-MS. The adulterating species I. dumnosa and I. theizans Mart. ex Reissek presented a different profile of volatile organic compounds when compared to I. paraguariensis. Aldehydes methyl-butanal, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal and nonanal were detected only in the adulterating species. This result suggests that such compounds are potential chemical markers for identification of adulteration and quality analysis of products based on Ilex paraguariensis.A adulteração do produto Ilex paraguariensis com outras espécies de Ilex é um dos principais problemas dos produtores de erva-mate. Neste trabalho, três espécies de Ilex foram avaliadas quanto à sua composição volátil por microextração em fase sólida acoplada à cromatografia gasosa e detector de espectro de massas (HS-SPME/GC-MS. As espécies adulterantes I. dumnosa e I. theizans Mart. ex Reissek apresentaram um perfil diferente de compostos orgânicos voláteis, quando comparadas com a I. paraguariensis. Os aldeídos metil-butanal, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal e nonanal foram detectados apenas nas espécies adulterantes. Esse resultado sugere que esses compostos químicos são marcadores potenciais para a identificação de adulteração e análise da qualidade dos produtos à base de Ilex paraguariensis.

  20. Detection of adulterated honey produced by honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies fed with different levels of commercial industrial sugar (C₃ and C₄ plants) syrups by the carbon isotope ratio analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guler, Ahmet; Kocaokutgen, Hasan; Garipoglu, Ali V; Onder, Hasan; Ekinci, Deniz; Biyik, Selim

    2014-07-15

    In the present study, one hundred pure and adulterated honey samples obtained from feeding honeybee colonies with different levels (5, 20 and 100 L/colony) of various commercial sugar syrups including High Fructose Corn Syrup 85 (HFCS-85), High Fructose Corn Syrup 55 (HFCS-55), Bee Feeding Syrup (BFS), Glucose Monohydrate Sugar (GMS) and Sucrose Sugar (SS) were evaluated in terms of the δ(13)C value of honey and its protein, difference between the δ(13)C value of protein and honey (Δδ(13)C), and C4% sugar ratio. Sugar type, sugar level and the sugar type*sugar level interaction were found to be significant (Phoney, Δδ(13)C (protein-honey), and C4% sugar ratio were used as criteria according to the AOAC standards. However, it was possible to detect the adulteration by using the same criteria in the honeys taken from the 20 and 100 L/colony of HFCS-85 and the 100L/colony of HFCS-55. Adulteration at low syrup level (20 L/colony) was more easily detected when the fructose content of HFCS syrup increased. As a result, the official methods (AOAC, 978.17, 1995; AOAC, 991.41, 1995; AOAC 998.12, 2005) and Internal Standard Carbon Isotope Ratio Analysis could not efficiently detect the indirect adulteration of honey obtained by feeding the bee colonies with the syrups produced from C3 plants such as sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) and wheat (Triticium vulgare). For this reason, it is strongly needed to develop novel methods and standards that can detect the presence and the level of indirect adulterations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Determination of main fruits in adulterated nectars by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate calibration and variable selection methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miaw, Carolina Sheng Whei; Assis, Camila; Silva, Alessandro Rangel Carolino Sales; Cunha, Maria Luísa; Sena, Marcelo Martins; de Souza, Scheilla Vitorino Carvalho

    2018-07-15

    Grape, orange, peach and passion fruit nectars were formulated and adulterated by dilution with syrup, apple and cashew juices at 10 levels for each adulterant. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform mid infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra were obtained. Partial least squares (PLS) multivariate calibration models allied to different variable selection methods, such as interval partial least squares (iPLS), ordered predictors selection (OPS) and genetic algorithm (GA), were used to quantify the main fruits. PLS improved by iPLS-OPS variable selection showed the highest predictive capacity to quantify the main fruit contents. The selected variables in the final models varied from 72 to 100; the root mean square errors of prediction were estimated from 0.5 to 2.6%; the correlation coefficients of prediction ranged from 0.948 to 0.990; and, the mean relative errors of prediction varied from 3.0 to 6.7%. All of the developed models were validated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. What's in the box? Authentication of Echinacea herbal products using DNA metabarcoding and HPTLC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raclariu, Ancuta Cristina; Ţebrencu, Carmen Elena; Ichim, Mihael Cristin; Ciupercǎ, Oana Teodora; Brysting, Anne Krag; de Boer, Hugo

    2018-05-15

    Differences in regulatory policies between countries as well as a lack of appropriate standardized methods for the authentication and quality control of herbal products directly impact their quality and safety. Echinacea products are among the top-selling herbal products in Europe and the United States with indications for a broad range of ailments. The increased use of Echinacea species has led to concerns about adulterated products resulting from challenges in morphology-based identification, due to overlapping morphological variation, frequent hybridization between species, and deliberate adulteration. This study addressed the need for a novel analytical strategy in the authentication of herbal products. A combination of high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and DNA metabarcoding was employed. Fifty-three Echinacea herbal products marketed across Europe were tested to evaluate the accuracy of these methods in plant identification and their potential for detecting substitutes, adulterants and other unreported plant constituents. HPTLC provides high resolution in the detection of Echinacea phytochemical target compounds, but does not offer information on the other species within the product. Alternatively, we showed that the limitation of HPTLC in detecting non-targeted species can be overcome by the complementary use of DNA metabarcoding. Using DNA metabarcoding, Echinacea species were detected in 34 out of the 38 retained products (89%), but with a lack of discriminatory resolution at the species level due to the low level of molecular divergence within the Echinacea genus. All of the tested herbal products showed considerable discrepancies between ingredients listed on the label and the ones detected using DNA metabarcoding, registering an overall ingredient fidelity of only 43%. The results confirm that DNA metabarcoding can be used to test for the presence of Echinacea species and simultaneously to detect other species present in even highly

  3. Detection of pork adulteration in processed meat by species-specific PCR-QIAxcel procedure based on D-loop and cytb genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barakat, Hassan; El-Garhy, Hoda A S; Moustafa, Mahmoud M A

    2014-12-01

    Detection of pork meat adulteration in "halal" meat products is a crucial issue in the fields of modern food inspection according to implementation of very strict procedures for halal food labelling. Present study aims at detecting and quantifying pork adulteration in both raw and cooked manufactured sausages. This is by applying an optimized species-specific PCR procedure followed by QIAxcel capillary electrophoresis system. Manufacturing experiment was designed by incorporating pork with beef meat at 0.01 to 10 % substitution levels beside beef and pork sausages as negative and positive controls, respectively. Subsequently, sausages were divided into raw and cooked sausages then subjected to DNA extraction. Results indicated that PCR amplifications of mitochondrial D-loop and cytochrome b (cytb) genes by porcine-specific primers produced 185 and 117 bp pork-specific DNA fragments in sausages, respectively. No DNA fragments were detected when PCR was applied on beef sausage DNA confirming primers specificity. For internal control, a 141-bp DNA fragment of eukaryotic 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was amplified from pork and beef DNA templates. Although PCR followed by either QIAxcel or agarose techniques were efficient for targeted DNA fragments differentiation even as low as 0.01 % (pork/meat: w/w). For proficiency, adequacy, and performance, PCR-QIA procedure is highly sensitive, a time-saver, electronically documented, mutagenic-reagent free, of little manual errors, accurate in measuring PCR fragments length, and quantitative data supplier. In conclusion, it can be suggested that optimized PCR-QAI is considered as a rapid and sensitive method for routine pork detection and quantification in raw or processed meat.

  4. Pharmacokinetics of Maleic Acid as a Food Adulterant Determined by Microdialysis in Rat Blood and Kidney Cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mei-Ling Hou

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Maleic acid has been shown to be used as a food adulterant in the production of modified starch by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration. Due to the potential toxicity of maleic acid to the kidneys, this study aimed to develop an analytical method to investigate the pharmacokinetics of maleic acid in rat blood and kidney cortex. Multiple microdialysis probes were simultaneously inserted into the jugular vein and the kidney cortex for sampling after maleic acid administration (10 or 30 mg/kg, i.v., respectively. The pharmacokinetic results demonstrated that maleic acid produced a linear pharmacokinetic phenomenon within the doses of 10 and 30 mg/kg. The area under concentration versus time curve (AUC of the maleic acid in kidney cortex was 5-fold higher than that in the blood after maleic acid administration (10 and 30 mg/kg, i.v., respectively, indicating that greater accumulation of maleic acid occurred in the rat kidney.

  5. Quantification of pure refined olive oil adulterant in extra virgin olive oil using diamond cell atr-ftir spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kandhro, A.A.; Saleem, R.; Laghari, A.H.; Sultana, R.

    2014-01-01

    The present study depicts spectroscopic method development to deliver a rapid, simple and reproducible quantification of pure refined olive oil (PROO) adulterant in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) using partial least square (PLS) regression (statistical parameter). Single bounce attenuated total reflectance (SB-ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was choice in the developed method. Blended standards of PROO and EVOO were obtained by their weight by weight percentage and the values were used to construct calibration curves for quantification. The optimum regression values (i.e. >0.99) were achieved using the combined frequencies of 3105-2761, 1838-1687, and 1482-440 cm-1 with regression coefficients (R2) 0.99718 and achieved residual mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) 1.40% w/w. To determine the suitability of developed method principal component spectra (PCS) diagnostic was also used. The results of the present study prove that the developed methods reported in preceding studies can be good option for more rapid and accurate determination of PROO adulteration in EVOO. (author)

  6. Non-Invasive Detection of Adulterated Olive Oil in Full Bottles Using Time-Domain NMR Relaxometry

    OpenAIRE

    Santos, Poliana M.; Kock, Flávio Vinicius C.; Santos, Maiara S.; Lobo, Carlos Manuel S.; Carvalho, André S.; Colnago, Luiz Alberto

    2017-01-01

    A fast procedure using time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR) to detect olive oil adulteration with polyunsaturated vegetable oils in filled bottles is proposed. The 1H transverse relaxation times (T2) of 37 commercial samples were measured using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) spectrometer and a unilateral nuclear magnetic resonance (UNMR) sensor. Results obtained with LF-NMR revealed better feasibility when compared with the UNMR sensor, with higher signal-to-noise (S...

  7. Detection of structurally similar adulterants in botanical dietary supplements by thin-layer chromatography and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy combined with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hao; Zhu, Qing xia; Chwee, Tsz sian; Wu, Lin; Chai, Yi feng; Lu, Feng; Yuan, Yong fang

    2015-07-09

    Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) coupled with surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been widely used for the study of various complex systems, especially for the detection of adulterants in botanical dietary supplements (BDS). However, this method is not sufficient to distinguish structurally similar adulterants in BDS since the analogs have highly similar chromatographic and/or spectroscopic behaviors. Taking into account the fact that higher cost and more time will be required for comprehensive chromatographic separation, more efforts with respect to spectroscopy are now focused on analyzing the overlapped SERS peaks. In this paper, the combination of a TLC-SERS method with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS), with duration of exposure to laser as the perturbation, is applied to solve this problem. Besides the usual advantages of the TLC-SERS method, such as its simplicity, rapidness, and sensitivity, more advantages are presented here, such as enhanced selectivity and good reproducibility, which are obtained by 2DCOS. Two chemicals with similar structures are successfully differentiated from the complex BDS matrices. The study provides a more accurate qualitative screening method for detection of BDS with adulterants, and offers a new universal approach for the analysis of highly overlapped SERS peaks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. SDS-PAGE in conjunction with match lane statistical analysis for the detection of meat adulteration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hegazy, R.A.; Nassef, A.E.

    2003-01-01

    Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of seven meat types and two component mixtures of them were made. Banding patterns of resulting denstograms in conjunction with cluster analysi and match lane statistical analysis were used for the detection of meat adulteration. The use of beef as a reference meat have resulted in a clear distinction from goat, pork, chicken, turkey, camel meats and their mixture and camel meat. The use of pork meat as a reference was more assurate because of the low degrees of matching with all meats and their mixtures and consequently high abilities of differentiations. The purpose of identification. the purpose of identification of meat species arises from the desire of human, in general, to confirm what he eat ? for moslems the establisment that meat is free from pork type is most important. Another economic purpose is the detection of adulteration of valuable meat by less valuable types. Several attempts in different laboratories were done to serve this object but most of analytical techniques. Barbieri and formi (1999) were able to detect 5% of meat type in mixtures by isolelectric focusing and 1% of meat type by PCR technique in beef, pork, chicken and turkey meats. By crossover immunoelectrophoresis technique, zanon and vianello (1998) were also to detect a limit of 5% of specific meat in mixuters of beef, pork, mutton/lamb, horse and chicken meats

  9. Continuous statistical modelling for rapid detection of adulteration of extra virgin olive oil using mid infrared and Raman spectroscopic data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgouli, Konstantia; Martinez Del Rincon, Jesus; Koidis, Anastasios

    2017-02-15

    The main objective of this work was to develop a novel dimensionality reduction technique as a part of an integrated pattern recognition solution capable of identifying adulterants such as hazelnut oil in extra virgin olive oil at low percentages based on spectroscopic chemical fingerprints. A novel Continuous Locality Preserving Projections (CLPP) technique is proposed which allows the modelling of the continuous nature of the produced in-house admixtures as data series instead of discrete points. The maintenance of the continuous structure of the data manifold enables the better visualisation of this examined classification problem and facilitates the more accurate utilisation of the manifold for detecting the adulterants. The performance of the proposed technique is validated with two different spectroscopic techniques (Raman and Fourier transform infrared, FT-IR). In all cases studied, CLPP accompanied by k-Nearest Neighbors (kNN) algorithm was found to outperform any other state-of-the-art pattern recognition techniques. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Shedding light on food fraud: spectrophotometric and spectroscopic methods as a tool against economically motivated adulteration of food

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petronijević, R. B.; Velebit, B.; Baltić, T.

    2017-09-01

    Intentional modification of food or substitution of food ingredients with the aim of gaining profit is food fraud or economically motivated adulteration (EMA). EMA appeared in the food supply chain, and following the global expansion of the food market, has become a world-scale problem for the global economy. Food frauds have involved oils, milk and meat products, infant formula, honey, juices, spices, etc. New legislation was enacted in the last decade in order to fight EMA. Effective analytical methods for food fraud detection are few and still in development. The majority of the methods in common use today for EMA detection are time consuming and inappropriate for use on the production line or out of the laboratory. The next step in the evolution of analytical techniques to combat food fraud is development of fast, accurate methods applicable using portable or handheld devices. Spectrophotometric and spectroscopic methods combined with chemometric analysis, and perhaps in combination with other rapid physico-chemical techniques, could be the answer. This review discusses some analytical techniques based on spectrophotometry and spectroscopy, which are used to reveal food fraud and EMA.

  11. [On the need to improve the system for the prevention of falsification of food products in the Eurasian Economic Union].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnautov, O V; Bagryantseva, O V; Bessonov, V V

    2016-01-01

    Adulteration of food is misleading consumers about the composition of foods in order to obtain economic benefits. Olive oil, wine and other alcoholic beverages, spices, tea, fish, honey, milk and dairy products, meat products, cereal products, beverages based on fruit juices, spices, coffee are falsified with the highest frequency. In addition, sufficient data on the frequency of adulterated food products are missing not only in Russia but also in the developed countries. This is because the purpose of the manufacturer and distributors of such products is primarily an economic advantage. Therefore, the majority of incidents of falsification of food products remained undetected since their production, generally had not led to the risk of food safety, and consumers often did not notice the reduction in quality of foodstuffs. The analysis of international data and data of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has shown that, in order to improve the quality of food products and to reduce sales of adulterated food the following steps should be done: introduce the definition of falsificated food products into legislation of the EAEU; expand the list of methods for confirming the authenticity of the food and detecting the presence of substances which are not permitted for usage in the food industry; consolidate the principle of the responsibility of all participants in the treatment of food that does not comply with the mandatory requirements at the legislative level; introduce the indicators of the quality of foodstuffs in the technical regulations of the EAEU; return to the mandatory requirements for the quality of foods given in the interstate and state standards.

  12. Astronomy and Existentialism in Albert Camus' ``The Adulterous Woman''

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garwood, D.

    2013-04-01

    Camus' short story “An Adulterous Woman” from his collection Exile and the Kingdom narrates the experience of Janine, wife of a French Algerian cloth-trader, who accompanies her husband on a business trip to the Saharan interior at mid-20th century. The desert landscape and its weather play an integral role in the plot. Blending realism and fantasy that borders on science fiction, the narrator characterizes the sky as an animate cosmological energy whose virility is masked by sunlight during the day. Released after sundown and portrayed as a liberator at the climax of the story, the shaman-like night sky descends upon Janine as a shower of stars that leaves her with an existential sense of self. This paper explores themes of astronomy and existentialism that Camus develops through Janine's “adultery” with a cosmological force, supplemented by visual imagery related to the aesthetic and scientific cultural contexts of the story and Camus' era.

  13. Application of high-resolution melting analysis for authenticity testing of valuable Dendrobium commercial products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Xiaoman; Jiang, Chao; Yuan, Yuan; Peng, Daiyin; Luo, Yuqin; Zhao, Yuyang; Huang, Luqi

    2018-01-01

    The accurate identification of botanical origin in commercial products is important to ensure food authenticity and safety for consumers. The Dendrobium species have long been commercialised as functional food supplements and herbal medicines in Asia. Three valuable Dendrobium species, namely Dendrobium officinale, D. huoshanense and D. moniliforme, are often mutually adulterated in trade products in pursuit of higher profit. In this paper, a rapid and reliable semi-quantitative method for identifying the botanical origin of Dendrobium products in terminal markets was developed using high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis with specific primer pairs to target the trnL-F region. The HRM analysis method detected amounts of D. moniliforme adulterants as low as 1% in D. huoshanense or D. officinale products. The results have demonstrated that HRM analysis is a fast and effective tool for the differentiation of these Dendrobium species both for their authenticity as well as for the semi-quantitative determination of the purity of their processed products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  14. Forensic electrochemistry: the electroanalytical sensing of synthetic cathinone-derivatives and their accompanying adulterants in "legal high" products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jamie P; Metters, Jonathan P; Irving, Craig; Sutcliffe, Oliver B; Banks, Craig E

    2014-01-21

    The production and abuse of new psychoactive substances, known as "legal highs" which mimic traditional drugs of abuse is becoming a global epidemic. Traditional analytical methodologies exist which can provide confirmatory analysis but there is a requirement for an on-the-spot analytical screening tool that could be used to determine whether a substance, or sample matrix contains such legal, or formally "legal highs". In this paper the electrochemical sensing of (±)-methcathinone and related compounds at a range of commercially available electrode substrates is explored. We demonstrate for the first time that this class of "legal highs" are electrochemically active providing a novel sensing protocol based upon their electrochemical oxidation. Screen-printed graphite sensing platforms are favoured due to their proven ability to be mass-produced providing large numbers of reliable and reproducible electrode sensing platforms that preclude the requirement of surface pre-treatment such as mechanical polishing as is the case in the use of solid/re-usable electrode substrates. Additionally they hold potential to be used on-site potentially being the basis of an on-site legal high screening device. Consequently the electroanalytical sensing of (±)-methcathinone (3a), (±)-4′-methylmethcathinone [3b, 4-MMC, (±)-mephedrone] and (±)-4′-methyl-N-ethylcathinone (3c, 4-MEC) is explored using screen-printed sensing platforms with the effect of pH explored upon the analytical response with their analytical efficiency evaluated towards the target legal highs. Interesting at pH values below 6 the voltammetric response quantitatively changes from that of an electrochemically irreversible response to that of a quasi-reversible signature which can be used analytically. It is demonstrated for the first time that the electroanalytical sensing of (±)-methcathinone (3a), (±)-mephedrone (3b) and 4-MEC (3c) are possible with accessible linear ranges found to correspond to 16

  15. Nontargeted, Rapid Screening of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Products for Authenticity Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Combination with Conformity Index and Multivariate Statistical Analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karunathilaka, Sanjeewa R; Kia, Ali-Reza Fardin; Srigley, Cynthia; Chung, Jin Kyu; Mossoba, Magdi M

    2016-10-01

    A rapid tool for evaluating authenticity was developed and applied to the screening of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) retail products by using Fourier-transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy in combination with univariate and multivariate data analysis methods. Using disposable glass tubes, spectra for 62 reference EVOO, 10 edible oil adulterants, 20 blends consisting of EVOO spiked with adulterants, 88 retail EVOO products and other test samples were rapidly measured in the transmission mode without any sample preparation. The univariate conformity index (CI) and the multivariate supervised soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) classification tool were used to analyze the various olive oil products which were tested for authenticity against a library of reference EVOO. Better discrimination between the authentic EVOO and some commercial EVOO products was observed with SIMCA than with CI analysis. Approximately 61% of all EVOO commercial products were flagged by SIMCA analysis, suggesting that further analysis be performed to identify quality issues and/or potential adulterants. Due to its simplicity and speed, FT-NIR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analysis can be used as a complementary tool to conventional official methods of analysis to rapidly flag EVOO products that may not belong to the class of authentic EVOO. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  16. Study of Commercially Available Lobelia chinensis Products Using Bar-HRM Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Wei; Yan, Song; Li, Jingjian; Xiong, Chao; Shi, Yuhua; Wu, Lan; Xiang, Li; Deng, Bo; Ma, Wei; Chen, Shilin

    2017-01-01

    There is an unmet need for herbal medicine identification using a fast, sensitive, and easy-to-use method that does not require complex infrastructure and well-trained technicians. For instance, the detection of adulterants in Lobelia chinensis herbal product has been challenging, since current detection technologies are not effective due to their own limits. High Resolution Melting (HRM) has emerged as a powerful new technology for clinical diagnosis, research in the food industry and in plant molecular biology, and this method has already highlighted the complexity of species identification. In this study, we developed a method of species specific detection of L. chinensis using HRM analysis combined with internal transcribed spacer 2. We then applied this method to commercial products purporting to contain L . chinensis . Our results demonstrated that HRM can differentiate L. chinensis from six common adulterants. HRM was proven to be a fast and accurate technique for testing the authenticity of L. chinensis in herbal products. Based on these results, a HRM approach for herbal authentication is provided.

  17. Detection of plant oil DNA using high resolution melting (HRM) post PCR analysis: a tool for disclosure of olive oil adulteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vietina, Michelangelo; Agrimonti, Caterina; Marmiroli, Nelson

    2013-12-15

    Extra virgin olive oil is frequently subjected to adulterations with addition of oils obtained from plants other than olive. DNA analysis is a fast and economic tool to identify plant components in oils. Extraction and amplification of DNA by PCR was tested in olives, in milled seeds and in oils, to investigate its use in olive oil traceability. DNA was extracted from different oils made of hazelnut, maize, sunflower, peanut, sesame, soybean, rice and pumpkin. Comparing the DNA melting profiles in reference plant materials and in the oils, it was possible to identify any plant components in oils and mixtures of oils. Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR) platform has been added of the new methodology of high resolution melting (HRM), both were used to analyse olive oils mixed with different percentage of other oils. Results showed HRM a cost effective method for efficient detection of adulterations in olive oils. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Detection of horse meat contamination in raw and heat-processed meat products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Yun-Hwa P; Ofori, Jack A

    2014-12-31

    Europe's recent problems with the adulteration of beef products with horse meat highlight the need for a reliable method for detecting horse meat in food for human consumption. The objective of this study was therefore to develop a reliable monoclonal antibody (mAb) based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for horse meat detection. Two mAbs, H3E3 (IgG2b) and H4E7 (IgG2a), were characterized as horse-selective, and competitive ELISAs (cELISAs) employing these mAbs were developed. The cELISAs were found to be capable of detecting levels as low as 1% of horse meat in raw, cooked, and autoclaved ground beef or pork, being useful analytical tools for addressing the health, economic, and ethical concerns associated with adulterating meat products with horse meat. However, due to cross-reaction with raw poultry meat, it is recommended that samples be heated (100 °C for 15 min) prior to analysis to eliminate possible false-positive results.

  19. Uncovering the method of production and detection of synthetic acetic acid adulteration in vinegar by tandem use of 14C liquid scintillation counting and 13C/12C ratio mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wechner, Stefan; Voropaev, Andrey; Eichinger, Lorenz; Santos, Flora L.; Castaneda, Soledad; Racho, Michael; Pabroa, Preciosa Corazon; Morco, Ryan; Sucgang, Raymond J.

    2010-01-01

    CO 2 gas (standardized against the International Pee Dee Belemnite Standard). Delta values of acetic acid obtained from C4 plants including sugar cane, and pineapple were between (-12.2) to (-15.9) per mil respectively. The vinegar obtained from mango, a C3 plant, gave (-20.1) per mil. The acetic acid produced from sugar cane using an acetator presented a fractionation (-10.2 per mil.) which allows for it to be differentiated from cane vinegar produced via the conventional fermentation production, not using an acetator. Possible synthetic/petroleum derived vinegars exhibit delta values beyond (-30) per mil. Five out of seven of the commercial vinegar brands were suspected to be made of synthetic acetic acid. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry and liquid scintillation counting are promising tools for revealing the botanical origin and method of production, and detection of synthetic acid adulteration in vinegar samples. (author)

  20. Simultaneous identification/determination system for phentolamine and sildenafil as adulterants in soft drinks advertising roborant nutrition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikami, Eiichi; Ohno, Tsutomu; Matsumoto, Hiroshi

    2002-12-04

    An easily available, simultaneous identification/determination procedure for phentolamine (PHE) and sildenafil (SIL) in adulterated dietary supplements was established by using a combination of three different analytical methods; thin-layer chromatography (TLC), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/photo-diode-array. The sample solution for TLC was applied to silica gel 60 F(254) plates with chloroform/ammonia solution (28)/methanol (70:5:3, lower layer) and chloroform/diethylamine/methanol (15:3:2) as the developing solvent. Spots were located under UV radiation at 254 nm. Mass spectra of PHE and SIL by LC/MS were investigated with electrospray ionization (ESI) interface, under both positive and negative ion mode. The HPLC analysis was performed on a column of Wakosil 5C18 (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 5 microm) with water/methanol/acetonitrile/triethylamine (580:250:170:1) adjusted with phosphoric acid to pH 3.0 as the mobile phase, and the effluent was monitored with a photo-diode-array detector. Quantitative HPLC analysis of PHE and SIL were detected at 280 nm. When this procedure was applied to commercial soft drinks, PHE and SIL were identified and determined at a concentration of 17 mg PHE and 44 mg SIL per bottle, respectively. The procedure described here is available for the screening of PHE and SIL in adulterated supplements. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.

  1. Tragedy, transformation, and triumph: comparing the factors and forces that led to the adoption of the 1860 Adulteration Act in England and the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    London, Jillian

    2014-01-01

    The 1860 Adulteration Act in England and the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act in the United States were two of the earliest pieces of legislation to provide generalized regulation of food and drugs on a national scale. While significant scholarly attention has been given to explaining the factors and forces that led to the passage of each Act independent of the other, few books or articles have directly compared the similar individuals and events that led to the adoption of both Acts. This paper attempts to fill that gap. Through a comparative examination, this paper reveals that four main components were key to the national pure food and drug movements in both countries: individuals who crusaded for national adulteration legislation; tragedies that shocked the public into calling for reform; press and publicity that was willing and able to bring the evils of adulteration to the forefront of the public mind; and a transformation of the social, political, and economic systems, which created atmospheres conducive to reform. This paper aims to shed new light on the 1860 Adulteration Act and the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act--two acts that derive their importance not just from the effect that they directly had on the regulation of food and drugs but also as some of the earliest examples of western governments coming to recognize the need for national regulation to protect the public from harm and coming to embrace their changing role as spearheads of modern regulatory states.

  2. Stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry in forensic science and food adulteration research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, B.

    2009-01-01

    Stable Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (SIRMS) is an established technique for the determination of origin of geological, biological, chemical and physio-chemical samples/materials. With the development of highly precise mass spectrometers, the stable isotope ratio determination of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen have gained considerable interest in the fields of forensic science and food authentication. Natural variations in the isotopic composition of lighter elements occur due to fractionation effects, resulting in the finger printing of specific isotope ratio values that are characteristic of the origin, purity, and manufacturing processes of the products and their constituents. Forensic science uses scientific and technical methods to investigate traceable evidence of criminal acts. Stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry has been applied to numerous aspects of the forensic science. The analysis of explosives such as ammonium nitrate, gun powder and tri-nitro-toluene (TNT), cases of murder, armed robbery, drug smuggling, terrorism, arson and hit and run traffic accidents are a few of them. The main types of geological evidences in such cases are mud, soil, rocks, sand, gravel, dust particles, biological materials, organic particles and anthropogenic components. Stable isotopes are used as tools to corroborate and confirm the evidential leads in the investigation of such crimes. The variation in natural abundances of carbon and nitrogen and their isotopic ratios δ 13 C and δ 15 N can identify links between items found at crime scene with those of suspect. The paper discusses the applications of SIRMS in the field of forensic science and food adulteration research

  3. Unmasking of Olive Oil Adulteration Via a Multi-Sensor Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Santonico

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Methods for the chemical and sensorial evaluation of olive oil are frequently changed and tuned to oppose the increasingly sophisticated frauds. Although a plethora of promising alternatives has been developed, chromatographic techniques remain the more reliable yet, even at the expense of their related execution time and costs. In perspective of a continuous increment in the number of the analyses as a result of the global market, more rapid and effective methods to guarantee the safety of the olive oil trade are required. In this study, a novel artificial sensorial system, based on gas and liquid analysis, has been employed to deal with olive oil genuineness and authenticity issues. Despite these sensors having been widely used in the field of food science, the innovative electronic interface of the device is able to provide a higher reproducibility and sensitivity of the analysis. The multi-parametric platform demonstrated the capability to evaluate the organoleptic properties of extra-virgin olive oils as well as to highlight the presence of adulterants at blending concentrations usually not detectable through other methods.

  4. Review of scientific Research results in identification of plant raw materials in food products

    OpenAIRE

    GOLUBTSOVA YU. V.

    2016-01-01

    Currently, the science-based capabilities have been generated to develop and test various identification methods of food products and reveal adulteration using advanced technique and processes. This article reviews researches and developments to identify the plant raw materials in food products based on morphological, anatomic, physical and chemical test methods and the latest DNA-technologies. Review of physical, chemical, anatomic and morphological test methods to identify raw materials bot...

  5. Authentication of meat and meat products vs. detection of animal species in feed - what is the difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nešić, K.; Stojanović, D.; Baltić, Ž. M.

    2017-09-01

    Authenticity of food is an issue that is growing in awareness and concern. Although food adulteration has been present since antiquity, it has broadened to include entire global populations as modern food supply chains have expanded, enriched and become more complex. Different forms of adulteration influence not only the quality of food products, but also may cause harmful health effects. Meat and meat products are often subjected to counterfeiting, mislabelling and similar fraudulent activities, while substitutions of meat ingredients with other animal species is one among many forms of food fraud. Feed is also subject to testing for the presence of different animal species, but as part of the eradication process of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). In both food and feed cases, the final goal is consumer protection, which should be provided by quick, precise and specific tools. Several analytical tests have been employed for such needs. This paper provides an overview of authentication of meat and meat products compared with species identification in feed control, highlighting the most prevalent laboratory methods.

  6. Detection and quantification of beef and pork materials in meat products by duplex droplet digital PCR

    OpenAIRE

    Cai, Yicun; He, Yuping; Lv, Rong; Chen, Hongchao; Wang, Qiang; Pan, Liangwen

    2017-01-01

    Meat products often consist of meat from multiple animal species, and inaccurate food product adulteration and mislabeling can negatively affect consumers. Therefore, a cost-effective and reliable method for identification and quantification of animal species in meat products is required. In this study, we developed a duplex droplet digital PCR (dddPCR) detection and quantification system to simultaneously identify and quantify the source of meat in samples containing a mixture of beef (Bos t...

  7. Application of microsatellite markers as potential tools for traceability of Girgentana goat breed dairy products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sardina, Maria Teresa; Tortorici, Lina; Mastrangelo, Salvatore; Di Gerlando, Rosalia; Tolone, Marco; Portolano, Baldassare

    2015-08-01

    In livestock, breed assignment may play a key role in the certification of products linked to specific breeds. Traceability of farm animals and authentication of their products can contribute to improve breed profitability and sustainability of animal productions with significant impact on the rural economy of particular geographic areas and on breed and biodiversity conservation. With the goal of developing a breed genetic traceability system for Girgentana dairy products, the aim of this study was to identify specific microsatellite markers able to discriminate among the most important Sicilian dairy goat breeds, in order to detect possible adulteration in Girgentana dairy products. A total of 20 microsatellite markers were analyzed on 338 individual samples from Girgentana, Maltese, and Derivata di Siria goat breeds. Specific microsatellite markers useful for traceability of dairy products were identified. Eight microsatellite markers showed alleles present at the same time in Maltese and Derivata di Siria and absent in Girgentana and, therefore, they were tested on DNA pools of the three breeds. Considering the electropherograms' results, only FCB20, SRCRSP5, and TGLA122 markers were tested on DNA samples extracted from cheeses of Girgentana goat breed. These three microsatellite markers could be applied in a breed genetic traceability system of Girgentana dairy products in order to detect adulteration due to Maltese and Derivata di Siria goat breeds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Quantitative Analysis of Adulterations in Oat Flour by FT-NIR Spectroscopy, Incomplete Unbalanced Randomized Block Design, and Partial Least Squares

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ning Wang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper developed a rapid and nondestructive method for quantitative analysis of a cheaper adulterant (wheat flour in oat flour by NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics. Reflectance FT-NIR spectra in the range of 4000 to 12000 cm−1 of 300 oat flour objects adulterated with wheat flour were measured. The doping levels of wheat flour ranged from 5% to 50% (w/w. To ensure the generalization performance of the method, both the oat and the wheat flour samples were collected from different producing areas and an incomplete unbalanced randomized block (IURB design was performed to include the significant variations that may be encountered in future samples. Partial least squares regression (PLSR was used to develop calibration models for predicting the levels of wheat flour. Different preprocessing methods including smoothing, taking second-order derivative (D2, and standard normal variate (SNV transformation were investigated to improve the model accuracy of PLS. The root mean squared error of Monte Carlo cross-validation (RMSEMCCV and root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP were 1.921 and 1.975 (%, w/w by D2-PLS, respectively. The results indicate that NIR and chemometrics can provide a rapid method for quantitative analysis of wheat flour in oat flour.

  9. Quantitative Detection of Horse Contamination in Cooked Meat Products by ELISA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thienes, Cortlandt P; Masiri, Jongkit; Benoit, Lora A; Barrios-Lopez, Brianda; Samuel, Santosh A; Cox, David P; Dobritsa, Anatoly P; Nadala, Cesar; Samadpour, Mansour

    2018-05-01

    Concerns about the contamination of meat products with horse meat and new regulations for the declaration of meat adulterants have highlighted the need for a rapid test to detect horse meat adulteration. To address this need, Microbiologique, Inc., has developed a sandwich ELISA that can quantify the presence of horse meat down to 0.1% (w/w) in cooked pork, beef, chicken, goat, and lamb meats. This horse meat authentication ELISA has an analytical sensitivity of 0.000030 and 0.000046% (w/v) for cooked and autoclaved horse meat, respectively, and an analytical range of quantitation of 0.05-0.8% (w/v) in the absence of other meats. The assay is rapid and can be completed in 1 h and 10 min. Moreover, the assay is specific for cooked horse meat and does not demonstrate any cross-reactivity with xenogeneic cooked meat sources.

  10. Evaluation and toxicological quantification of undeclared allopathics ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    admin

    Results: The herbal products were adulterated with various synthetic drugs. ... Conclusion: Administration of adulterated remedies can cause severe toxicity and is a serious safety concerns for .... steroids from herbal antihypertensive products.

  11. Application of class-modelling techniques to infrared spectra for analysis of pork adulteration in beef jerkys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuswandi, Bambang; Putri, Fitra Karima; Gani, Agus Abdul; Ahmad, Musa

    2015-12-01

    The use of chemometrics to analyse infrared spectra to predict pork adulteration in the beef jerky (dendeng) was explored. In the first step, the analysis of pork in the beef jerky formulation was conducted by blending the beef jerky with pork at 5-80 % levels. Then, they were powdered and classified into training set and test set. The second step, the spectra of the two sets was recorded by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy using atenuated total reflection (ATR) cell on the basis of spectral data at frequency region 4000-700 cm(-1). The spectra was categorised into four data sets, i.e. (a) spectra in the whole region as data set 1; (b) spectra in the fingerprint region (1500-600 cm(-1)) as data set 2; (c) spectra in the whole region with treatment as data set 3; and (d) spectra in the fingerprint region with treatment as data set 4. The third step, the chemometric analysis were employed using three class-modelling techniques (i.e. LDA, SIMCA, and SVM) toward the data sets. Finally, the best result of the models towards the data sets on the adulteration analysis of the samples were selected and the best model was compared with the ELISA method. From the chemometric results, the LDA model on the data set 1 was found to be the best model, since it could classify and predict 100 % accuracy of the sample tested. The LDA model was applied toward the real samples of the beef jerky marketed in Jember, and the results showed that the LDA model developed was in good agreement with the ELISA method.

  12. Analysis of cocaine and its adulterants in drugs for international trafficking seized by the Brazilian Federal Police.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapachinske, Silvio Fernandes; Okai, Guilherme Gonçalves; dos Santos, Ariana; de Bairros, André Valle; Yonamine, Mauricio

    2015-02-01

    Here, gas chromatography with nitrogen phosphorous detector (GC-NPD) method was developed and validated for the quantification of cocaine and adulterants (caffeine, 4-dimethylaminoantipyrine, levamisole, lidocaine and phenacetin) in illicit samples. The method was based on direct dilution of samples in methanol, sonication for 5 min and centrifugation. After appropriate dilution, an aliquot was injected into GC-MS in order to identify the active compounds and into GC-NPD for the analytes quantification. Bupivacaine was used as an internal standard. The method showed to be precise, accurate and linear over a range of 0.5-100% (weight/weight percentages) for all analytes, except phenacetin which showed a linear range between 2% and 100%. The method was successfully applied to 54 samples seized by the Brazilian Federal Police in the International Airport of Sao Paulo and mailing services during the year 2011. All the samples were associated with international trafficking and were apprehended while leaving the country. The purity of cocaine ranged from 16.5% to 91.4%. Cocaine was the only detected active compound in 29.6% of total samples. Among the identified cutting agents, levamisole was the most abundant (55.6% of the total samples) and relative concentrations (weight/weight percentages) ranged from 0.7% to 23%. Lidocaine, caffeine, phenacetin and 4-dimethylaminoantipyrine were also identified in these samples in minor concentrations. In contrast with what we initially hypothesized, drugs intended to international trafficking did not present high cocaine purity and most of the samples were laced with adulterants before leaving Brazil. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Rapid, Sensitive, Enzyme-Immunodotting Assay for Detecting Cow Milk Adulteration in Sheep Milk: A Modern Laboratory Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inda, Luis A.; Razquín, Pedro; Lampreave, Fermín; Alava, María A.; Calvo, Miguel

    1998-12-01

    Specificity, sensitivity, and experimental simplicity make the immunoenzymatic assay suitable for a variety of laboratories dedicated to diverse activities such as research, quality control in food analysis, or clinical biochemistry. In these assays, the antibody that specifically recognizes the antigen is covalently attached to an enzyme. Once the antigen-antibody immunocomplex is formed, the enzymatic reaction gives a colored product that allows the detection of the initial antigen. The aim of this work was the design of a new laboratory project appropriate for use in courses of biochemistry, immunochemistry, or analytical chemistry. The assay described here detects the presence of cow milk in milk of other species. The main application is the detection of cow milk in sheep milk and cheese. Specific proteins, immunoglobulins (IgG) of the fraudulent bovine milk, are specifically recognized and retained by antibodies immobilized on a membrane. The binding of a second antibody covalently attached to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) allows the development of a visible signal. Thus, students can rapidly detect milk adulterations using a specific, sensitive, and safe experimental approach. The experiment allows students to apply their theoretical knowledge, resulting in a stimulating experience of solving a real problem during a 4-hour laboratory period.

  14. Retrospective Study of Reported Adverse Events Due to Complementary Health Products in Singapore From 2010 to 2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yimin Xu

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study is to collate and analyse adverse event reports associated with the use of complementary health products (CHP submitted to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA of Singapore for the period 2010–2016 to identify various trends and signals for pharmacovigilance purposes. A total of 147,215 adverse event reports suspected to be associated with pharmaceutical products and CHP were received by HSA between 2010 and 2016. Of these, 143,191 (97.3% were associated with chemical drugs, 1,807 (1.2% with vaccines, 1,324 (0.9% with biological drugs (biologics, and 893 (0.6% with CHP. The number of adverse event reports associated with Chinese Proprietary Medicine, other complementary medicine and health supplements are presented. Eight hundred and ninety three adverse event reports associated with CHP in the 7-year period have been successfully collated and analyzed. In agreement with other studies, adverse events related to the “skin and appendages disorders” were the most commonly reported. Most of the cases involved dermal allergies (e.g., rashes associated with the use of glucosamine products and most of the adulterated products were associated with the illegal addition of undeclared drugs for pain relief. Dexamethasone, chlorpheniramine, and piroxicam were the most common adulterants detected. Reporting suspected adverse events is strongly encouraged even if the causality is not confirmed because any signs of clustering will allow rapid regulatory actions to be taken. The findings from this study help to create greater awareness on the health risks, albeit low, when consuming CHP and dispelling the common misconception that “natural” means “safe.” In particular, healthcare professionals and the general public should be aware of potential adulteration of CHP. The analysis of spontaneously reported adverse events is an important surveillance system in monitoring the safety of CHP and helps in the understanding of the

  15. DNA barcoding: a tool for standardization of herbal medicinal products (HMPS) of lamiaceae from pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zahra, N.B.; Shinwari, Z.K.

    2016-01-01

    There has been a considerable interest worldwide in traditional and alternative medicine, particularly herbal products over the past few decades but the adulteration or contamination of herbal medicinal products (HMPs) is a potential threat to consumer safety. The fact highlights the importance of an effective and accurate science integrated method for taxonomic identification of the medicinal plants and their HMPs. DNA barcoding is a molecular technique which has made it possible to identify the herbs and to find the adulterants in HMPs. The current study was designed on DNA barcoding of medicinal plants of family Lamiaceae for their correct identification and to fix the problem of adulteration for protecting consumers from health risks associated with product substitution and contamination. Many Lamiaceae species are used as traditional medicines, as culinary herbs, spices and as source of essential oils. HMPs representing 32 Lamiaceae plant samples were purchased/collected from three herbal stores (Pansar stores) in Islamabad and a herbal pharmaceutical industry. We selected three plastid loci rbcL, matK and psbA-trnH to barcode these HMPs. MEGABLAST sequence comparison was performed to verify the taxonomic identity of the samples. We found four mislabeled samples and two product substitutions. The overall amplification success for rbcL and matK was 87% and 81% while psbA-trnH showed 69%. matK and psbA-trnH were able to distinguish the species relatively better with 40% success rate than rbcL (16%). On the whole we generated a total of 22 genus-level barcodes (78%) and 12 species-level barcodes (44%). The species-level identification was considerably low due to insufficient reference data and selection of plastid markers. Therefore, it is recommended to develop herbal barcode library for adequate availability of reference sequence data and addition of nuclear markers. DNA barcoding can help the regulatory authorities to devise a mechanism for quality control and

  16. Relationship Between Milk Adulterated With Melamine and the Appearance of Renal Stones in a Childhood Population: A Review of the Literature of the Cases That Occurred in the People’s Republic of China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasmina Bordón-González

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Melamine is a chemical substance used in the production of resins. When melamine is added to milk, nitrogen concentration increases, which suggest an increase the amount of false proteins and consequently causing kidney diseases in some population subgroups. The objective of this study is to document the possible connection in between adulterated industrial milk with melamine and the appearance of kidney stones in children under 12 years old by reviewing cases occurred in the People’s Republic of China.Material and methods: A literature review was carried out on articles published on dated between 2005-2010, and an extensive analysis was made on the results found.Results: A total of 20 articles were reviewed, of which 11 met the criteria for inclusion, There were 9 cross-sectional studies, one follow-up study and a case-control study. Four studies calculated odds ratio (OR in their analysis to evaluate the relative risk of having stones in those children exposed to melamine formula. In the case-control study, children exposed to melamine formula were 5.17 times as likely to have kidney stones as children exposed to a non-melamine formula (95% confidence interval, 3.28-8.14; P<.001.Conclusions: Melamine adulteration in milk is a preventable public health issue which suggests the establishing of greater control measures and the implementation of food regulations by the food industry and Health and Food Institutions.

  17. Authentication of the botanical origin of Western herbal products using Cimicifuga and Vitex products as examples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masada, Sayaka

    2016-07-01

    Various herbal medicines have been developed and used in various parts of the world for thousands of years. Although locally grown indigenous plants were originally used for traditional herbal preparations, Western herbal products are now becoming popular in Japan with the increasing interest in health. At the same time, there are growing concerns about the substitution of ingredients and adulteration of herbal products, highlighting the need for the authentication of the origin of plants used in herbal products. This review describes studies on Cimicifuga and Vitex products developed in Europe and Japan, focusing on establishing analytical methods to evaluate the origins of material plants and finished products. These methods include a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method and a multiplex amplification refractory mutation system method. A genome-based authentication method and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based authentication for black cohosh products, and the identification of two characteristic diterpenes of agnus castus fruit and a shrub chaste tree fruit-specific triterpene derivative are also described.

  18. Taxonomic, pharmacognostic and physicochemical authentication of colchicum luteum baker (suranjantalkh) from its commercial adulterant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, S.N.; Ahmad, M.; Shinwari, S.; Shinwari, Z.K.

    2016-01-01

    The main objective of current study is to elucidate taxonomic, pharmacognostic and physicochemical behavior of Colchicum luteum (Suranjantalkh) for its proper identification and authentication from its cheap and tasteless adulterant. Colchicum luteum is one of the most rare and hence expensive medicinal plants. It is an active part of many unani formulations due to presence of an alkaloid colchicine which is claimed to be effective in arthritis, gout, rheumatism and internal injuries. In order to overcome demand of its corm, suppliers and herb sellers adultered bulbs of a monocotyledon plant Narcissus tazetta. This type of study reveals to be helpful in differentiating plants on basis of leaf epidermal anatomy, palynology, phamacognosy and physicochemical values. It is an important step in field of herbal medicine to provide pure and original medicinal plants to yield their maximum effectiveness. (author)

  19. Estudo de adulteração em méis brasileiros através de razão isotópica do carbono A study of adulteration in brazilian honeys by carbon isotope ratio

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cibele Regina de Souza-Kruliski

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Neste trabalho, objetivou-se analisar isotopicamente méis comercializados nas regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil, para a detecção de fraude. Foram colhidas amostras comerciais com registro no Serviço de Inspeção Federal, Estadual ou Municipal. As amostras foram submetidas à combustão no Analisador Elementar EA 1108 CHN e analisadas no espectrômetro de massas de razão isotópica DELTA-S (Finningan Mat. Os valores isotópicos (δ13C dos méis in natura foram comparados aos de suas respectivas proteínas (padrão interno. Foram consideradas adulteradas as amostras cuja diferença entre o valor isotópico da proteína e do mel foi igual ou inferior a -1‰. As amostras consideradas adulteradas pela análise isotópica foram submetidas a testes químicos qualitativos que não foram capazes de indicar adulteração para algumas delas. Das 61 amostras analisadas, 18,0% encontram-se adulteradas, sendo 11,5% na Região Sudeste e 6,5% na Região Sul. Ao contrário dos testes químicos, a análise isotópica mostrou-se eficaz em identificar e quantificar a adulteração de méis comerciais.The aim of this study was the isotopic evaluation of honey traded in the Southern and Southeastern Brazilian regions, to detect fraud. Commercial samples, registered in the municipal, State or Federal Inspection Service, were collected and submitted to combustion in the EA 1108 CHN Elemental Analyzer and analyzed in the DELTA-S (Finningan Mat. isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The isotopic values (δ13C of in natura honey were compared to their respective proteins (internal standard. Samples whose difference between the isotopic value of protein and honey was equal or inferior to -1‰ were considered adulterated. The samples considered adulterated were submitted to qualitative chemical tests which were unable to show adulteration for some of them. Among the 61 samples analyzed, 18.0% were adulterated; 11.5% in the Southeastern and 6.5% in the Southern region

  20. Nephrotoxicity of Natural Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nauffal, Mary; Gabardi, Steven

    2016-01-01

    The manufacture and sale of natural products constitute a multi-billion dollar industry. Nearly a third of the American population admit to using some form of complementary or alternative medicine, with many using them in addition to prescription medications. Most patients fail to inform their healthcare providers of their natural product use and physicians rarely inquire. Annually, thousands of natural product-induced adverse events are reported to Poison Control Centers nationwide. Natural product manufacturers are not responsible for proving safety and efficacy, as the FDA does not regulate them. However, concerns exist surrounding the safety of natural products. This review provides details on natural products that have been associated with renal dysfunction. We have focused on products that have been associated with direct renal injury, immune-mediated nephrotoxicity, nephrolithiasis, rhabdomyolysis with acute renal injury, hepatorenal syndrome, and common adulterants or contaminants that are associated with renal dysfunction. The potential for natural products to cause renal dysfunction is justifiable. It is imperative that natural product use be monitored closely in all patients. Healthcare practitioners must play an active role in identifying patients using natural products and provide appropriate patient education. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  1. Identification of adulterants in a Chinese herbal medicine by LC-HRMS and LC-MS-SPE/NMR and comparative in vivo study with standards in a hypertensive rat model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesting, Julie Regitze; Huang, Jingqi; Sørensen, Dan

    2010-02-05

    Based on anecdotal evidence of anti-hypertensive effect of Gold Nine Soft Capsules, an in vivo study of this complex Chinese "herbal-based" medicine was initiated. Dosage of the content of Gold Nine capsules in spontaneous hypertensive rats showed a remarkably good effect. This led to further investigation of the components of the preparation and eventual identification of three known anti-hypertensive drugs; amlodipine, indapamide and valsartan, which were not declared on the label. Compounds were rapidly identified using LC-HRMS and LC-MS-SPE/NMR, quantified by HPLC, and the in vivo activity of a combination of commercially purchased standards was shown to be equivalent to that of the capsule content. Adulteration of herbal remedies and dietary supplements with synthetic drugs is an increasing problem that may lead to serious adverse effects. LC-MS-SPE/NMR as a method for the rapid identification of such adulterants is highlighted in this case study.

  2. Uncovering the method of production and detection of synthetic acetic acid adulteration in vinegar by tandem use of {sup 1}4C liquid scintillation counting and {sup 1}3C/{sup 1}2C ratio mass spectrometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wechner, Stefan; Voropaev, Andrey; Eichinger, Lorenz [HYDROISOTOP GmbHk Scweitenkirchen, Germany (Germany); Santos, Flora L; Castaneda, Soledad; Racho, Michael; Pabroa, Preciosa Corazon; Morco, Ryan; Sucgang, Raymond J [Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Diliman, Quezon City (Philippines)

    2010-07-01

    compared against a standard CO{sub 2} gas (standardized against the International Pee Dee Belemnite Standard). Delta values of acetic acid obtained from C4 plants including sugar cane, and pineapple were between (-12.2) to (-15.9) per mil respectively. The vinegar obtained from mango, a C3 plant, gave (-20.1) per mil. The acetic acid produced from sugar cane using an acetator presented a fractionation (-10.2 per mil.) which allows for it to be differentiated from cane vinegar produced via the conventional fermentation production, not using an acetator. Possible synthetic/petroleum derived vinegars exhibit delta values beyond (-30) per mil. Five out of seven of the commercial vinegar brands were suspected to be made of synthetic acetic acid. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry and liquid scintillation counting are promising tools for revealing the botanical origin and method of production, and detection of synthetic acid adulteration in vinegar samples. (author)

  3. Rapid capillary electrophoresis approach for the quantification of ewe milk adulteration with cow milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trimboli, Francesca; Morittu, Valeria Maria; Cicino, Caterina; Palmieri, Camillo; Britti, Domenico

    2017-10-13

    The substitution of ewe milk with more economic cow milk is a common fraud. Here we present a capillary electrophoresis method for the quantification of ewe milk in ovine/bovine milk mixtures, which allows for the rapid and inexpensive recognition of ewe milk adulteration with cow milk. We utilized a routine CE method for human blood and urine proteins analysis, which fulfilled the separation of skimmed milk proteins in alkaline buffer. Under this condition, ovine and bovine milk exhibited a recognizable and distinct CE protein profiles, with a specific ewe peak showing a reproducible migration zone in ovine/bovine mixtures. Based on ewe specific CE peak, we developed a method for ewe milk quantification in ovine/bovine skimmed milk mixtures, which showed good linearity, precision and accuracy, and a minimum amount of detectable fraudulent cow milk equal to 5%. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Application of FTIR Spectroscopy and Chemometrics for Halal Authentication of Beef Meatball Adulterated with Dog Meat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wiranti Sri Rahayu

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Beef meatball is one of the favorite meat-based food products among Indonesian community. Currently, beef is very expensive in Indonesian market compared to other common meat types such as chicken and lamb. This situation has intrigued some unethical meatball producers to replace or adulterate beef with lower priced-meat like dog meat. The objective of this study was to evaluate the capability of FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics for identification and quantification of dog meat (DM in beef meatball (BM. Meatball samples were prepared by adding DM into BM ingredients in the range of 0–100% wt/wt and were subjected to extraction using Folch method. Lipid extracts obtained from the samples were scanned using FTIR spectrophotometer at 4000–650 cm-1. Partial least square (PLS calibration was used to quantify DM in the meatball. The results showed that combined frequency regions of 1782–1623 cm-1 and 1485-659 cm-1 using detrending treatment gave optimum prediction of DM in BM. Coefficient of determination (R2 for correlation between the actual value of DM and FTIR predicted value was 0.993 in calibration model and 0.995 in validation model. The root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC and standard error of cross validation (SECV were 1.63% and 2.68%, respectively. FTIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis can serve as an accurate and reliable method for analysis of DM in meatball.

  5. Development of ITS sequence based molecular marker to distinguish, Tribulus terrestris L. (Zygophyllaceae) from its adulterants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balasubramani, Subramani Paranthaman; Murugan, Ramar; Ravikumar, Kaliamoorthy; Venkatasubramanian, Padma

    2010-09-01

    Tribulus terrestris L. (Zygophyllaceae) is one of the highly traded raw drugs and also used as a stimulative food additive in Europe and USA. While, Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India recognizes T. terrestris as Goksura, Tribulus lanuginosus and T. subramanyamii are also traded by the same name raising issues of quality control. The nuclear ribosomal RNA genes and ITS (internal transcribed spacer) sequence were used to develop species-specific DNA markers. The species-specific markers efficiently amplified 295bp for T. terrestris (TT1F and TT1R), 300bp for T. lanuginosus (TL1F and TL1R) and 214bp for T. subramanyamii (TS1F and TS1R). These DNA markers can be used to distinguish T. terrestris from its adulterants. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Chromatographic fingerprinting through chemometric techniques for herbal slimming pills: A way of adulterant identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shekari, Nafiseh; Vosough, Maryam; Tabar Heidar, Kourosh

    2018-05-01

    In the current study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) fingerprinting of herbal slimming pills assisted by chemometric methods has been presented. Deconvolution of two-way chromatographic signals of nine herbal slimming pills into pure chromatographic and spectral patterns was performed. The peak clusters were resolved using multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) by employing appropriate constraints. It was revealed that more useful chemical information about the composition of the slimming pills can be obtained by employing sophisticated GC-MS method coupled with proper chemometric tools yielding the extended number of identified constituents. The thorough fingerprinting of the complex mixtures proved the presence of some toxic or carcinogen components, such as toluene, furfural, furfuryl alcohol, styrene, itaconic anhydride, citraconic anhydride, trimethyl phosphate, phenol, pyrocatechol, p-propenylanisole and pyrogallol. In addition, some samples were shown to be adulterated with undeclared ingredients, including stimulants, anorexiant and laxatives such as phenolphthalein, amfepramone, caffeine and sibutramine. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Isolation and identification of a sibutramine analogue adulterated in slimming dietary supplements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ji Won; Kweon, Soon Jae; Park, Seon Kyung; Kim, Jung Yeon; Lee, Ji Hyun; Han, Kyoung Moon; Cho, Sooyeul; Kim, Jinho; Han, Soon Young; Kim, Hyoung Ja; Kim, Woo Seong

    2013-01-01

    A suspected sibutramine analogue was detected in a slimming functional food by an ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-TOF/MS) method. The ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of this suspected compound showed close similarity to that of sibutramine. The sample was extracted with 70% MeOH and isolated by semi-preparative column chromatography. The structure of this compound was identified by spectroscopic analyses (nuclear magnetic resonance [NMR] technique, mass and tandem mass etc.). The structure of the unknown compound was demonstrated to be [(±)-dimethyl-1-[1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)cyclobutyl]-N,N,3-trimethylbutan-1-amine (molecular formula C17H25NCl2) and named as chloro-sibutramine. Compared with sibutramine, it has one more chlorine atom than the 3-cholorophenyl group so was switched to 3,4-dichlorophenyl. Until now, chloro-sibutramine was isolated for the first time from the undeclared ingredient included in dietary supplements. Although the safety of chloro-sibutramine is unknown, there is a potential health risk to consumers because of a similar skeleton to sibutramine. For public health, this sibutramine analogue has been included in the inspection list of illegal adulterants in Korea.

  8. Official control of plant protection products in Poland: detection of illegal products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miszczyk, Marek; Płonka, Marlena; Stobiecki, Tomasz; Kronenbach-Dylong, Dorota; Waleczek, Kazimierz; Weber, Roland

    2018-04-03

    Market presence of illegal and counterfeit pesticides is now a global problem. According to data published in 2012 by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), illegal products represent over 10% of the global market of plant protection products. Financial benefits are the main reason for the prevalence of this practice. Counterfeit and illegal pesticides may contain substances that may pose a threat to the environment, crops, animals, and humans, inconsistent with the label and registration dossier. In Poland, action against illegal and counterfeit plant protection products is undertaken by the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection (PIORiN), the police, the prosecution, and the pesticide producers. Results of chemical analyses carried out by the Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute Sośnicowice Branch, Pesticide Quality Testing Laboratory (PQTL IPP-NRI Sosnicowice Branch) indicate that a majority of illegal pesticides in Poland are detected in the group of herbicides. Products from parallel trade tend to have the most irregularities. This article describes the official quality control system of plant protection products in Poland and presents the analytical methods for testing pesticides suspected of adulteration and recent test results.

  9. EVALUATION OF ELISA METHOD TO DETECTION OF COW β-LACTOGLOBULIN IN SHEEP MILK AND SHEEP MILK PRODUCTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juraj Paulov

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The aim of work was to optimalize the ELISA method to detect the adulteration of sheep milk and sheep milk products by cow milk in the laboratory. We have focused on laboratory testing of ELISA kit (β-Lactoglobulin ELISA Set, SEDIUM R&D for detection of cow β-Lg in sheep milk order to obtain high-quality, reliable and economically advantageous method suitable for routine use in practice. The results shown that for the quality of adulteration determination  it is necessary to verify the sensitivity of applied kit by the samples dilution in accordance with the producer declared quantification range contained in the manual ELISA kit. The starting point for obtaining of relevant data was to create separate regression curves with high deter­mination coefficient, which allowed to quickly and easily detect the cow milk additions in sheep milk, cloddish sheep and Slovak sheep cheese. doi:10.5219/78  

  10. Authenticity analyses of Rhizoma Paridis using barcoding coupled with high resolution melting (Bar-HRM) analysis to control its quality for medicinal plant product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Bao-Zhong; Wang, Ya-Ping; Fang, Hai-Lan; Xiong, Chao; Li, Xi-Wen; Wang, Ping; Chen, Shi-Lin

    2018-01-01

    Rhizoma Paridis (Chonglou) is a commonly used and precious traditional Chinese medicine. Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis (Franch.) Hand. -Mazz. and Paris polyphylla Smith var . chinensis (Franch.) Hara are the two main sources of Chonglou under the monograph of Rhizoma Paridis in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In the local marketplace, however, this medicine is prone to be accidentally contaminated, deliberately substituted or admixed with other species that are similar to Rhizoma Paridis in shape and color. Consequently, these adulterations might compromise quality control and result in considerable health concerns for consumers. This study aims to develop a rapid and sensitive method for accurate identification of Rhizoma Paridis and its common adulterants. DNA barcoding coupled with high resolution melting analysis was applied in this research to distinguish Rhizoma Paridis from its adulteration. The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) barcode was selected for HRM analysis to produce standard melting profile of the selected species. DNA of the tested herbal medicines was isolated and their melting profiles were generated and compared with the standard melting profile of P. polyphylla var. chinensis . The results indicate that the ITS2 molecular regions coupled with HRM analysis can effectively differentiate nine herbal species, including two authentic origins of Chonglou and their seven common adulterants. Ten herbal medicines labeled "Chonglou" obtained from a local market were collected and identified with our methods, and their sequence information was analyzed to validate the accuracy of HRM analysis. DNA barcoding coupled with HRM analysis is a accurate, reliable, rapid, cost-effective and robust tool, which could contribute to the quality control of Rhizoma Paridis in the supply chain of the natural health product industry (NHP).

  11. First Application of Newly Developed FT-NIR Spectroscopic Methodology to Predict Authenticity of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Retail Products in the USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mossoba, Magdi M; Azizian, Hormoz; Fardin-Kia, Ali Reza; Karunathilaka, Sanjeewa R; Kramer, John K G

    2017-05-01

    Economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) has been a worldwide problem and a concern for government regulators for a long time. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is mandated to protect the US public against intentional adulteration of foods and has jurisdiction over deceptive label declarations. To detect EMA of olive oil and address food safety vulnerabilities, we used a previously developed rapid screening methodology to authenticate EVOO. For the first time, a recently developed FT-NIR spectroscopic methodology in conjunction with partial least squares analysis was applied to commercial products labeled EVOO purchased in College Park, MD, USA to rapidly predict whether they are authentic, potentially mixed with refined olive oil (RO) or other vegetable oil(s), or are of lower quality. Of the 88 commercial products labeled EVOO that were assessed according to published specified ranges, 33 (37.5%) satisfied the three published FT-NIR requirements identified for authentic EVOO products which included the purity test. This test was based on limits established for the contents of three potential adulterants, oils high in linoleic acid (OH-LNA), oils high in oleic acid (OH-OLA), palm olein (PO), and/or RO. The remaining 55 samples (62.5%) did not meet one or more of the criteria established for authentic EVOO. The breakdown of the 55 products was EVOO potentially mixed with OH-LNA (25.5%), OH-OLA (10.9%), PO (5.4%), RO (25.5%), or a combination of any of these four (32.7%). If assessments had been based strictly on whether the fatty acid composition was within the established ranges set by the International Olive Council (IOC), less than 10% would have been identified as non-EVOO. These findings are significant not only because they were consistent with previously published data based on the results of two sensory panels that were accredited by IOC but more importantly each measurement/analysis was accomplished in less than 5

  12. Technological aspects of horse meat products - A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenzo, José M; Munekata, Paulo E S; Campagnol, Paulo Cezar Bastianello; Zhu, Zhenzhou; Alpas, Hami; Barba, Francisco J; Tomasevic, Igor

    2017-12-01

    Horse meat and its products can be considered as a food with a high nutritional value. However, due to cases of economically motivated food adulteration by the intentional addition of horse meat beef products in recent years, horse meat has become a controversial issue. Consumer confidence in meat products and the meat industry has diminished, although consumers consider the differences between the food content and the label as the major issue rather than the safety and nutritional characteristics of horse meat. The elaboration of meat products from horse meat (e.g. "cecina", dry-cured loin, salami, bressaola and pâté) is also an interesting alternative to other traditional meat products such as dry-cured pork hams, pork sausages and liver pâtés. In this review, the technological aspects, safety and storage stability of meat products elaborated from horse meat will be addressed by highlighting the nutritional and sensory aspects of these meat products. We aim to improve the existing knowledge about horse meat in the view of recent scandals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. ELISA for Detection of Soya Proteins in Meat Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Renčová

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Indirect competitive ELISA method for the detection of soya proteins in meat products was developed. The detection limit of the method is 0.5% of the weight of added soya protein. A total of 131 meat product samples such as salamis or sausages from the Czech Republic market were investigated for the presence of soya proteins. Soya proteins were detected in 84% of the investigated samples without any declaration on the package of the product. The use of vegetable additives, namely soya in meat products in the market of the Czech Republic is very frequent and the restriction of its usage by legislation relates only to some kinds of durable products and ham (Act 264/2003 Coll.. The need for sensitive inspecting methods for soya protein detection is not only associated with the economic aspect (adulteration, but mainly with consumer health protection in case of allergy to soya proteins.

  14. Quantitative Tetraplex Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay with TaqMan Probes Discriminates Cattle, Buffalo, and Porcine Materials in Food Chain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hossain, M A Motalib; Ali, Md Eaqub; Sultana, Sharmin; Asing; Bonny, Sharmin Quazi; Kader, Md Abdul; Rahman, M Aminur

    2017-05-17

    Cattle, buffalo, and porcine materials are widely adulterated, and their quantification might safeguard health, religious, economic, and social sanctity. Recently, conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays have been documented but they are just suitable for identification, cannot quantify adulterations. We described here a quantitative tetraplex real-time PCR assay with TaqMan Probes to quantify contributions from cattle, buffalo, and porcine materials simultaneously. Amplicon-sizes were very short (106-, 90-, and 146-bp for cattle, buffalo, and porcine) because longer targets could be broken down, bringing serious ambiguity in molecular diagnostics. False negative detection was eliminated through an endogenous control (141-bp site of eukaryotic 18S rRNA). Analysis of 27 frankfurters and 27 meatballs reflected 84-115% target recovery at 0.1-10% adulterations. Finally, a test of 36 commercial products revealed 71% beef frankfurters, 100% meatballs, and 85% burgers contained buffalo adulteration, but no porcine was found in beef products.

  15. Fibre optic sensor for the detection of adulterant traces in coconut oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheeba, M.; Rajesh, M.; Vallabhan, C. P. G.; Nampoori, V. P. N.; Radhakrishnan, P.

    2005-11-01

    The design and development of a fibre optic evanescent wave refractometer for the detection of trace amounts of paraffin oil and palm oil in coconut oil is presented. This sensor is based on a side-polished plastic optical fibre. At the sensing region, the cladding and a small portion of the core are removed and the fibre nicely polished. The sensing region is fabricated in such a manner that it sits perfectly within a bent mould. This bending of the sensing region enhances its sensitivity. The oil mixture of different mix ratios is introduced into the sensing region and we observed a sharp decrease in the output intensity. The observed variation in the intensity is found to be linear and the detection limit is 2% (by volume) paraffin oil/palm oil in coconut oil. The resolution of this refractometric sensor is of the order of 10-3. Since coconut oil is consumed in large volumes as edible oil in south India, this fibre optic sensor finds great relevance for the detection of adulterants such as paraffin oil or palm oil which are readily miscible in coconut oil. The advantage of this type of sensor is that it is inexpensive and easy to set up. Another attraction of the side-polished fibre is that only a very small amount of analyte is needed and its response time is only 7 s.

  16. Regulation of natural health products in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Alysyn; Jogalekar, Sumedha; Gibson, Adam

    2014-12-02

    In Canada, all natural health products (NHPs) are regulated by Health Canada (HC) under the Food and Drugs Act and the Natural Health Product Regulations. All authorized products undergo pre-market assessment for safety, efficacy and quality and the degree of pre-market oversight varies depending on the risk of the product. In Canada, over 70,000 products have been authorized for sale and over 2000 sites have been licensed to produce NHPs. In the management of NHPs on the Canadian market, HC employs a number of active and collaborative methods to address the most common issues such as contamination, adulteration and deceptive or misleading advertising practices. HC is currently evolving its approaches to NHPs to recognize them as part of the larger group of health products available without a prescription. As such, the regulatory responsibility for all over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, including non-prescription drugs and NHPs, has been transferred to a single federal division. As a result of this transition a number of benefits are being realized with respect to government efficiency, clarity for industry, support for new innovations and consolidated government interactions with the Canadian market. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Application Of Electronic Nose And Ion Mobility Spectrometer To Quality Control Of Spice Mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banach, U.; Tiebe, C.; Huebert, Th.

    2009-01-01

    The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the application of electronic nose (e-nose) and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) to quality control and to find out product adulteration of spice mixtures. Therefore the gaseous head space phase of four different spice mixtures (spices for sausages and saveloy) was differed from original composition and product adulteration. In this set of experiments metal-oxide type e-nose (KAMINA-type) has been used, and characteristic patterns of data corresponding to various complex odors of the four different spice mixtures were generated. Simultaneously an ion mobility spectrometer was coupled also to an emission chamber for the detection of gaseous components of spice mixtures. The two main methods that have been used show a clear discrimination between the original spice mixtures and product adulteration could be distinguished from original spice mixtures.

  18. Polymerase chain reaction assay targeting cytochrome b gene for the detection of dog meat adulteration in meatball formulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Md Mahfujur; Ali, Md Eaqub; Hamid, Sharifah Bee Abd; Mustafa, Shuhaimi; Hashim, Uda; Hanapi, Ummi Kalthum

    2014-08-01

    A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the assessment of dog meat adulteration in meatballs was developed. The assay selectively amplified a 100-bp region of canine mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from pure, raw, processed and mixed backgrounds. The specificity of the assay was tested against 11 animals and 3 plants species, commonly available for meatball formulation. The stability of the assay was proven under extensively autoclaving conditions that breakdown target DNA. A blind test from ready to eat chicken and beef meatballs showed that the assay can repeatedly detect 0.2% canine meat tissues under complex matrices using 0.04 ng of dog DNA extracted from differentially treated meatballs. The simplicity, stability and sensitivity of the assay suggested that it could be used in halal food industry for the authentication of canine derivatives in processed foods. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Cordyceps fungi: natural products, pharmacological functions and developmental products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xuanwei; Gong, Zhenghua; Su, Ying; Lin, Juan; Tang, Kexuan

    2009-03-01

    Parasitic Cordyceps fungi, such as Cordyceps sinensis, is a parasitic complex of fungus and caterpillar, which has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries particularly in China, Japan and other Asian countries. This article gives a general idea of the latest developments in C. sinensis research, with regard to the active chemical components, the pharmacological effects and the research and development of products in recent years. The common names for preparations include DongChongXiaCao in Chinese, winter worm summer grass in English. It has many bioactive components, such as 3'-deoxyadenosine, cordycepic acid and Cordyceps polysaccharides. It is commonly used to replenish the kidney and soothe the lung, and for the treatment of fatigue. It also can be used to treat conditions such as night sweating, hyposexuality, hyperglycaemia, hyperlipidaemia, asthenia after severe illness, respiratory disease, renal dysfunction, renal failure, arrhythmias and other heart disease and liver disease. Because of its rarity and outstanding curative effects, several mycelia strains have been isolated from natural Cordyceps and manufactured by fermentation technology, and are commonly sold as health food products. In addition, some substitutes such as C. militaris and adulterants also have been used; therefore, quality control of C. sinensis and its products is very important to ensure their safety and efficacy. Recent research advances in the study of Cordyceps, including Cordyceps mushrooms, chemical components, pharmacological functions and developmental products, has been reviewed and discussed. Developing trends in the field have also been appraised.

  20. Hybrid analysis (barcode-high resolution melting) for authentication of Thai herbal products, Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall.ex Nees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osathanunkul, Maslin; Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon; Khamyong, Nuttaluck; Pintakum, Danupol; Lamphun, Santisuk Na; Triwitayakorn, Kanokporn; Osathanunkul, Kitisak; Madesis, Panagiotis

    2016-01-01

    Andrographis paniculata Nees is a medicinal plant with multiple pharmacological properties. It has been used over many centuries as a household remedy. A. paniculata products sold on the markets are in processed forms so it is difficult to authenticate. Therefore buying the herbal products poses a high-risk of acquiring counterfeited, substituted and/or adulterated products. Due to these issues, a reliable method to authenticate products is needed. High resolution melting analysis coupled with DNA barcoding (Bar-HRM) was applied to detect adulteration in commercial herbal products. The rbcL barcode was selected to use in primers design for HRM analysis to produce standard melting profile of A. paniculata species. DNA of the tested commercial products was isolated and their melting profiles were then generated and compared with the standard A. paniculata. The melting profiles of the rbcL amplicons of the three closely related herbal species (A. paniculata, Acanthus ebracteatus and Rhinacanthus nasutus) are clearly separated so that they can be distinguished by the developed method. The method was then used to authenticate commercial herbal products. HRM curves of all 10 samples tested are similar to A. paniculata which indicated that all tested products were contained the correct species as labeled. The method described in this study has been proved to be useful in aiding identification and/or authenticating A. paniculata. This Bar-HRM analysis has allowed us easily to determine the A. paniculata species in herbal products on the markets even they are in processed forms. We propose the use of DNA barcoding combined with High Resolution Melting analysis for authenticating of Andrographis paniculata products.The developed method can be used regardless of the type of the DNA template (fresh or dried tissue, leaf, and stem).rbcL region was chosen for the analysis and work well with our samplesWe can easily determine the A. paniculata species in herbal products tested

  1. Determinação de ácido acéttico em amostra de vinagre adulterada com ácido clorídrico - um experimento integrado de titulação potenciométrica e condutométrica Determination of acetic acid in vinegar adulterated sample with cloridric acid - an experiment integrated of potentiometric and conductometric titrations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Vinicius Martins

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The determination of acetic acid in vinegar adulterated sample using simultaneous potentiometric and condutometric titrations was used as an example of integrated experiment in instrumental analysis. An Excel® spreadsheet, which allows the entry of simultaneous data and the construction of the superimposed experimental curves (condutometric, potentiometric, first and second derivative potentiometric curve and, distribution diagrama of the acetic species as function of pH, was used as powerful tool to discuss the fundamental concepts involved in each technique and choose the best of them to quantify, without mutual interference, H3CCOOH and HCl in vinegar adulterated sample.

  2. Mansikkahillojen väärennösten tunnistaminen SPME-GC-MS- ja UHPLC-MS-tekniikoilla

    OpenAIRE

    Harmanen, Ilona

    2016-01-01

    Food adulteration is a constantly growing problem in the quality and safety control of food products. In Finland, the Finnish Customs Laboratory is responsible for the control of imported plant based foods. Among other things, challenging economic situation and gaining economic profit can tempt some people to make adultered products. In a worse case adulteration can cause a serious health risk to the consumer. It’s also misleading when the package doesn’t contain truthful information. Particu...

  3. The use of the ITS region in marketable mushrooms authenticity

    OpenAIRE

    Nogueira, Liliana; Oliveira, Ivo; Baptista, Paula

    2010-01-01

    Edible mushrooms, due to their flavour and nutritional characteristics, are very popular in many dishes. Some species are high valuated and reaching high market values. There are frequent reports of adulteration of these kinds of products due to the presence of fungal species less expensive among others with high-value market. This adulteration occurs especially in products in which the flavour is not prominent and in which the mushrooms are difficult to examine. In this work we utilized the ...

  4. Analysis of pork adulteration in beef meatball using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohman, A; Sismindari; Erwanto, Y; Che Man, Yaakob B

    2011-05-01

    Meatball is one of the favorite foods in Indonesia. The adulteration of pork in beef meatball is frequently occurring. This study was aimed to develop a fast and non destructive technique for the detection and quantification of pork in beef meatball using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and partial least square (PLS) calibration. The spectral bands associated with pork fat (PF), beef fat (BF), and their mixtures in meatball formulation were scanned, interpreted, and identified by relating them to those spectroscopically representative to pure PF and BF. For quantitative analysis, PLS regression was used to develop a calibration model at the selected fingerprint regions of 1200-1000 cm(-1). The equation obtained for the relationship between actual PF value and FTIR predicted values in PLS calibration model was y = 0.999x + 0.004, with coefficient of determination (R(2)) and root mean square error of calibration are 0.999 and 0.442, respectively. The PLS calibration model was subsequently used for the prediction of independent samples using laboratory made meatball samples containing the mixtures of BF and PF. Using 4 principal components, root mean square error of prediction is 0.742. The results showed that FTIR spectroscopy can be used for the detection and quantification of pork in beef meatball formulation for Halal verification purposes. Copyright © 2010 The American Meat Science Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. [Problems of food authenticity].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czerwiecki, Ludwik

    2004-01-01

    In this review the several data concerning food authenticity were presented. Typical examples of food adulteration were described. The most known are adulteration of vegetable and fruit products, adulteration of wine, honeys, olive oil etc. The modern analytical techniques for detection of food adulteration were discussed. Among physicochemical methods isotopic techniques (SCIRA, IRMS, SNIF-NMR) were cited. The main spectral methods are: IACPAES, PyMs, FTIR, NIR. The chromatographic techniques (GC, HPLC, HPAEC, HPTLC) with several kinds of detectors were described and the ELISA and PCR techniques are mentioned, too. The role of chemometrics as a way of several analytical data processing was highlighted. It was pointed out at the necessity of more rigorous control of food to support of all activity in area of fight with fraud in food industry.

  6. Types of fraud in meat and meat products: a review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Espinoza T.

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Affects the food control. The globalization, increased imports and exports and free trade agreements have led to greater sharing and access to food worldwide; along with it, the problems associated with fraud such as adulteration, substitution, intentionality, and counterfeiting have been increased. Therefore, there are various tasks associated with food fraud, which in most reviews published only new identification techniques have been discussed. However, a discussion about the types of fraud and its impact on society, bioterrorism and religion, has been little commented. This review focuses primarily on describing the types of fraud that has as objective to obtain economic benefit or cause terrorism. Also, latest techniques available for detecting meat adulteration are mentioned.

  7. Authentication of pure L-leucine products manufactured in China by discriminating between plant and animal sources using nitrogen stable isotope technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jingyu; Nkrumah, Philip N; Appiah-Sefah, Gloria; Tang, Shijiang

    2013-03-01

     L-leucine products among other branched chain amino acid supplements are highly susceptible to economically motivated adulteration. Curbing this menace is critical and timely. Hence, the δ(15) N composition of the L-leucine derived from plants and animals sources was estimated. The trophic enrichment phenomenon of δ(15) N composition was utilized to elucidate the sources. We finally established the distinction between the respective sources. Samples of plant sources (maize and soybean) and that of animal sources (pig fur and duck feather) were analyzed for δ(15) N isotopic signatures. An elemental analyzer which was connected to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer operated in the continuous flow mode was utilized. The raw materials were obtained from China. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance. The results indicated lower δ(15) N values of range -0.7344‰ to 2.384‰ and 1.032‰ to 2.064‰ for maize and soybean samples, respectively. Whereas, a range of 3.860‰ to 6.011‰ and 5.875‰ to 6.011‰ was, respectively, detected in pig fur and duck feather samples. The δ(15) N difference in plants and animals samples was significant (F = 165.0; P = 1.675 E-10 for maize and pig fur samples; F = 212.8; P = 0.0001284 for soybean and duck feather samples). It was observed that δ(15) N trophic enrichment is helpful in elucidating the respective sources. The authors can emphatically assert that the range of δ(15) N composition of L-leucine derived from plants sources within the study area is -1.000‰ to 3.000‰ whereas the range in animal sources is 4.000‰ to 9.000‰. Practical Application This study provides a reliable approach in verifying the authenticity of not only L-leucine products but also other branched chain amino acid supplements and thereby would help in fraud detection of any economically motivated adulteration and mislabeling of these products. When coupled with H and O stable

  8. Prescription profile of potentially aristolochic acid containing Chinese herbal products: an analysis of National Health Insurance data in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003

    OpenAIRE

    Hsieh, Shu-Ching; Lin, I-Hsin; Tseng, Wei-Lum; Lee, Chang-Hsing; Wang, Jung-Der

    2008-01-01

    Abstract Background Some Chinese herbal products (CHPs) may contain aristolochic acid (AA) or may be adulterated by the herbs suspected of containing AA which is nephrotoxic and carcinogenic. This study aims to identify the risk and the prescription profile of AA-containing CHPs (AA-CHPs) in Taiwan. Methods A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a randomly sampled cohort of 200,000 patients using the data from the National Health Insurance (NHI) in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003. Results Duri...

  9. Identification and antibiogram pattern of Bacillus cereus from the milk and milk products in and around Jammu region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yusuf, Umar; Kotwal, S. K.; Gupta, Sanjolly; Ahmed, Touqeer

    2018-01-01

    Aim: The aims of the present study were to assess the prevalence, identification, and antibiogram pattern of Bacillus cereus from 215 samples of different milk and milk products in and around Jammu region. Materials and Methods: In the present study, 215 samples of milk, rasgulla, burfi, rasmalai, kalaari, paneer, ice cream, and pastry were collected and analyzed for the isolation of the B. cereus using PEMBA, and antibiogram pattern was observed for all the milk and milk products. Results: B. cereus was detected in 61/215 samples with an overall prevalence of 28.37%. Biotyping revealed predominantly 5, 7, and 2 biotypes in raw milk. Burfi and ice cream revealed 2, 3, 5, and 7 biotypes. Rasgulla had 2, 3, and 5 biotypes; paneer and rasmalai had biotypes 2 and 5, while kalaari revealed biotype 5. Antibiogram pattern revealed that isolates were highly sensitive to gentamicin (100%), intermediate to ampicillin (40.98%), tetracycline (31.14%), erythromycin (29.50%), and amoxicillin (26.22%), and high resistance against penicillin G (100%). Adulteration of starch was detected in 16.66 % raw milk samples. All starch positive samples were positive for B. cereus. However, 12 starch negative samples also yielded B. cereus. Conclusion: From this study, it was concluded that highest prevalence of B. cereus was found in ice cream. Several isolates of B. cereus showed toxigenic activity, so the presence of B. cereus in milk and milk products may be of public health hazard. The antibiogram pattern of B. cereus isolates showed sensitivity to gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, and resistance to penicillin-G and cephalexin. The presence of B. cereus in milk and milk products showed a strong association besides establishing the fact that starch adulteration can be indicative of the presence of B. cereus. PMID:29657402

  10. Nutritional supplement products: Does the label information influence purchasing decisions for the physically active?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabriels, Gary; Lambert, Mike

    2013-10-02

    The increase in sales of nutritional supplement globally can be attributed, in part, to aggressive marketing by manufacturers, rather than because the nutritional supplements have become more effective. Furthermore, the accuracy of the labelling often goes unchallenged. Therefore, any effects of the supplement, may be due to contaminants or adulterants in these products not reflected on the label. A self-administered questionnaire was used to determine how consumers of nutritional supplements acquired information to assist their decision-making processes, when purchasing a product. The study was approved by the University of Cape Town, Faculty of Health Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee. The questionnaire consisted of seven, closed and open-ended questions. The participants were asked to respond to the questions according to a defined list of statements. A total of 259 participants completed and returned questionnaires. The data and processing of the returned questionnaires was captured using Windows-based Microsoft® Office Excel 2003 SP 1 (Excel © 1985-2003 Microsoft Corporation). Statistica Version 10 (copyright © Stat Soft, Inc. 1984-2011) was used to calculate the descriptive statistics. The main finding of the study was that nearly 70% of the respondents who purchased supplements were strongly influenced by container label information that stipulated that the nutritional supplement product is free of banned substances. The second finding was that just over 50% of the respondents attached importance to the quality of the nutritional supplement product information on the container label. The third finding was that about 40% of the respondents were strongly influenced by the ingredients on the labels when they purchased nutritional supplements. This study, (i) identifies short-comings in current labelling information practices, (ii) provides opportunities to improve label and non-label information and communication, and, (iii) presents the case for

  11. Overview on Untargeted Methods to Combat Food Frauds: A Focus on Fishery Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppina M. Fiorino

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Authenticity and traceability of food products are of primary importance at all levels of the production process, from raw materials to finished products. Authentication is also a key aspect for accurate labeling of food, which is required to help consumers in selecting appropriate types of food products. With the aim of guaranteeing the authenticity of foods, various methodological approaches have been devised over the past years, mainly based on either targeted or untargeted analyses. In this review, a brief overview of current analytical methods tailored to authenticity studies, with special regard to fishery products, is provided. Focus is placed on untargeted methods that are attracting the interest of the analytical community thanks to their rapidity and high throughput; such methods enable a fast collection of “fingerprinting signals” referred to each authentic food, subsequently stored into large database for the construction of specific information repositories. In the present case, methods capable of detecting fish adulteration/substitution and involving sensory, physicochemical, DNA-based, chromatographic, and spectroscopic measurements, combined with chemometric tools, are illustrated and commented on.

  12. Identification of adulterants in a Chinese herbal medicine by LC-HRMS and LC-MS-SPE/NMR and comparative in vivo study with standards in a hypertensive rat model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kesting, Julie Regitze; Huang, JingQi; Sørensen, Dan

    2010-01-01

    Based on anecdotal evidence of anti-hypertensive effect of Gold Nine Soft Capsules, an in vivo study of this complex Chinese "herbal-based" medicine was initiated. Dosage of the content of Gold Nine capsules in spontaneous hypertensive rats showed a remarkably good effect. This led to further...... of a combination of commercially purchased standards was shown to be equivalent to that of the capsule content. Adulteration of herbal remedies and dietary supplements with synthetic drugs is an increasing problem that may lead to serious adverse effects. LC-MS-SPE/NMR as a method for the rapid identification...

  13. Detection of porcine DNA in gelatine and gelatine-containing processed food products-Halal/Kosher authentication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demirhan, Yasemin; Ulca, Pelin; Senyuva, Hamide Z

    2012-03-01

    A commercially available real-time PCR, based on a multi-copy target cytochrome b (cyt b) using porcine specific primers, has been validated for the Halal/Kosher authentication of gelatine. Extraction and purification of DNA from gelatine were successfully achieved using the SureFood® PREP Animal system, and real-time PCR was carried out using SureFood® Animal ID Pork Sens kit. The minimum level of adulteration that could be detected was 1.0% w/w for marshmallows and gum drops. A small survey was undertaken of processed food products such as gum drops, marshmallows and Turkish delight, believed to contain gelatine. Of fourteen food products from Germany, two samples were found to contain porcine gelatine, whereas of twenty-nine samples from Turkey twenty-eight were negative. However, one product from Turkey contained porcine DNA and thus was not Halal, and neither was the use of porcine gelatine indicated on the product label. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Determination of adulteration of malachite green in green pea and some prepared foodstuffs by micellar liquid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashok, Vipin; Agrawal, Nitasha; Durgbanshi, Abhilasha; Esteve-Romero, Josep; Bose, Devasish

    2014-01-01

    A simple, fast, and robust micellar LC method was developed for the separation and identification of the nonpermitted color malachite green in green pea and some ready-to-eat foodstuffs. Malachite green (4-[(4-dimethylaminophenyl) phenyl-methyl]-N,N-dimethylaniline) is a hazardous dye that is used to treat fungal and protozoan infections in fish and is a common adulterant (coloring agent) in green pea and other green vegetables because of its green color. In the present work, malachite green was determined in various foodstuffs using a direct injection technique on an RP C18 column with isocratic elution. The optimum mobile phase consisted of 0.15 M sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 6% pentanol buffered at pH 5. Detection was carried out at 620 nm. Malachite green was eluted in 9.2 min without any interference caused by endogenous compounds. Linearities (r > 0.9999), intraday and interday precision (RSD less than 1.00%) in micellar media, and robustness were studied for method validation. LOD and LOQ were 0.10 and 0.25 ppm, respectively. The simplicity of the developed method makes it useful for routine analysis in the area of food QC.

  15. THE ANALYSIS OF COUNTERFEITING FOOD PRODUCTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula - Angela VIDRASCU

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The issue addressed in this paper makes a significant contribution to research on the effects that food tampering has at the expense of consumer health. Nowadays quality and food safety that consumers are entitled directly reflects the quality of life. In other words the present subject is of particular importance to the work of the bodies created for the purpose of protecting the health and quality of life of consumers. This study has an important role both in the short and long term through proper understanding of the terms of quality, adulteration and food safety. The essential aim of this article is played understanding and easy identification of counterfeit food. Thus the awareness of counterfeit food products consumers are becoming more aware and responsible on quality of life. Quality will always be one of the most important competitive factors of ensuring health and environmental protection.

  16. A case of dilated cardiomyopathy with massive left ventricular thrombus after use of a sibutramine-containing slimming product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heo, Seung Hye; Kang, Min-Ho

    2013-09-01

    Sibutramine, which acts as an anti-obesity drug by inhibiting reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, has now been banned due to cardiovascular adverse effects. However, despite being banned, it is not uncommon for people to purchase products with sibutramine or its analogues used as adulterants in non-prescription slimming products or health foods available on the internet. Sibutramine has been associated with rare but serious adverse reactions such as cardiac arrhythmia including QT interval prolongation, myocardial infarction, and cardiomyopathy, as well as increases in blood pressure and pulse rate. Here, we report a case of a 32-year-old male who presented with dilated cardiomyopathy with massive left ventricular thrombus after taking unauthorized sibutramine-containing slimming pills sold over the internet.

  17. Standardization of HPTLC method for the estimation of oxytocin in edibles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rani, Roopa; Medhe, Sharad; Raj, Kumar Rohit; Srivastava, Manmohan

    2013-12-01

    Adulteration in food stuff has been regarded as a major social evil and is a mind-boggling problem in society. In this study, a rapid, reliable and cost effective High Performance thin layer Chromatography (HPTLC) has been established for the estimation of oxytocin (adulterant) in vegetables, fruits and milk samples. Oxytocin is one of the most frequently used adulterant added in vegetables and fruits for increasing the growth rate and also to enhance milk production from lactating animals. The standardization of the method was based on simulation parameters of mobile phase, stationary phase and saturation time. The mobile phase used was MeOH: Ammonia (pH 6.8), optimized stationary phase was silica gel and saturation time of 5 min. The method was validated by testing its linearity, accuracy, precision, repeatability and limits of detection and quantification. Thus, the proposed method is simple, rapid and specific and was successfully employed for quality and quantity monitoring of oxytocin content in edible products.

  18. Método para determinação de carboidratos empregado na triagem de adulterações em café

    OpenAIRE

    Pauli, Elis Daiane; Cristiano, Valderi; Nixdorf, Suzana Lucy

    2011-01-01

    The objective in this work was to validate a chromatography method for the determination of total carbohydrates in soluble coffee, using a HPLC-UV-VIS with postcolumn derivatization system, in order to verify adulterant additions. The validated method was accurate and robust. Adulteration could be observed by increasing xylose and glucose levels in samples with addition of coffee husks and starchy products while decreasing of galactose and mannose characteristic carbohydrates presenting in hi...

  19. Validation of a Non-Specific Dye Real-Time PCR Assay for Porcine Adulteration in Meatball Using ND5 Primer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tri Joko Raharjo

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Porcine adulteration in meatball samples were analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR, based on the ND5 primer obtained by previous study. This work consisted of three stages which were annealing temperature optimization, method validation, and application. DNA template was extracted using phenol-CIAA (chloroform-iso amyl alcohol method. The optimum annealing temperature for ND5 primers (forward primer 5'-CATTCGCCTCACTCACATTAACC-3' and reverse primer 5'-AAGAGAGAGTTCTACGGTCTGTAG-3' was 58.0 °C, obtained after testing annealing at 50.5 to 59.5 °C gradient temperature with 5 °C interval. Melting curve analysis was done at 65.0 to 95.0 °C, with increasing temperature for 0.5 °C per 2 sec. Method was validated for its specificity, precision and limit of detection. RT-PCR method with ND5 primers produced 227 bp DNA fragment with 78.50 °C Tm value. From eight commercial meatball samples, one was detected containing porcine. The methods showed high specificity and precision, with experimentally determined limits for porcine were no less than 1%.

  20. Caffeine enhances and accelerates the expression of sensitization induced by coca paste indicating its relevance as a main adulterant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prieto, José P; Galvalisi, Martín; López-Hill, Ximena; Meikle, María N; Abin-Carriquiry, Juan A; Scorza, Cecilia

    2015-08-01

    Caffeine is an active adulterant found in several drugs of abuse including coca paste (CP). We had previously demonstrated that caffeine potentiated the acute stimulant effect induced by CP seized samples. The role of caffeine in the expression of sensitization elicited by a CP seized sample (CP1) was here evaluated. CP1 (equivalent dose of 10 mg/kg of cocaine), cocaine (pure, 10 mg/kg), a combination of cocaine 10 mg/kg plus caffeine 2.5 mg/kg (CP1-surrogate) and saline (control) were intraperitoneally injected in male rats under two different sensitization schedules. Ambulatory locomotion was recorded in 58 animals. After five daily CP1 injections and 5 days of withdrawal, CP1-challenged animals displayed a more robust sensitization than cocaine-treated animals. When a 3 injections-regime of CP1-surrogate or cocaine was assayed, only CP1-surrogate was able to elicit sensitization. Caffeine enhances and accelerates the CP1-induced sensitization. Results may shed light on the fast and high dependence observed in CP users. © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

  1. From Traditional Resource to Global Commodities:-A Comparison of Rhodiola Species Using NMR Spectroscopy-Metabolomics and HPTLC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booker, Anthony; Zhai, Lixiang; Gkouva, Christina; Li, Shuyuan; Heinrich, Michael

    2016-01-01

    The fast developing international trade of products based on traditional knowledge and their value chains has become an important aspect of the ethnopharmacological debate. The structure and diversity of value chains and their impact on the phytochemical composition of herbal medicinal products, as well as the underlying government policies and regulations, have been overlooked in the debate about quality problems in transnational trade. Rhodiola species, including Rhodiola rosea L. and Rhodiola crenulata (Hook. f. & Thomson) H. Ohba, are used as traditional herbal medicines. Faced with resource depletion and environment destruction, R. rosea and R. crenulata are becoming endangered, making them more economically valuable to collectors and middlemen, and also increasing the risk of adulteration and low quality. Rhodiola products have been subject to adulteration and we recently assessed 39 commercial products for their composition and quality. However, the range of Rhodiola species potentially implicated has not been assessed. Also, the ability of selected analytical techniques in differentiating these species is not known yet. Using a strategy previously developed by our group, we compare the phytochemical differences among Rhodiola raw materials available on the market to provide a practical method for the identification of different Rhodiola species from Europe and Asia and the detection of potential adulterants. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis software and high performance thin layer chromatography techniques were used to analyse the samples. Rosavin and rosarin were mainly present in R. rosea but also in Rosea sachalinensis Borris. 30% of the Rhodiola samples purchased from the Chinese market were adulterated by other Rhodiola spp. The utilization of a combined platform based on (1)H-NMR and HPTLC methods resulted in an integrated analysis of different Rhodiola species. We identified adulteration at the earliest stage

  2. From Traditional Resource to Global Commodities:—A Comparison of Rhodiola Species Using NMR Spectroscopy—Metabolomics and HPTLC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booker, Anthony; Zhai, Lixiang; Gkouva, Christina; Li, Shuyuan; Heinrich, Michael

    2016-01-01

    The fast developing international trade of products based on traditional knowledge and their value chains has become an important aspect of the ethnopharmacological debate. The structure and diversity of value chains and their impact on the phytochemical composition of herbal medicinal products, as well as the underlying government policies and regulations, have been overlooked in the debate about quality problems in transnational trade. Rhodiola species, including Rhodiola rosea L. and Rhodiola crenulata (Hook. f. & Thomson) H. Ohba, are used as traditional herbal medicines. Faced with resource depletion and environment destruction, R. rosea and R. crenulata are becoming endangered, making them more economically valuable to collectors and middlemen, and also increasing the risk of adulteration and low quality. Rhodiola products have been subject to adulteration and we recently assessed 39 commercial products for their composition and quality. However, the range of Rhodiola species potentially implicated has not been assessed. Also, the ability of selected analytical techniques in differentiating these species is not known yet. Using a strategy previously developed by our group, we compare the phytochemical differences among Rhodiola raw materials available on the market to provide a practical method for the identification of different Rhodiola species from Europe and Asia and the detection of potential adulterants. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis software and high performance thin layer chromatography techniques were used to analyse the samples. Rosavin and rosarin were mainly present in R. rosea but also in Rosea sachalinensis Borris. 30% of the Rhodiola samples purchased from the Chinese market were adulterated by other Rhodiola spp. The utilization of a combined platform based on 1H-NMR and HPTLC methods resulted in an integrated analysis of different Rhodiola species. We identified adulteration at the earliest stage

  3. LS-SVM: uma nova ferramenta quimiométrica para regressão multivariada. Comparação de modelos de regressão LS-SVM e PLS na quantificação de adulterantes em leite em pó empregando NIR LS-SVM: a new chemometric tool for multivariate regression. Comparison of LS-SVM and pls regression for determination of common adulterants in powdered milk by nir spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco F. Ferrão

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Least-squares support vector machines (LS-SVM were used as an alternative multivariate calibration method for the simultaneous quantification of some common adulterants found in powdered milk samples, using near-infrared spectroscopy. Excellent models were built using LS-SVM for determining R², RMSECV and RMSEP values. LS-SVMs show superior performance for quantifying starch, whey and sucrose in powdered milk samples in relation to PLSR. This study shows that it is possible to determine precisely the amount of one and two common adulterants simultaneously in powdered milk samples using LS-SVM and NIR spectra.

  4. Hyperspectral to multispectral imaging for detection of tree nuts and peanut traces in wheat flour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Puneet Mishra

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In current industrial environments there is an increasing need for practical and inexpensive quality control systems to detect the foreign food materials in powder food processing lines. This demand is especially important for the detection of product adulteration with traces of highly allergenic products, such as peanuts and tree nuts. Manufacturing industries dealing with the processing of multiple powder food products present a substantial risk for the contamination of powder foods with traces of tree nuts and other adulterants, which might result in unintentional ingestion of nuts by the sensitised population. Hence, the need for an in-line system to detect nut traces at the early stages of food manufacturing is of crucial importance. In this present work, a feasibility study of a spectral index for revealing adulteration of tree nut and peanut traces in wheat flour samples with hyperspectral images is reported. The main nuts responsible for allergenic reactions considered in this work were peanut, hazelnut and walnut. Enhanced contrast between nuts and wheat flour was obtained after the application of the index. Furthermore, the segmentation of these images by selecting different thresholds for different nut and flour mixtures allowed the identification of nut traces in the samples. Pixels identified as nuts were counted and compared with the actual percentage of peanut adulteration. As a result, the multispectral system was able to detect and provide good visualisation of tree nut and peanut trace levels down to 0.01% by weight. In this context, multispectral imaging could operate in conjuction with chemical procedures, such as Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay to save time, money and skilled labour on product quality control. This approach could enable not only a few selected samples to be assessed but also to extensively incorporate quality control surveyance on product processing lines.

  5. Molecular assay to fraud identification of meat products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doosti, Abbas; Ghasemi Dehkordi, Payam; Rahimi, Ebrahim

    2014-01-01

    Detection of species fraud in meat products is important for consumer protection and food industries. A molecular technique such as PCR method for detection of beef, sheep, pork, chicken, donkey, and horse meats in food products was established. The purpose of this study was to identification of fraud and adulteration in industrial meat products by PCR-RFLP assay in Iran. In present study, 224 meat products include 68 sausages, 48 frankfurters, 55 hamburgers, 33 hams and 20 cold cut meats were collected from different companies and food markets in Iran. Genomic DNA was extracted and PCR was performed for gene amplification of meat species using specific oligonucleotid primers. Raw meat samples are served as the positive control. For differentiation between donkey's and horse's meat, the mitochondrial DNA segment (cytochrome-b gene) was amplified and products were digested with AluI restriction enzyme. Results showed that 6 of 68 fermented sausages (8.82%), 4 of 48 frankfurters (8.33%), 4 of 55 hamburgers (7.27%), 2 of 33 hams (6.6%), and 1 of 20 cold cut meat (5%) were found to contain Haram (unlawful or prohibited) meat. These results indicate that 7.58% of the total samples were not containing Halal (lawful or permitted) meat and have another meat. These findings showed that molecular methods such as PCR and PCR-RFLP are potentially reliable techniques for detection of meat type in meat products for Halal authentication.

  6. Lead poisoning in opium abuser in Iran: A systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kambiz Soltaninejad

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Substance abuse and its consequences are major health hazards in the world. Opium addiction is a common form of substance abuse in Iran. Adulteration of illegal substances in the process of production and distribution of the drug in black market with many types of materials have been reported. One of the main goals of the adulteration of illegal substances is cutting of the substance for deal and increase of the weight for more benefit. However, adding of adulterating agents to illegal drugs could be considered as a cause of nonspecific and rare toxicity during substance abuse. Although the presence of lead in street-level heroin, marijuana, and amphetamines has been reported from some countries previously, recently, several reports suggested lead poisoning in Iranian opium addicts. Adulteration of opium with lead is a new source of lead poisoning in Iran in which the opium abuse is frequent and it could be a new health problem in the future. In this regard, evaluation of blood lead level would be important for early diagnosis of lead poisoning in opium addicts.

  7. Lead Poisoning in Opium Abuser in Iran: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soltaninejad, Kambiz; Shadnia, Shahin

    2018-01-01

    Substance abuse and its consequences are major health hazards in the world. Opium addiction is a common form of substance abuse in Iran. Adulteration of illegal substances in the process of production and distribution of the drug in black market with many types of materials have been reported. One of the main goals of the adulteration of illegal substances is cutting of the substance for deal and increase of the weight for more benefit. However, adding of adulterating agents to illegal drugs could be considered as a cause of nonspecific and rare toxicity during substance abuse. Although the presence of lead in street-level heroin, marijuana, and amphetamines has been reported from some countries previously, recently, several reports suggested lead poisoning in Iranian opium addicts. Adulteration of opium with lead is a new source of lead poisoning in Iran in which the opium abuse is frequent and it could be a new health problem in the future. In this regard, evaluation of blood lead level would be important for early diagnosis of lead poisoning in opium addicts. PMID:29416839

  8. Cost and returns analysis of cotton production in Katsina state, Nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... is profitable . Despite the profit margin, farmers were confronted with the problem of high cost of inputs especially fertilizer, improved seed, adulterated chemicals. The paper recommended that farmers should form cooperatives in order to put resources together to purchase inputs particularly herbicides and pesticides.

  9. Método para determinação de carboidratos empregado na triagem de adulterações em café

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elis Daiane Pauli

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective in this work was to validate a chromatography method for the determination of total carbohydrates in soluble coffee, using a HPLC-UV-VIS with postcolumn derivatization system, in order to verify adulterant additions. The validated method was accurate and robust. Adulteration could be observed by increasing xylose and glucose levels in samples with addition of coffee husks and starchy products while decreasing of galactose and mannose characteristic carbohydrates presenting in high concentration in soluble coffees produced by arabica and robusta coffee beans.

  10. Locally Grown, Natural Ingredients? The Isotope Ratio Can Reveal a Lot!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossier, Joël S; Maury, Valérie; Pfammatter, Elmar

    2016-01-01

    This communication gives an overview of selected isotope analyses applied to food authenticity assessment. Different isotope ratio detection technologies such as isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) are briefly described. It will be explained how δ(18)O of water contained in fruits and vegetables can be used to assess their country of production. It will be explained why asparagus grown in Valais, in the centre of the Alps carries much less heavy water than asparagus grown closer to the sea coast. On the other hand, the use of δ(13)C can reveal whether a product is natural or adulterated. Applications including honey or sparkling wine adulteration detection will be briefly presented.

  11. 75 FR 68596 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-08

    ... Inspection Service Title: Listeria Control for Ready-to-Eat Products. OMB Control Number: 0583-0132. Summary... certain ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products to take measures to prevent product adulteration by... it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Food Safety and Inspection Service Title...

  12. 9 CFR 424.1 - Purpose and scope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... the preparation of meat and the processing of poultry products. The rules in this part further the... color additives) and sources of radiation that may render meat or poultry products adulterated or... REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE FEDERAL MEAT INSPECTION ACT AND THE POULTRY PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT PREPARATION AND...

  13. 78 FR 53017 - Changes to the Salmonella Verification Sampling Program: Analysis of Raw Beef for Shiga Toxin...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-28

    ... evaluated the FSIS Salmonella detection method (FSIS Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook Chapter 4.06) using... prevalence estimates, FSIS defines prevalence as the proportion of applicable product that would test... that is intended for use as raw, non-intact product tests positive for STEC, the product is adulterated...

  14. Validation of an LC-MS/MS method for analysis of anti-diabetic drugs in botanical dietary supplements labeled for blood sugar management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Jun; Pawar, Rahul S; Grundel, Erich

    2018-03-01

    We developed and validated a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to detect and quantitate 14 anti-diabetic, 2 anti-obesity, and 3 cholesterol-lowering drugs in botanical dietary supplements marketed for blood sugar management. Many botanical dietary supplements which carry label statements related to blood sugar management are available over the Internet. Potential adulteration of such dietary supplements with anti-diabetic and other prescription drugs, some of which have been removed from the market due to adverse events, is of concern. No significant matrix effects were observed and mean recoveries of all 19 analytes from a single product matrix were 88 to 113% at spiking concentrations from 500 to 2000 μg/g. Mean recoveries of metformin, phenformin, and sibutramine from matrices prepared from multiple product composites ranged from 93 to 115% at a spiking concentration of 100 μg/g. The relative standard deviations (RSD) (%) of intra-day analyses ranged from 0.2 to 13 for all recovery studies. Eighty dietary supplements obtained in the USA and carrying label statements related to blood sugar management were analyzed using this method and none were found to be adulterated with the above 19 drugs. Two products obtained outside of the USA and known to be adulterated were also analyzed by this method and found to contain phenformin, glibenclamide, and sibutramine. This method provided satisfactory selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and sensitivity for rapid determination of 19 drugs and has broad applicability for the analysis of dietary supplements for possible adulteration with these compounds. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  15. 21 CFR 312.110 - Import and export requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... substantial conformity with current good manufacturing practices; (ix) The drug is not adulterated within the.... (d) Insulin and antibiotics. New insulin and antibiotic drug products may be exported for...

  16. Serotonin syndrome following overdose of a non-prescription slimming product containing sibutramine: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Pui Kin; Leung, K S; Wong, T W; Lee, H H C; Tang, M H Y; Mak, T W L

    2012-04-01

    Non-prescription slimming products are popular and can be easily purchased from the Internet. However, adulteration of these products with undeclared substances including prescription drugs is not uncommon. We report a case of serotonin syndrome after an overdose of a non-prescription product containing sibutramine. A 21-year-old woman presented with somnolence, sinus tachycardia, generalised increase in tone, hyper-reflexia and clonus more prominent in the lower limbs after an intentional overdose of a non-prescription slimming product obtained from the Internet. The product was later found to contain sibutramine and other substances such as animal thyroid tissues, caffeine and phenolphthalein. Quantitative analysis of patient's serum on presentation revealed a sibutramine concentration of 112 ng/mL, which far exceeded the reported peak serum concentration after a single oral dose of 15 mg (the maximum daily recommended dose). No other culpable agent was identified. The overall clinical presentation was compatible with serotonin syndrome associated with sibutramine overdose. The patient made a full recovery after supportive management. This case highlighted the health threat posed by non-prescription slimming products sold over the Internet. Sibutramine overdose can result in serotonin syndrome, as in overdose of other serotonergic agents. Early recognition and timely supportive treatment are essential to ensure a good clinical outcome.

  17. 9 CFR 416.12 - Development of Sanitation SOP's.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Development of Sanitation SOP's. 416... ACT SANITATION § 416.12 Development of Sanitation SOP's. (a) The Sanitation SOP's shall describe all... direct contamination or adulteration of product(s). (b) The Sanitation SOP's shall be signed and dated by...

  18. Identification of fraud (with pig stuffs) in chicken-processed meat through information of mitochondrial cytochrome b.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yacoub, Haitham A; Sadek, Mahmoud A

    2017-11-01

    This study was conducted to find out the fraud in chicken-processed meat ingredients to protect consumers from commercial adulteration and authentication through a reliable way: direct amplification of conserved segment of cytochrome b gene of mitochondrial DNA, in addition, using species-specific primer assay for a certain cytochrome b. The results reported that chicken-processed meats were identified as a chicken meat based on amplification of conserved cytochrome b gene of mtDNA, while different fragments sizes were produced after the application of species-specific primer as follows: 227, 157, 274, 331, 389 and 439 bp for raw meat of chicken, goat, cattle, sheep, pig and horse, respectively. The results revealed that all chicken meat products are produced with 227 bp in size. While, an adulteration with pork stuffs was observed in some of the chicken meat products using a species-specific primer of cytochrome b gene, namely, chicken luncheon and chicken burger. This study represents a reliable technique that could be used to provide a promising solution for identifying the commercial adulteration and substitutions in processed meat in retail markets.

  19. Comparative determination of sibutramine as an adulterant in natural slimming products by HPLC and HPTLC densitometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ariburnu, Etil; Uludag, Mehmet Fazli; Yalcinkaya, Huseyin; Yesilada, Erdem

    2012-05-01

    A new validated method for the identification and quantification of the sibutramine was developed by HPTLC-densitometry at 225 nm and advantages and disadvantages compared with HPLC-FLD at 225 nm emission and 316 nm excitation. Both methods were applied to the analysis of three natural slimming products in the market for the quantitative analysis of illegally added sibutramine. HPTLC separations were performed on (20 cm × 10 cm) glass HPTLC plates coated with silica gel 60 F(254) using a mobile phase, n-hexane-acetone-ammonia (10:1:0.1, v/v/v). For HPLC analysis, a phenyl column (5.0 μm, 150 mm × 4.6 mm, i.d.) and an isocratic mobile phase of acetonitrile-water-formic acid (pH 3.0; 0.19M) (45:55:0.78, v/v/v) was used. The calibration curve area versus concentration was found to be linear in the range of 250-2000 ng/spot(-1) and 5-200 μg/ml for HPTLC and HPLC, respectively. Both methods were validated for accuracy, precision, linearity, selectivity, recovery and short term stability. As a conclusion, these methods were found to be useful for the routine analysis of illegally added sibutramine in the marketed products. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Assessment of Small-scale Buffalo Milk Dairy Production-A Premise for a Durable Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marian MIHAIU

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Buffalo husbandry is an important source of income for a number of small-scale producers in Romania that is why an assessment of its products quality is much needed for improvement and evaluation of their vulnerability to international competition. In order to ascertain possible developments in the buffalo dairy sector and to broadly identify areas of intervention that favor small-scale dairy producers, the study examined the potential to improve buffalo milk production by evaluating its authenticity and hygienic quality. The methods used involved the molecular testing (PCR-technique for identifying cow, sheep or goat DNA in the dairy products samples collected from the small-scale producers market. The hygienic quality of these samples was determined through classical microbiology methods, highly developed techniques (Trek System and PCR for bacterial species confirmation. The results showed that a high percent (65%, from the products found were adulterated with other species milk, mostly cow milk. The most commonly falsified buffalo dairy products were the cheese and the traditional product telemea. The prevalence of the bacterial species identified belonged to Listeria innocua and Listeria welshmeri. The conclusion of this study is the need of a durable development system in this particular dairy chain to improve and assure the authenticity and quality of the small-scale producers products and their reliability for the consumers.

  1. Is Low-field NMR a Complementary Tool to GC-MS in Quality Control of Essential Oils? A Case Study: Patchouli Essential Oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Andre; Wu, Yu; Tian, Runtao; van Beek, Teris A

    2018-04-24

    High-field NMR is an expensive and important quality control technique. In recent years, cheaper and simpler low-field NMR has become available as a new quality control technique. In this study, 60 MHz 1 H-NMR was compared with GC-MS and refractometry for the detection of adulteration of essential oils, taking patchouli essential oil as a test case. Patchouli essential oil is frequently adulterated, even today. In total, 75 genuine patchouli essential oils, 10 commercial patchouli essential oils, 10 other essential oils, 17 adulterants, and 1 patchouli essential oil, spiked at 20% with those adulterants, were measured. Visual inspection of the NMR spectra allowed for easy detection of 14 adulterants, while gurjun and copaiba balsams proved difficult and one adulterant could not be detected. NMR spectra of 10 random essential oils differed not only strongly from patchouli essential oil but also from one another, suggesting that fingerprinting by low-field NMR is not limited to patchouli essential oil. Automated chemometric evaluation of NMR spectra was possible by similarity analysis (Mahalanobis distance) based on the integration from 0.1 - 8.1 ppm in 0.01 ppm increments. Good quality patchouli essential oils were recognised as well as 15 of 17 deliberate adulterations. Visual qualitative inspection by GC-MS allowed for the detection of all volatile adulterants. Nonvolatile adulterants, and all but one volatile adulterant, could be detected by semiquantitation. Different chemometric approaches showed satisfactory results. Similarity analyses were difficult with nonvolatile adulterants. Refractive index measurements could detect only 8 of 17 adulterants. Due to advantages such as simplicity, rapidity, reproducibility, and ability to detect nonvolatile adulterants, 60 MHz 1 H-NMR is complimentary to GC-MS for quality control of essential oils. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  2. A rapid ATR-FTIR spectroscopic method for detection of sibutramine adulteration in tea and coffee based on hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cebi, Nur; Yilmaz, Mustafa Tahsin; Sagdic, Osman

    2017-08-15

    Sibutramine may be illicitly included in herbal slimming foods and supplements marketed as "100% natural" to enhance weight loss. Considering public health and legal regulations, there is an urgent need for effective, rapid and reliable techniques to detect sibutramine in dietetic herbal foods, teas and dietary supplements. This research comprehensively explored, for the first time, detection of sibutramine in green tea, green coffee and mixed herbal tea using ATR-FTIR spectroscopic technique combined with chemometrics. Hierarchical cluster analysis and PCA principle component analysis techniques were employed in spectral range (2746-2656cm -1 ) for classification and discrimination through Euclidian distance and Ward's algorithm. Unadulterated and adulterated samples were classified and discriminated with respect to their sibutramine contents with perfect accuracy without any false prediction. The results suggest that existence of the active substance could be successfully determined at the levels in the range of 0.375-12mg in totally 1.75g of green tea, green coffee and mixed herbal tea by using FTIR-ATR technique combined with chemometrics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. 7 CFR 58.145 - Composition and wholesomeness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... contamination or adulteration of the milk or dairy products during manufacturing. All substances and ingredients used in the processing or manufacturing of any dairy product shall be subject to inspection and shall... requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as to their composition and wholesomeness. ...

  4. Development of a Rapid Immunodiagnostic Test for Pork Components in Raw Beef and Chicken Meats: a Preliminary Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. N. Depamede

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available A rapid immunodiagnostic test that provides visual evidence of the presence of pork components in raw beef and chicken meats was developed. Colloidal gold was prepared and conjugated with anti-Swine IgG polyclonal antibody. Immunochromatographic test strips were produced, and then were used to test laboratory adulterated raw meat samples. The samples consisted adulteration meat, immunodiagnostic, pork, rapid test of pork-in-beef, or pork-in-chicken at 1/0; 1/100; 1/1,000; 1/5,000; 1/10,000 (w/w adulteration levels that were extracted in phosphate-buffered saline. Raw beef and chicken meats without pork were included as controls. Analysis was completed in 10 min. Detection limit was 1/5,000 (w/w, although 1/10,000 was also observed. This immunodiagnostic tests can be conveniently applied to detect low levels of pork components in raw beef and chicken meat products. For the commercial purposes, further studies need to be carried out.

  5. 9 CFR 311.38 - Meat and meat byproducts from livestock which have been exposed to radiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Meat and meat byproducts from... MEAT AND POULTRY PRODUCTS INSPECTION AND VOLUNTARY INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION DISPOSAL OF DISEASED OR OTHERWISE ADULTERATED CARCASSES AND PARTS § 311.38 Meat and meat byproducts from livestock which have been...

  6. 9 CFR 311.34 - Anemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Anemia. 311.34 Section 311.34 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AGENCY ORGANIZATION... CERTIFICATION DISPOSAL OF DISEASED OR OTHERWISE ADULTERATED CARCASSES AND PARTS § 311.34 Anemia. Carcasses of...

  7. The application of NMR-based milk metabolite analysis in milk authenticity identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qiangqiang; Yu, Zunbo; Zhu, Dan; Meng, Xianghe; Pang, Xiumei; Liu, Yue; Frew, Russell; Chen, He; Chen, Gang

    2017-07-01

    Milk is an important food component in the human diet and is a target for fraud, including many unsafe practices. For example, the unscrupulous adulteration of soymilk into bovine and goat milk or of bovine milk into goat milk in order to gain profit without declaration is a health risk, as the adulterant source and sanitary history are unknown. A robust and fit-for-purpose technique is required to enforce market surveillance and hence protect consumer health. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful technique for characterization of food products based on measuring the profile of metabolites. In this study, 1D NMR in conjunction with multivariate chemometrics as well as 2D NMR was applied to differentiate milk types and to identify milk adulteration. Ten metabolites were found which differed among milk types, hence providing characteristic markers for identifying the milk. These metabolites were used to establish mathematical models for milk type differentiation. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of adulteration was 2% (v/v) for soymilk in bovine milk, 2% (v/v) for soymilk in goat milk and 5% (v/v) for bovine milk in goat milk, with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 10%, which can meet the needs of daily inspection. The NMR method described here is effective for milk authenticity identification, and the study demonstrates that the NMR-based milk metabolite analysis approach provides a means of detecting adulteration at expected levels and can be used for dairy quality monitoring. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. Identification of marker proteins for the adulteration of meat products with soybean proteins by multidimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leitner, Alexander; Castro-Rubio, Florentina; Marina, Maria Luisa; Lindner, Wolfgang

    2006-09-01

    Soybean proteins are frequently added to processed meat products for economic reasons and to improve their functional properties. Monitoring of the addition of soybean protein to meat products is of high interest due to the existence of regulations forbidding or limiting the amount of soybean proteins that can be added during the processing of meat products. We have used chromatographic prefractionation on the protein level by perfusion liquid chromatography to isolate peaks of interest from extracts of soybean protein isolate (SPI) and of meat products containing SPI. After enzymatic digestion using trypsin, the collected fractions were analyzed by nanoflow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Several variants and subunits of the major seed proteins, glycinin and beta-conglycinin, were identified in SPI, along with two other proteins. In soybean-protein-containing meat samples, different glycinin A subunits could be identified from the peak discriminating between samples with and without soybean proteins added. Among those, glycinin G4 subunit A4 was consistently found in all samples. Consequently, this protein (subunit) can be used as a target for new analytical techniques in the course of identifying the addition of soybean protein to meat products.

  9. Detection of olive oil adulteration by low-field NMR relaxometry and UV-Vis spectroscopy upon mixing olive oil with various edible oils; Detección de la adulteración de aceite de oliva mediante relaxometría magnética nuclear de campo bajo y espectroscopía UV-Vis sobre mezcla de aceite de oliva con diversos aceites comestibles.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ok, S.

    2017-07-01

    Adulteration of olive oil using unhealthy substitutes is considered a threat for public health. Low-field (LF) proton (1H) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry and ultra-violet (UV) visible spectroscopy are used to detect adulteration of olive oil. Three different olive oil with different oleoyl acyl contents were mixed with almond, castor, corn, and sesame oils with three volumetric ratios, respectively. In addition, Arbequina olive oil was mixed with canola, flax, grape seed, peanut, soybean, and sunflower seed oils with three volumetric ratios. Transverse magnetization relaxation time (T2) curves were fitted with bi-exponential decaying functions. T2 times of each mixture of olive oils and castor oils, and olive oils and corn oils changed systematically as a function of volumetric ratio. To detect the adulteration in the mixtures with almond and sesame oils, both LF 1H NMR relaxometry and UV-Vis spectroscopy were needed, where UV-Vis-spectroscopy detected the adulteration qualitatively. In the mixtures of Arbequina olive oil and flax, peanut, soybean, and sunflower seed oils, both T21 and T22 values became longer systematically as the content of the olive oil was decreased. The unique UV-Vis maximum absorbance of flax oil at 320.0 nm shows the adulteration of olive oil qualitatively. [Spanish] La adulteración del aceite de oliva con sustituyentes menos saludables es una amenaza para la salud pública. En este trabajo, la detección de la adulteración del aceite de oliva se demuestra utilizando tanto relaxometría magnética nuclear de campo bajo (LF) de protones (1H) (RMN) y espectroscopía visible y ultra-violeta (UV). Tres muestras de aceites de oliva con diferentes contenidos en oleico se mezclaron con aceites de almendra, ricino, maíz y sésamo con tres relaciones volumétricas. Además, el de arbequina de California se mezcló con cánola, lino, semilla de uva, cacahuete, soja y aceites de girasol con tres relaciones volumétricas. Las curvas de

  10. Legal requirements for the quality of herbal substances and herbal preparations for the manufacturing of herbal medicinal products in the European union.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlietinck, Arnold; Pieters, Luc; Apers, Sandra

    2009-06-01

    In the European Union (EU) herbal medicinal products have become increasingly important. This is, for instance, underlined by the recent introduction of a simplified procedure in the Member States of the EU allowing the registration of herbal medicinal products which fulfill the criteria of a traditional herbal medicinal product, i.e., sufficient evidence of its medicinal use throughout a period of at least 30 years for products in the EU and at least 15 years within the EU and 15 years elsewhere for products outside the EU. With regard to the manufacturing of these products and their quality, applications of traditional herbal medicinal products have to fulfil the same requirements as applications for a marketing authorization. The quality of herbal substances as well as herbal preparations will be determined by the availability of modern science-based public monographs in the European Pharmacopoeia and their equivalents developed by the pharmaceutical industry. The standards put forward in these monographs must allow us not only to define the quality of these products, but also to eliminate dangerous counterfeit, substandard, adulterated and contaminated (traditional) herbal medicinal products. The usefulness of these monographs to implement the criteria on quality and specifications put forward for these products in the different guidelines of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is discussed.

  11. Analysis of illicit dietary supplements sold in the Italian market: identification of a sildenafil thioderivative as adulterant using UPLC-TOF/MS and GC/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damiano, Fabio; Silva, Claudia; Gregori, Adolfo; Vacondio, Federica; Mor, Marco; Menozzi, Mattia; Di Giorgio, Domenico

    2014-05-01

    Identification of pharmaceutical active ingredients sildenafil and tadalafil and the characterization of a dimethylated thio-derivative of sildenafil, called thioaildenafil or thiodimethylsildenafil, in illicit dietary supplements were described. A multi-residual ultra-performance liquid chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF/MS) method was developed to screen for the presence of the phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil and their analogues thioaildenafil and thiohomosildenafil in powders and pharmaceutical dosage forms. The study was developed in connection with an operation supervised by the Italian Medicines Agency (A.I.F.A.), aimed to monitor dietary supplements in the Italian market. In two of the eleven specimens under investigation, high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS) allowed the identification of the PDE-5 inhibitors sildenafil and tadalafil, while another specimen proved to contain a unapproved dimethylated thioderivative of sildenafil, thioaildenafil or thiodimethylsildenafil, identified for the first time in Italy as adulterant in food supplements. Copyright © 2014 Forensic Science Society. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Assessment of Small-scale Buffalo Milk Dairy Production-A Premise for a Durable Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marian MIHAIU

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Buffalo husbandry is an important source of income for a number of small-scale producers in Romania that is why an assessment of its� product�s quality is much needed for improvement and evaluation of their vulnerability to international competition. In order to ascertain possible developments in the buffalo dairy sector and to broadly identify areas of intervention that favor small-scale dairy producers, the study examined the potential to improve buffalo milk production by evaluating its authenticity and hygienic quality. The methods used involved the molecular testing (PCR-technique for identifying cow, sheep or goat DNA in the dairy products� samples collected from the small-scale producers market. The hygienic quality of these samples was determined through classical microbiology methods, highly developed techniques (Trek System and PCR for bacterial species confirmation. The results showed that a high percent (65%, from the products found were adulterated with other species milk, mostly cow milk. The most commonly falsified buffalo dairy products were the cheese and the traditional product �telemea�. The prevalence of the bacterial species identified belonged to Listeria innocua and Listeria welshmeri. The conclusion of this study is the need of a durable development system in this particular dairy chain to improve and assure the authenticity and quality of the small-scale producers� products and their reliability for the consumers.

  13. Application of carbon isotope analyses in food technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szanto, Zsuzsa; Svingor, E.; Futo, I.; Palcsu, L.; Molnar, M.

    2001-01-01

    The vast economic size of the food market offers great temptations for the production and sale of fraudulent products, adulterated products and synthetic products that are labeled as natural ones. Conventional techniques of chemical analyses have served the food industry well for many years but are limited in their ability to detect certain types of fraudulent or mislabelled products. The aversion to added sugar and the demand for 'all natural' food products among consumers has led to a great deal of mislabelling on the part of food processors in order to achieve greater economic gain. The nature of deceptions detectable by carbon Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis (SIRA) in food technology falls into three broad categories. The most common is the adulteration of an expensive natural product, such as apple juice, with a much cheaper natural product such as cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The second is outright falsification of a food. An example is maple syrup produced by simple addition of maple flavoring to a sugar syrup or HFCS. The third general category is the sale of synthetic materials as natural ones or the addition of synthetic materials to natural ones in order to increase the volume of the product. The procedure for using carbon SIRA in monitoring food products involves two stages. It must first be established that the product to be analyzed, or some specific component of it, has a particular isotopic composition that can be distinguished from that of the materials that might be used to adulterate it. Potential adulterating components are then analyzed to establish their isotopic identity. The carbon SIRA method cannot, in general, be used to establish purity unequivocally but it can be used to establish impurity or adulteration with a high degree of success. The overall process of carbon SIRA consists of three stages: selection of the sample or the isolation of the particular compound to be analyzed, conversion of this compound into CO 2 gas

  14. Through-container, extremely low concentration detection of multiple chemical markers of counterfeit alcohol using a handheld SORS device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, David I; Eccles, Rebecca; Xu, Yun; Griffen, Julia; Muhamadali, Howbeer; Matousek, Pavel; Goodall, Ian; Goodacre, Royston

    2017-09-21

    Major food adulteration incidents occur with alarming frequency and are episodic, with the latest incident, involving the adulteration of meat from 21 producers in Brazil supplied to 60 other countries, reinforcing this view. Food fraud and counterfeiting involves all types of foods, feed, beverages, and packaging, with the potential for serious health, as well as significant economic and social impacts. In the spirit drinks sector, counterfeiters often 'recycle' used genuine packaging, or employ good quality simulants. To prove that suspect products are non-authentic ideally requires accurate, sensitive, analysis of the complex chemical composition while still in its packaging. This has yet to be achieved. Here, we have developed handheld spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) for the first time in a food or beverage product, and demonstrate the potential for rapid in situ through-container analysis; achieving unequivocal detection of multiple chemical markers known for their use in the adulteration and counterfeiting of Scotch whisky, and other spirit drinks. We demonstrate that it is possible to detect a total of 10 denaturants/additives in extremely low concentrations without any contact with the sample; discriminate between and within multiple well-known Scotch whisky brands, and detect methanol concentrations well below the maximum human tolerable level.

  15. IR laser sensors for the detection food adulteration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giubileo, Gianfranco

    2015-01-01

    The paper reports the results of the project SAL@CQO aimed at the development of instrumentation Innovative optical, laser based sensors, for the improvement of the level of safety of products food and for the detection of food fraud. Through the developed prototypes, the project aims provide on the one hand a means of rapid screening, automated, and to facilitate the use of simplified Work of the Audit Institutions responsible for monitoring and repression of food frauds. On the other hand It intends to provide a method of production chains practical monitoring for the maintenance of a of the final product quality standards. [it

  16. Toxicological evaluation of a dietary supplement formulated for male sexual health prior to market release.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clewell, A; Qureshi, I; Endres, J; Horváth, J; Financsek, I; Neal-Kababick, J; Jade, K; Schauss, A G

    2010-06-01

    The dietary supplement, 112 Degrees, was formulated with the goal of supporting sexual functioning in men. Due to rampant problems with drug adulteration for this category of products, a comprehensive screening for active pharmaceutical agents, with an emphasis on drugs prescribed for erectile dysfunction such as type 5 phosphodiesterase (PDE-5) inhibitors, and known unapproved PDE-5 drug analogues, was performed along with preclinical toxicology studies prior to the introduction of this product into the marketplace. 112 Degrees was found to be free of all pharmaceutical adulterants tested, and was not mutagenic, clastogenic, or genotoxic as demonstrated by the Ames test, chromosomal aberration assay, and mouse micronucleus assay, respectively. The LD(50) in the 14-day acute oral toxicity study was greater than 5000 mg/kg, the highest dose tested. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Authentication of organic and conventional eggs by carotenoid profiling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruth, van S.M.; Alewijn, M.; Rogers, K.; Newton-Smith, E.; Tena, N.; Bollen, M.; Koot, A.H.

    2011-01-01

    Organic production benefits from fair competition and sustained consumer confidence. The latter can only be assured by paper trailing and verification assessments. Traditional analytical strategies for guaranteeing quality and uncovering adulteration have relied on the determination of the amount of

  18. Development and validation of a rapid test system for detection of pork meat and collagen residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masiri, J; Benoit, L; Barrios-Lopez, B; Thienes, C; Meshgi, M; Agapov, A; Dobritsa, A; Nadala, C; Samadpour, M

    2016-11-01

    Mislabeling, contamination, and economic adulteration of meat products with undeclared pork tissues are illegal under regulations promulgated by numerous regulatory agencies. Nonetheless, analysis of the European meat industry has revealed pervasive meat adulteration, necessitating more extensive application of meat authentication testing. As existing methods for meat speciation require specialized equipment and/or training, we developed a detection system based on a lateral flow device (LFD) assay format capable of rapidly (~35min) identifying porcine residues derived from raw meat, cooked meat, and gelatin down to 0.01%, 1.0%, and 2.5% contamination, respectively. Specificity analysis revealed no cross-reactivity with meat derived from chicken, turkey, horse, beef, lamb, or goat. Comparison with a commercial ELISA kit and PCR method revealed similar if not improved sensitivity, with the added feature that the LFD-based system required considerably less time to perform. Accordingly, this test system should aid the food industry and food control authorities in monitoring for adulteration with pork. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. From traditional resource to global commodities: - A comparison of Rhodiola species using NMR spectroscopy - metabolomics and HPTLC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anthony Booker

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The fast developing international trade of products based on traditional knowledge and their value chains has become an important aspect of the ethnopharmacological debate. The structure and diversity of value chains and their impact on the phytochemical composition of herbal medicinal products has been overlooked in the debate about quality problems in transnational trade. Different government policies and regulations governing trade in herbal medicinal products impact on such value chains. Medicinal Rhodiola species, including Rhodiola rosea L. and Rhodiola crenulata (Hook.f. & Thomson H.Ohba, have been used widely in Europe and Asia as traditional herbal medicines with numerous claims for their therapeutic effects. Faced with resource depletion and environment destruction, R. rosea and R. crenulata are becoming endangered, making them more economically valuable to collectors and middlemen, and also increasing the risk of adulteration and low quality. We compare the phytochemical differences among Rhodiola raw materials available on the market to provide a practical method for Rhodiola authentication and the detection of potential adulterant compounds. Samples were collected from Europe and Asia and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis software and high performance thin layer chromatography techniques were used to analyse the samples. A method was developed to quantify the amount of adulterant species contained within mixtures. We compared the phytochemical composition of collected Rhodiola samples to authenticated samples. Rosavin and rosarin were mainly present in R. rosea whereas crenulatin was only present in R. crenulata. 30% of the Rhodiola samples purchased from the Chinese market were adulterated by other Rhodiola spp. Moreover, 7 % of the raw-material samples were not labelled satifactorily. The utilisation of both 1H-NMR and HPTLC methods provided an integrated analysis of the phytochemical

  20. Effects of Wet-Blending on Detection of Melamine in Spray-Dried Lactose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yakes, Betsy Jean; Bergana, Marti M; Scholl, Peter F; Mossoba, Magdi M; Karunathilaka, Sanjeewa R; Ackerman, Luke K; Holton, Jason D; Gao, Boyan; Moore, Jeffrey C

    2017-07-19

    During the development of rapid screening methods to detect economic adulteration, spray-dried milk powders prepared by dissolving melamine in liquid milk exhibited an unexpected loss of characteristic melamine features in the near-infrared (NIR) and Raman spectra. To further characterize this "wet-blending" phenomenon, spray-dried melamine and lactose samples were produced as a simplified model and investigated by NIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR), and direct analysis in real time Fourier transform mass spectrometry (DART-FTMS). In contrast to dry-blended samples, characteristic melamine bands in NIR and Raman spectra disappeared or shifted in wet-blended lactose-melamine samples. Subtle shifts in melamine 1 H NMR spectra between wet- and dry-blended samples indicated differences in melamine hydrogen-bonding status. Qualitative DART-FTMS analysis of powders detected a greater relative abundance of lactose-melamine condensation product ions in the wet-blended samples, which supported a hypothesis that wet-blending facilitates early Maillard reactions in spray-dried samples. Collectively, these data indicated that the formation of weak, H bonded complexes and labile, early Maillard reaction products between lactose and melamine contribute to spectral differences observed between wet- and dry-blended milk powder samples. These results have implications for future evaluations of adulterated powders and emphasize the important role of sample preparation methods on adulterant detection.

  1. Hair analysis for the detection of drug use-is there potential for evasion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marrinan, Shanna; Roman-Urrestarazu, Andres; Naughton, Declan; Levari, Emerlinda; Collins, John; Chilcott, Robert; Bersani, Giuseppe; Corazza, Ornella

    2017-05-01

    Hair analysis for illicit substances is widely used to detect chronic drug consumption or abstention from drugs. Testees are increasingly seeking ways to avoid detection by using a variety of untested adulterant products (e.g., shampoos, cleansers) widely sold online. This study aims to investigate adulteration of hair samples and to assess effectiveness of such methods. The literature on hair test evasion was searched for on PubMed or MEDLINE, Psycinfo, and Google Scholar. Given the sparse nature of peer-reviewed data on this subject, results were integrated with a qualitative assessment of online sources, including user-orientated information or commercial websites, drug fora and "chat rooms". Over four million web sources were identified in a Google search by using "beat hair drug test" and the first 86 were monitored on regular basis and considered for further analysis. Attempts to influence hair test results are widespread. Various "shampoos," and "cleansers" among other products, were found for sale, which claim to remove analytes. Often advertised with aggressive marketing strategies, which include discounts, testimonials, and unsupported claims of efficacy. However, these products may pose serious health hazards and are also potentially toxic. In addition, many anecdotal reports suggest that Novel Psychoactive Substances are also consumed as an evasion technique, as these are not easily detectable via standard drug test. Recent changes on Novel Psychoactive Substances legislations such as New Psychoactive Bill in the UK might further challenge the testing process. Further research is needed by way of chemical analysis and trial of the adulterant products sold online and their effects as well as the development of more sophisticated hair testing techniques. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. [Application of rapid PCR to authenticate medicinal snakes].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Kang; Jiang, Chao; Yuan, Yuan; Huang, Lu-Qi; Li, Man

    2014-10-01

    To obtained an accurate, rapid and efficient method for authenticate medicinal snakes listed in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (Zaocysd humnades, Bungarus multicinctus, Agkistrodon acutus), a rapid PCR method for authenticate snakes and its adulterants was established based on the classic molecular authentication methods. DNA was extracted by alkaline lysis and the specific primers were amplified by two-steps PCR amplification method. The denatured and annealing temperature and cycle numbers were optimized. When 100 x SYBR Green I was added in the PCR product, strong green fluorescence was visualized under 365 nm UV whereas adulterants without. The whole process can complete in 30-45 minutes. The established method provides the technical support for authentication of the snakes on field.

  3. Male enhancement Nutraceuticals in the Middle East market: Claim, pharmaceutical quality and safety assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    ElAgouri, Ghada; ElAmrawy, Fatema; ElYazbi, Ahmed; Eshra, Ahmed; Nounou, Mohamed I

    2015-08-15

    The global market is invaded by male enhancement nutraceuticals claimed to be of natural origin sold with a major therapeutic claim. Most of these products have been reported by international systems like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We hypothesize that these products could represent a major threat to the health of the consumers. In this paper, pharmaceutical evaluation of some of these nutraceutical products sold in Egypt under the therapeutic claim of treating erectile dysfunction, are discussed along with pharmacological evaluation to investigate their safety and efficacy parameters. Samples were analyzed utterly using conventional methods, i.e.: HPLC, HPTLC, NIR, content uniformity and weight variation and friability. The SeDeM system was used for quality assessment. On the basis of the results of this research, the sampled products are adulterated and totally heterogeneous in their adulterant drug content and pharmaceutical quality. These products represent a major safety threat for the consumers in Egypt and the Middle East, especially; the target audience is mostly affected with heart and blood pressure problems seeking natural and safe alternatives to the well-established Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors (PDE-5Is). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Application of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry for identification, confirmation and quantitation of illegal adulterated weight-loss drugs in plant dietary supplements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Qiaoyuan; Shou, Linjun; Chen, Cen; Shi, Shi; Zhou, Minghao

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion trap quadrupole Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap HRMS) method was developed and validated for identification, confirmation and quantitation of illegal adulterated weight-loss drugs in plant dietary supplements. 13 wt-loss drugs were well separated by the gradient elution of 10mmol/L ammonium acetate - 0.05% formic acid H 2 O and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.2mL/min within 12min. The MS analysis was operated under the positive ion and in full MS/dd-MS 2 (data-dependent MS 2 ) mode. The full MS scan with resolution at 60 000 FWHM and narrow mass windows at 5ppm acquired data for identification and quantitation, and dd-MS 2 scan with resolution at 15 000 FWHM obtained product ions for confirmation. The method validation showed good linearity with coefficients of determination (r 2 ) higher than 0.9951 for all analytes. Meantime, all the LOD and LLOQ values were in the respective range of 0.3-2 and 1-9ng/g. The accuracy, intra- and inter-day precision were in the ranges of -1.7 to 3.4%, 1.7-5.0% and 1.9-4.4%, respectively. The mean recoveries ranged from 85.4 to 107.1%, while the absolute and relative matrix effect were in the corresponding range of 98.2-108.6% and 2.6-8.7%. Among 120 batches of weight loss plant dietary supplements, sibutramine and fluoxertine or both were positive in 29 samples. In general, LTQ-Orbitrap HRMS technology was a powerful tool for the analysis of illegal ingredients in dietary supplements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Quality assessment of Tulbaghia rhizomes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jäger, Anna; Stafford, Gary Ivan

    2012-01-01

    fast upon storage, half of the main compound was lost four weeks after harvest. Possible adulterants for Tulbaghiae rhizoma are Allium sativum and Agapanthus campanulatus. It was not possible to detect adulteration with A. sativum, but a simple TLC test could detect adulteration with 10 % A...

  6. Recent advances in the identification and authentication methods of edible bird's nest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ting Hun; Wani, Waseem A; Koay, Yin Shin; Kavita, Supparmaniam; Tan, Eddie Ti Tjih; Shreaz, Sheikh

    2017-10-01

    Edible bird's nest (EBN) is an expensive animal bioproduct due to its reputation as a food and delicacy with diverse medicinal properties. One kilogram of EBN costs ~$6000 in China. EBN and its products are consumed in mostly Asian countries such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, making up almost 1/3 of world population. The rapid growth in EBN consumption has led to a big rise in the trade scale of its global market. Presently, various fake materials such as tremella fungus, pork skin, karaya gum, fish swimming bladder, jelly, agar, monosodium glutamate and egg white are used to adulterate EBNs for earning extra profits. Adulterated or fake EBN may be hazardous to the consumers. Thus, it is necessary to identify of the adulterants. Several sophisticated techniques based on genetics, immunochemistry, spectroscopy, chromatography and gel electrophoresis have been used for the detection of various types of adulterants in EBN. This article describes the recent advances in the authentication methods for EBN. Different genetic, immunochemical, spectroscopic and analytical methods such as genetics (DNA) based techniques, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopic techniques, and chromatographic and gel electrophoretic methods have been discussed. Besides, significance of the reported methods that might pertain them to applications in EBN industry has been described. Finally, efforts have been made to discuss the challenges and future perspectives of the authentication methods for EBN. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Comparison between Mt-DNA D-Loop and Cyt B primers for porcine DNA detection in meat products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamzah, Azhana; Mutalib, Sahilah Abd.; Babji, Abdul Salam

    2013-11-01

    This study was conducted to detect the presence of porcine DNA in meat products in the market using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and commercial PCR-southern hybridization analysis. Porcine DNA detection in meat products was tested due to some issues associated with the adulteration of food products in Malaysia. This is an important issue especially for Halal authentication which is required for some religious practices such as in Islam and Hinduisms. Many techniques have been developed for determining the Halal status of food products. In this paper, mt-DNA D-loop primer and cytochrome (cyt) b were used to detect the presence of porcine DNA in meat products. Positive and negative controls were always present for each batch of extraction. DNA of raw pork meat was used as a positive control while nucleus free water is used as negative control. A pair of oligonucleotide primer was used namely Pork1 and Pork2 which produced amplicon of 531 base pair (bp) in size. While, PCR-southern hybridization was conducted using primers readily supplied by commercial PCR-Southern hybridization and produced amplicon with 276 bp in size. In the present study, demonstrated that none of the samples were contaminated with porcine residuals but selected samples with pork meat were positive. The species-specific PCR amplification yielded excellent results for identification of pork derivatives in food products and it is a potentially reliable and suitable technique in routine food analysis for Halal certification.

  8. Pre-treating water with non-thermal plasma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Young I.; Fridman, Alexander; Rabinovich, Alexander; Cho, Daniel J.

    2017-07-04

    The present invention consists of a method of pre-treatment of adulterated water for distillation, including adulterated water produced during hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") of shale rock during natural gas drilling. In particular, the invention is directed to a method of treating adulterated water, said adulterated water having an initial level of bicarbonate ion in a range of about 250 ppm to about 5000 ppm and an initial level of calcium ion in a range of about 500 ppm to about 50,000 ppm, said method comprising contacting the adulterated water with a non-thermal arc discharge plasma to produce plasma treated water having a level of bicarbonate ion of less than about 100 ppm. Optionally, the plasma treated water may be further distilled.

  9. Species Authentication of Common Meat Based on PCR Analysis of the Mitochondrial COI Gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Zhenyu; Qiao, Jiao; Yang, Siran; Hu, Shen; Zuo, Jingjing; Zhu, Weifeng; Huang, Chunhong

    2015-07-01

    Adulteration of meat products and costly animal-derived commodities with their inferior/cheaper counterparts is a grievous global problem. Species authentication is still technical challenging, especially to those deep processed products. The present study described the design of seven sets of species-specific primer based on a high heterozygous region of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. These primers were proven to have high species specificity and no cross-reactions and unexpected products to different DNA source. Multiplex PCR assay was achieved for rapid and economical identification of four commonly consumed meats (pork, beef, chicken, and mutton). The conventional PCR assay was sensitive down to 0.001 ng of DNA template in the reactant. The developed method was also powerful in detecting as low as 0.1-mg adulterated pork (0.05 % in wt/wt) in an artificial counterfeited mutton. Validation test showed that the assay is specific, reproducible, and robust in commercial deep processed meats, leatherware, and feather commodities. This proposed method will be greatly beneficial to the consumers, food industry, leather, and feather commodity manufacture.

  10. Assessment of herbal medicinal products: Challenges, and opportunities to increase the knowledge base for safety assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jordan, Scott A.; Cunningham, David G.; Marles, Robin J.

    2010-01-01

    Although herbal medicinal products (HMP) have been perceived by the public as relatively low risk, there has been more recognition of the potential risks associated with this type of product as the use of HMPs increases. Potential harm can occur via inherent toxicity of herbs, as well as from contamination, adulteration, plant misidentification, and interactions with other herbal products or pharmaceutical drugs. Regulatory safety assessment for HMPs relies on both the assessment of cases of adverse reactions and the review of published toxicity information. However, the conduct of such an integrated investigation has many challenges in terms of the quantity and quality of information. Adverse reactions are under-reported, product quality may be less than ideal, herbs have a complex composition and there is lack of information on the toxicity of medicinal herbs or their constituents. Nevertheless, opportunities exist to capitalise on newer information to increase the current body of scientific evidence. Novel sources of information are reviewed, such as the use of poison control data to augment adverse reaction information from national pharmacovigilance databases, and the use of more recent toxicological assessment techniques such as predictive toxicology and omics. The integration of all available information can reduce the uncertainty in decision making with respect to herbal medicinal products. The example of Aristolochia and aristolochic acids is used to highlight the challenges related to safety assessment, and the opportunities that exist to more accurately elucidate the toxicity of herbal medicines.

  11. 78 FR 72627 - Notice of Request for Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection (Procedures for the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-03

    ... exercise the functions of the Secretary as specified in the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C... the public by verifying that meat, poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome, not adulterated, and... race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation...

  12. Direct biosensor immunoassays for the detection of nonmilk proteins in milk powder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haasnoot, W.; Olieman, K.; Cazemier, G.; Verheijen, R.

    2001-01-01

    The low prices of some nonmilk proteins make them attractive as potential adulterants in dairy products. An optical biosensor (BIACORE 3000) was used to develop a direct and combined biosensor immunoassay (BIA) for the simultaneous detection of soy, pea, and soluble wheat proteins in milk powders.

  13. Detection of sunflower oil in extra virgin olive oil by fast differential scanning calorimetry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wetten, I.A.; Herwaarden, A.W.; Splinter, R.; Boerrigter-Eenling, R.; Ruth, van S.M.

    2015-01-01

    Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is an economically valuable product, due to its high quality and premium price. Therefore it is vulnerable for adulteration by means of the addition of cheaper vegetable oils. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been suggested as a fast technique for the

  14. DNA sequence analyses of blended herbal products including synthetic cannabinoids as designer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogata, Jun; Uchiyama, Nahoko; Kikura-Hanajiri, Ruri; Goda, Yukihiro

    2013-04-10

    In recent years, various herbal products adulterated with synthetic cannabinoids have been distributed worldwide via the Internet. These herbal products are mostly sold as incense, and advertised as not for human consumption. Although their labels indicate that they contain mixtures of several potentially psychoactive plants, and numerous studies have reported that they contain a variety of synthetic cannabinoids, their exact botanical contents are not always clear. In this study, we investigated the origins of botanical materials in 62 Spice-like herbal products distributed on the illegal drug market in Japan, by DNA sequence analyses and BLAST searches. The nucleotide sequences of four regions were analyzed to identify the origins of each plant species in the herbal mixtures. The sequences of "Damiana" (Turnera diffusa) and Lamiaceae herbs (Mellissa, Mentha and Thymus) were frequently detected in a number of products. However, the sequences of other plant species indicated on the packaging labels were not detected. In a few products, DNA fragments of potent psychotropic plants were found, including marijuana (Cannabis sativa), "Diviner's Sage" (Salvia divinorum) and "Kratom" (Mitragyna speciosa). Their active constituents were also confirmed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), although these plant names were never indicated on the labels. Most plant species identified in the products were different from the plants indicated on the labels. The plant materials would be used mainly as diluents for the psychoactive synthetic compounds, because no reliable psychoactive effects have been reported for most of the identified plants, with the exception of the psychotropic plants named above. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. As Fraudes na Cadeia Produtiva do Leite. Um Estudo de Caso na Região Fronteira Noroeste do Rio Grande do Sul Sob a Luz da Nova Economia Institucional

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Eveline dos Santos Roncato

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available During the years 2013 and 2014 were identified adulteration in milk composition, being recorded by prosecutors cases of agents who had preventive arrest, accused of tampering with the crime results opportunistic situations foods. Similarly, the milk production chain has been showing increasing the tax burden on the sector, rising production costs, fraud and tampering with the product. Thus, this study aims to analyze the effects on transaction costs, the adulteration of the product identified in the operation milk Compensated for producers, transporters, industry and milk consumers in North-West Frontier region of Rio Grande do Sul in the light New Institutional Economics. The case study was conducted in three cities, Boa Vista do Buricá, Horizontina and Três de Maio, through interviews with representatives of institutions. The results show an increase in transaction costs due to opportunistic behavior in the milk chain links, reducing the frequency and increasing the uncertainty of the milk producers and generating losses for both the producer and for the industry and consumers. Thus, it was possible to demonstrate the need of institutional actors examine the chain and promote actions to reorganize the sector and regain credibility in the market.

  16. Detection of honey adulteration using HPLC method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Cwiková

    2015-10-01

    We have further assessed whether honey samples comply with legislative requirements relating to this product or consumer misleading practices take place. Our analysed samples often lacked indication whether it is a floral honey or honeydew honey; this information was missing in eight out of 21 samples. Samples 5 and 9 did not mention the name of manufacturer. Sample 10 did not mention the country of origin.

  17. Increasing Product Confidence-Shifting Paradigms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Marla; Kashyap, Vishal; Cheung, Mee-Shew

    2015-01-01

    Leaders in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and food industries expressed a unilateral concern over product confidence throughout the total product lifecycle, an unsettling fact for these leaders to manage given that their products affect the lives of millions of people each year. Fueled by the heparin incident of intentional adulteration in 2008, initial efforts for increasing product confidence were focused on improving the confidence of incoming materials, with a belief that supplier performance must be the root cause. As in the heparin case, concern over supplier performance extended deep into the supply chain to include suppliers of the suppliers-which is often a blind spot for pharmaceutical, device, and food manufacturers. Resolved to address the perceived lack of supplier performance, these U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated industries began to adopt the supplier relationship management strategy, developed by the automotive industry, that emphasizes "management" of suppliers for the betterment of the manufacturers. Current product and supplier management strategies, however, have not led to a significant improvement in product confidence. As a result of the enduring concern by industry leaders over the lack of product confidence, Xavier University launched the Integrity of Supply Initiative in 2012 with a team of industry leaders and FDA officials. Through a methodical research approach, data generated by the pharmaceutical, medical device, and food manufacturers surprisingly pointed to themselves as a source of the lack of product confidence, and revealed that manufacturers either unknowingly increase the potential for error or can control/prevent many aspects of product confidence failure. It is only through this paradigm shift that manufacturers can work collaboratively with their suppliers as equal partners, instead of viewing their suppliers as "lesser" entities needing to be controlled. The basis of this shift provides manufacturers

  18. Rapid authentication of the precious herb saffron by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) based on internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Mingming; Shi, Yuhua; Wu, Lan; Guo, Licheng; Liu, Wei; Xiong, Chao; Yan, Song; Sun, Wei; Chen, Shilin

    2016-05-05

    Saffron is one of the most expensive species of Chinese herbs and has been subjected to various types of adulteration because of its high price and limited production. The present study introduces a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique for the differentiation of saffron from its adulterants. This novel technique is sensitive, efficient and simple. Six specific LAMP primers were designed on the basis of the nucleotide sequence of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) nuclear ribosomal DNA of Crocus sativus. All LAMP amplifications were performed successfully, and visual detection occurred within 60 min at isothermal conditions of 65 °C. The results indicated that the LAMP primers are accurate and highly specific for the discrimination of saffron from its adulterants. In particular, 10 fg of genomic DNA was determined to be the limit for template accuracy of LAMP in saffron. Thus, the proposed novel, simple, and sensitive LAMP assay is well suited for immediate on-site discrimination of herbal materials. Based on the study, a practical standard operating procedure (SOP) for utilizing the LAMP protocol for herbal authentication is provided.

  19. Využití NIR spektroskopie při kontrole falšování kozích sýrů

    OpenAIRE

    Přikrylová, Iveta

    2014-01-01

    Diploma thesis deals with use of near-infrared spectroscopy to detect falsification of goat's cheese. The basic knowledge of goat's and cow's milk and requirements for milk during cheese production are summarized in the theoretical part. There is also described the cheese production and the following part is devoted to food falsification with describing falsification of milk products and the facilities of adulteration detection by optical methods. The remaining part deals with NIR spectroscop...

  20. Meat species identification by polymerase chain reaction technique to authenticate alheiras de caça

    OpenAIRE

    Santos, C.G.; Melo, V.S.; Amaral, J.S.; Oliveira, M.B.P.P.; Mafra, I.

    2012-01-01

    The manufacture of traditional meat products is a long-established practice in the Northeast of Portugal, being Alheiras one of the most appreciated products. Alheiras are traditional smoked fermented sausages, mainly produced with pork and poultry meat in a mixture with bread and spices. Currently, game meat Alheiras (Alheiras de caça) are also available as very attractive meat products and prone to adulterations. To allow accurate information for consumers and avoid unfair co...

  1. Traceability in the pharmaceutical industry: application to radiopharmaceutical production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zanette, Camila; Melero, Laura T.U.H.; Araujo, Elaine B. de; Mengatti, Jair; Silva, Katia S. de S.

    2011-01-01

    The development of tools to promote the traceability of the drugs in the pharmaceutical industry during all the production chain is a necessary requisite. The traceability system is applied to enable the identification of the origin, destination and exact location of the drug. Traceability optimizes the process chain, reduces errors, is a requirement for quality process, promotes safety for the user and assists in pharmacovigilance. The health regulatory agency in Brazil (ANVISA) will implement a tracking system for medicaments with RDC no. 59 of 2009, to control distribution since the producer until the patients in order to prevent the traffic and adulteration of drugs. Thus, this study discusses the importance and impact of the new traceability system proposed by ANVISA in the production and distribution of radiopharmaceuticals from the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN-CNEN). The radiopharmaceuticals have a difference track when compared with another drug classes. In this context, this RDC would increase the price of the medicines by up to 10%, since it provides deployment of a single stamp supplied by the Mint. Considering that radiopharmaceuticals are not sold to the final consumer (patients), but only for accredited medical clinics and nuclear medicine physicians, and the transport of radiopharmaceuticals is performed by specialized companies licensed by CNEN (National Nuclear Energy Commission), the use of the stamp to ensure authenticity and prevent falsification should not be appropriated and represents and additional cost for the radiopharmaceuticals. (author)

  2. Using SSR-HRM to Identify Closely Related Species in Herbal Medicine Products: A Case Study on Licorice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jingjian; Xiong, Chao; He, Xia; Lu, Zhaocen; Zhang, Xin; Chen, Xiaoyang; Sun, Wei

    2018-01-01

    Traditional herbal medicines have played important roles in the ways of life of people around the world since ancient times. Despite the advanced medical technology of the modern world, herbal medicines are still used as popular alternatives to synthetic drugs. Due to the increasing demand for herbal medicines, plant species identification has become an important tool to prevent substitution and adulteration. Here we propose a method for biological assessment of the quality of prescribed species in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia by use of high resolution melting (HRM) analysis of microsatellite loci. We tested this method on licorice, a traditional herbal medicine with a long history. Results showed that nine simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers produced distinct melting curve profiles for the five licorice species investigated using HRM analysis. These results were validated by capillary electrophoresis. We applied this protocol to commercially available licorice products, thus enabling the consistent identification of 11 labels with non-declared Glycyrrhiza species. This novel strategy may thus facilitate DNA barcoding as a method of identification of closely related species in herbal medicine products. Based on this study, a brief operating procedure for using the SSR-HRM protocol for herbal authentication is provided.

  3. 9 CFR 311.8 - Cattle carcasses affected with anasarca or generalized edema.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... anasarca or generalized edema. 311.8 Section 311.8 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION... ADULTERATED CARCASSES AND PARTS § 311.8 Cattle carcasses affected with anasarca or generalized edema. (a... characterized by an extensive or well-marked generalized edema shall be condemned. (b) Carcasses of cattle...

  4. 9 CFR 311.39 - Biological residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Biological residues. 311.39 Section... Biological residues. Carcasses, organs, or other parts of carcasses of livestock shall be condemned if it is determined that they are adulterated because of the presence of any biological residues. ...

  5. 9 CFR 311.2 - Tuberculosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Tuberculosis. 311.2 Section 311.2... CERTIFICATION DISPOSAL OF DISEASED OR OTHERWISE ADULTERATED CARCASSES AND PARTS § 311.2 Tuberculosis. The... pathogenesis of tuberculosis in swine, cattle, sheep, goats, and equines. (a) Carcasses condemned. The entire...

  6. Establishing Standards on Colors from Natural Sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, James E; Decker, Eric A; Ferruzzi, Mario G; Giusti, M Monica; Mejia, Carla D; Goldschmidt, Mark; Talcott, Stephen T

    2017-11-01

    Color additives are applied to many food, drug, and cosmetic products. With up to 85% of consumer buying decisions potentially influenced by color, appropriate application of color additives and their safety is critical. Color additives are defined by the U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) as any dye, pigment, or substance that can impart color to a food, drug, or cosmetic or to the human body. Under current U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, colors fall into 2 categories as those subject to an FDA certification process and those that are exempt from certification often referred to as "natural" colors by consumers because they are sourced from plants, minerals, and animals. Certified colors have been used for decades in food and beverage products, but consumer interest in natural colors is leading market applications. However, the popularity of natural colors has also opened a door for both unintentional and intentional economic adulteration. Whereas FDA certifications for synthetic dyes and lakes involve strict quality control, natural colors are not evaluated by the FDA and often lack clear definitions and industry accepted quality and safety specifications. A significant risk of adulteration of natural colors exists, ranging from simple misbranding or misuse of the term "natural" on a product label to potentially serious cases of physical, chemical, and/or microbial contamination from raw material sources, improper processing methods, or intentional postproduction adulteration. Consistent industry-wide safety standards are needed to address the manufacturing, processing, application, and international trade of colors from natural sources to ensure quality and safety throughout the supply chain. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  7. Regulatory control of Chinese Proprietary Medicines in Singapore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yee, Shen-Kuan; Chu, Swee-Seng; Xu, Yi-Min; Choo, Peck-Lin

    2005-02-01

    In Singapore, there has been a growing public interest in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which plays an important role in the healthcare system. With effect from 1 September 1999, the control on Chinese Proprietary Medicines (CPM) was implemented in three phases over a span of 3 years. Under the CPM regulatory framework, CPM importers, wholesalers, manufacturers and re-packers must be licensed and CPM products assessed and listed by the health authority before they are allowed for sale. Product assessment is based on the criteria of safety and quality which include limits of toxic heavy metals and microbial contents. During the 3-year CPM listing exercise, irregularities were detected, including intrinsic toxicity, adulteration, substitution, contamination, misidentification, non-traditional and/or inappropriate usage, incorrect preparation, inappropriate labelling, exaggerated claims and/or advertising. The full implementation of CPM control by September 2001 saw the listing of 7943 CPM products and brought about an improvement in the quality and safety of CPM in Singapore as well as the removal of sub-standard, fake/imitation and adulterated products. The standards of practices by local CPM dealers have also been raised. These improvements have, in turn, increased the level of public confidence in CPM products in Singapore.

  8. Ashtawarga plants - Suffering a triple standardization syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virk, Jaswinder Kaur; Gupta, Vikas; Kumar, Sanjiv; Singh, Ranjit; Bansal, Parveen

    2017-10-01

    Ayurveda is one of the oldest known holistic health care systems recommending diverse medicinal uses of plants for prevention and cure of diseases and illness. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the holistic system is gaining more popularity due to its easy availability, low cost, congeniality, better accessibility and higher safety than allopathic medicine. Demand of herbal drugs is increasing day-by-day because of increasing popularity of herbal drugs; however market fails to meet this supply due to numerous factors, one of the important factors being the extinction of these plants from local flora. About 560 herbal species of India have been included in the Red List of Threatened species. Hence to overcome problem of non-availability of endangered species, Department of AYUSH, Govt. of India has permitted the substitution of rare herbal drugs with available substitutes on the basis of Ayurvedic concepts. Due to this, herbal drug industry has started exploiting the situation and now Ayurvedic products are suffering from a serious problem of adulteration with addition of spoiled, inferior, spurious drugs that are inferior in therapeutic/chemical properties and used to enhance profits. Adulteration with other plants degrades the quality and credibility of Ayurvedic medicine. Ashtawarga plants being an important part of many Ayurvedic formulations are also available in a very limited amount and likely to be substituted by cheap adulterants. Keeping in view the above situation, a metadata analysis has been conducted to find out types of adulteration/substitutions malpractices going on for Ashtawarga plants.

  9. Quality analysis of commercial samples of Ziziphi spinosae semen (suanzaoren by means of chromatographic fingerprinting assisted by principal component analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuai Sun

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Due to the scarcity of resources of Ziziphi spinosae semen (ZSS, many inferior goods and even adulterants are generally found in medicine markets. To strengthen the quality control, HPLC fingerprint common pattern established in this paper showed three main bioactive compounds in one chromatogram simultaneously. Principal component analysis based on DAD signals could discriminate adulterants and inferiorities. Principal component analysis indicated that all samples could be mainly regrouped into two main clusters according to the first principal component (PC1, redefined as Vicenin II and the second principal component (PC2, redefined as zizyphusine. PC1 and PC2 could explain 91.42% of the variance. Content of zizyphusine fluctuated more greatly than that of spinosin, and this result was also confirmed by the HPTLC result. Samples with low content of jujubosides and two common adulterants could not be used equivalently with authenticated ones in clinic, while one reference standard extract could substitute the crude drug in pharmaceutical production. Giving special consideration to the well-known bioactive saponins but with low response by end absorption, a fast and cheap HPTLC method for quality control of ZSS was developed and the result obtained was commensurate well with that of HPLC analysis. Samples having similar fingerprints to HPTLC common pattern targeting at saponins could be regarded as authenticated ones. This work provided a faster and cheaper way for quality control of ZSS and laid foundation for establishing a more effective quality control method for ZSS. Keywords: Adulterant, Common pattern, Principal component analysis, Quality control, Ziziphi spinosae semen

  10. Análise da adulteração de méis por açúcares comerciais utilizando-se a composição isotópica de carbono Honey adulteration analysis by commercial sugars additions using the stable carbon isotope composition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nádia F. ROSSI

    1999-05-01

    Full Text Available O mel é um alimento apreciado por seu sabor característico e pelo seu considerável valor nutritivo. Devido a oferta do produto ser menor que a procura, seu preço é relativamente alto, incentivando sua adulteração. Geralmente, a adulteração do mel é feita através da adição de açúcares comerciais, derivados de cana-de-açúcar e milho. Como essas plantas têm uma composição isotópica do carbono distinta das plantas utilizadas pelas abelhas como fonte de néctar (flores silvestres, citros e eucaliptos, é possível utilizar a composição isotópica do carbono de amostras de mel para se avaliar a adulteração desse produto por açúcares comerciais oriundos da cana e do milho. Foram analisadas amostras de plantas pertencentes ao ciclo fotos-sintético C3, subprodutos de plantas C4 (açúcares comerciais e 61 amostras de mel obtidas no mercado. As plantas C3 analisadas apresentaram valores de d13C de -28,9±1,1‰ (n=8, enquanto os açúcares apresentaram valores de -11,1±0,7‰ (n=3. Das 61 amostras de mel analisadas, cerca de 8% (5 amostras tiveram sinais claros de adulteração. A amostra de número 34 teve um valor igual a -12,9‰, indicando que açúcar puro de cana-de-açúcar ou milho estaria sendo comercializado como mel. As amostras 13, 14, 33 e 54 apresentaram valores iguais a -21,0; -19,9; -21,9 e -17,6‰, respectivamente. Esses valores indicam também adição de açúcares de cana-de-açúcar ou milho, no entanto em menor proporção. A metodologia testada neste trabalho foi aprovada como um método simples, confiável e complementar aos métodos químicos e físicos convencionais visando detectar adulteração de mel.Honey is a known product for its nutritional value. Considering that offer is smaller than the market demand, honey is relatively expensive. This fact contribute to the incentive of its adulteration by commercial sugars derived from sugar cane and corn. As these plants have a distinct stable carbon

  11. 9 CFR 311.25 - Parasites not transmissible to man; tapeworm cysts in sheep; hydatid cysts; flukes; gid bladder...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Parasites not transmissible to man... DISEASED OR OTHERWISE ADULTERATED CARCASSES AND PARTS § 311.25 Parasites not transmissible to man; tapeworm... man, the following general rules shall govern except as otherwise provided in this section: If the...

  12. Dietary supplements containing prohibited substances: A review ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    many years to boost, even by small margins, their strength and per- formance. ... training or competition routine, even if the rationale for using these products is not .... Dietary supplements adulterated with sibutramine, an anti-obesity agent, which do .... for weight loss and athletic performance: A meta-analysis. JAMA 2003 ...

  13. 9 CFR 311.15 - Brucellosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Brucellosis. 311.15 Section 311.15... CERTIFICATION DISPOSAL OF DISEASED OR OTHERWISE ADULTERATED CARCASSES AND PARTS § 311.15 Brucellosis. Carcasses affected with localized lesions of brucellosis may be passed for human food after the affected parts are...

  14. Challenges About Determining The Amount Of Melamine In Dairy Products

    OpenAIRE

    Leandro Freire dos Santos; Hélio Hiroshi Suguimoto

    2014-01-01

    Melamine (IUPAC= 2,4,6-triamine-1,3,5-triazine); C3 H6 N6 ; pKa = 5.1; MW= 126.12 g/mol; Fig 1) is a synthetic compound widely used in the manufacture of resins and plastics to increase thermal resistance, as well it is applied in manufacture of flame retardants, fertilizer, coatings, laminates, adhesives, glues and commercial filters [1-3]. For the first time in 2008, the world was “appalled” by the news that Chinese babies have developed kidney stones caused by consumption of adulterated mi...

  15. Composition, characterization and atherogenic potential of oils, fats and other by products produced or marketed in Costa Rica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castro Bolanos, Monserrat; Herrera Ramirez, Carlos H.; Lutz Cruz, Giselle

    2005-01-01

    Cardiovascular diseases are very common among Costa Rican people. They are related to diets high in lipids that cause arterial damage. The present study was undertaken to determine the quality of fats and oils consumed more frequently in our country. 15 different brands of butter and margarines (A, B, D1 to D11), 7 types of vegetable fat (E1 to E7) and 14 different brands of sunflower oil (EG1 to EG3), corn oil (EM1 to EM3), olive oil (EO1 to EO4), soy oil (ES1 to ES3) and palm oil (EV) were collected and identified. 67 percent of the products were made in Costa Rica, 33% were imported products. Using gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, fatty acid composition, iodine and saponification number, average molecular weight, carbon-carbon double bond number, allyl and double aryl hydrogens were determined in the lipid fraction of the 36 different products. Two types of butter and one type of oil were found adulterated with triacylglycerols of different kind or source. Susceptibility of the products to lipid oxidation was determined only in terms of double bond number and allyl and double alryl hydrogens. Sunflower, corn and olive oils were the most susceptible products. Through polyunsaturated fatty acids / saturated fatty acids relation and atherogenic index the atherogenic potential of the products was evaluated. The findings were that 2 types of butter and 5 types of vegetable fat were the most injurious ones. (author) [es

  16. 9 CFR 311.3 - Hog cholera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Hog cholera. 311.3 Section 311.3... CERTIFICATION DISPOSAL OF DISEASED OR OTHERWISE ADULTERATED CARCASSES AND PARTS § 311.3 Hog cholera. (a) The carcasses of all hogs affected with hog cholera shall be condemned. (b) Inconclusive but suspicious symptoms...

  17. 9 CFR 311.7 - Arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Arthritis. 311.7 Section 311.7 Animals... CERTIFICATION DISPOSAL OF DISEASED OR OTHERWISE ADULTERATED CARCASSES AND PARTS § 311.7 Arthritis. (a) Carcasses affected with arthritis which is localized and not associated with systemic change may be passed for human...

  18. The Potential Power of Bar-HRM Technology in Herbal Medicine Identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Wei; Li, Jing-Jian; Xiong, Chao; Zhao, Bo; Chen, Shi-Lin

    2016-01-01

    The substitution of low-cost or adulterated herbal products for high-priced herbs makes it important to be able to identify and trace herbal plant species and their processed products in the drug supply chain. PCR-based methods play an increasing role in monitoring the safety of herbal medicines by detecting adulteration. Recent studies have shown the potential of DNA barcoding combined with high resolution melting (Bar-HRM) analysis in herbal medicine identification. This method involves precisely monitoring the change in fluorescence caused by the release of an intercalating DNA dye from a DNA duplex as it is denatured by a gradual increase in temperature. Since the melting profile depends on the GC content, length, and strand complementarity of the amplification product, Bar-HRM analysis opens up the possibility of detecting single-base variants or species-specific differences in a short region of DNA. This review summarizes key factors affecting Bar-HRM analysis and describes how Bar-HRM is performed. We then discuss advances in Bar-HRM analysis of medicinal plant ingredients (herbal materia medica) as a contribution toward safe and effective herbal medicines.

  19. Genuineness assessment of mandarin essential oils employing gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio MS (GC-C-IRMS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schipilliti, Luisa; Tranchida, Peter Quinto; Sciarrone, Danilo; Russo, Marina; Dugo, Paola; Dugo, Giovanni; Mondello, Luigi

    2010-03-01

    Cold-pressed mandarin essential oils are products of great economic importance in many parts of the world and are used in perfumery, as well as in food products. Reconstituted mandarin oils are easy to find on the market; useful information on essential oil authenticity, quality, extraction technique, geographic origin and biogenesis can be attained through high-resolution GC of the volatile fraction, or enantioselective GC, using different chiral stationary phases. Stable isotope ratio analysis has gained considerable interest for the unveiling of citrus oil adulteration, detecting small differences in the isotopic carbon composition and providing plenty of information concerning the discrimination among products of different geographical origin and the adulteration of natural essential oils with synthetic or natural compounds. In the present research, the authenticity of several mandarin essential oils was assessed through the employment of GC hyphenated to isotope ratio MS, conventional GC flame ionization detector, enantioselective GC and HPLC. Commercial mandarin oils and industrial natural (declared as such) mandarin essential oils, characterized by different harvest periods and geographic origins, were subjected to analysis. The results attained were compared with those of genuine cold-pressed Italian mandarin oils, obtained during the 2008-2009 harvest season.

  20. Species identification in meat products: A new screening method based on high resolution melting analysis of cyt b gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez-Oceja, A; Nuñez, C; Baeta, M; Gamarra, D; de Pancorbo, M M

    2017-12-15

    Meat adulteration by substitution with lower value products and/or mislabeling involves economic, health, quality and socio-religious issues. Therefore, identification and traceability of meat species has become an important subject to detect possible fraudulent practices. In the present study the development of a high resolution melt (HRM) screening method for the identification of eight common meat species is reported. Samples from Bos taurus, Ovis aries, Sus scrofa domestica, Equus caballus, Oryctolagus cuniculus, Gallus gallus domesticus, Meleagris gallopavo and Coturnix coturnix were analyzed through the amplification of a 148 bp fragment from the cyt b gene with a universal primer pair in HRM analyses. Melting profiles from each species, as well as from several DNA mixtures of these species and blind samples, allowed a successful species differentiation. The results demonstrated that the HRM method here proposed is a fast, reliable, and low-cost screening technique. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. The cutting of cocaine and heroin: A critical review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broséus, Julian; Gentile, Natacha; Esseiva, Pierre

    2016-05-01

    The illicit drug cutting represents a complex problem that requires the sharing of knowledge from addiction studies, toxicology, criminology and criminalistics. Therefore, cutting is not well known by the forensic community. Thus, this review aims at deciphering the different aspects of cutting, by gathering information mainly from criminology and criminalistics. It tackles essentially specificities of cocaine and heroin cutting. The article presents the detected cutting agents (adulterants and diluents), their evolution in time and space and the analytical methodology implemented by forensic laboratories. Furthermore, it discusses when, in the history of the illicit drug, cutting may take place. Moreover, researches studying how much cutting occurs in the country of destination are analysed. Lastly, the reasons for cutting are addressed. According to the literature, adulterants are added during production of the illicit drug or at a relatively high level of its distribution chain (e.g. before the product arrives in the country of destination or just after its importation in the latter). Their addition seems hardly justified by the only desire to increase profits or to harm consumers' health. Instead, adulteration would be performed to enhance or to mimic the illicit drug effects or to facilitate administration of the drug. Nowadays, caffeine, diltiazem, hydroxyzine, levamisole, lidocaïne and phenacetin are frequently detected in cocaine specimens, while paracetamol and caffeine are almost exclusively identified in heroin specimens. This may reveal differences in the respective structures of production and/or distribution of cocaine and heroin. As the relevant information about cutting is spread across different scientific fields, a close collaboration should be set up to collect essential and unified data to improve knowledge and provide information for monitoring, control and harm reduction purposes. More research, on several areas of investigation, should be

  2. Use of molecular biology techniques in the detection of fraud meat in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Food safety and quality are major concerns and any case of food adulteration has a great impact on public opinion. Identification of animal species used in commercial meat products is important with respect to economic and sanitary issues. The aim of this research was to detect ruminant and equine species in minced meat ...

  3. Proteomics in quality control: Whey protein-based supplements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrido, Bruno Carius; Souza, Gustavo H M F; Lourenço, Daniela C; Fasciotti, Maíra

    2016-09-16

    The growing consumption of nutritional supplements might represent a problem, given the concern about the quality of these supplements. One of the most used supplements is whey protein (WP); because of its popularity, it has been a target of adulteration with substitute products, such as cheaper proteins with lower biological value. To investigate this type of adulteration, this study used shotgun proteomics analyses by MS(E) (multiplexed, low- and high-collision energy, data-independent acquisition) of WP-based supplements. Seventeen WP-based supplement samples were evaluated. Chicken, maize, rice, potato, soybean, and wheat proteins were considered as probable sources of bovine whey adulteration. Collectively, 523 proteins were identified across all 16 samples and replicates, with 94% of peptides inside a normal distribution within 10ppm of maximum error. In 10 of the 16 samples analyzed, only proteins from bovine whey could be detected, while in the other samples several other protein sources were detected in high concentrations, especially soybean, wheat, and rice. These results point out a probable adulteration and/or sample contamination during manufacturing that could only be detected using this proteomic approach. The present work shows how shotgun proteomics can be used to provide reliable answers in quality control matters, especially focusing on Whey Protein nutritional supplements which are a very popular subject in food and nutrition. In order to achieve an appropriate methodology, careful evaluation was performed applying extremely rigorous quality criteria, established for the proteomic analysis. These criteria and the methodological approach used in this work might serve as a guide for other authors seeking to use proteomics in quality control. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Selection and authentication of botanical materials for the development of analytical methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Applequist, Wendy L; Miller, James S

    2013-05-01

    Herbal products, for example botanical dietary supplements, are widely used. Analytical methods are needed to ensure that botanical ingredients used in commercial products are correctly identified and that research materials are of adequate quality and are sufficiently characterized to enable research to be interpreted and replicated. Adulteration of botanical material in commerce is common for some species. The development of analytical methods for specific botanicals, and accurate reporting of research results, depend critically on correct identification of test materials. Conscious efforts must therefore be made to ensure that the botanical identity of test materials is rigorously confirmed and documented through preservation of vouchers, and that their geographic origin and handling are appropriate. Use of material with an associated herbarium voucher that can be botanically identified is always ideal. Indirect methods of authenticating bulk material in commerce, for example use of organoleptic, anatomical, chemical, or molecular characteristics, are not always acceptable for the chemist's purposes. Familiarity with botanical and pharmacognostic literature is necessary to determine what potential adulterants exist and how they may be distinguished.

  5. Tools to Ensure Safe Medicines: New Monograph Tests in USP-NF

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Sheehan

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes USP-NF compendial updates to six ‘high-priority” excipient monographs: Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Sorbitol Solution, Sorbitol Sorbitan Solution, Noncrystallizing Sorbitol Solution and Maltitol Solution. The USP-NF revisions arose from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s requests to include, as part of each monograph’s Identification test, a limit test to detect the presence of Diethylene Glycol (DEG, a toxic adulterant. These revisions align with the 2007 FDA Guidance for Industry: Testing of Glycerin for Diethylene Glycol (1, that drug product manufacturers perform a specific identity test for DEG on all containers of all lots of glycerin before glycerin is used in the manufacture and preparation of drug products. This paper describes several risk factors due to a complex global excipient supply chain, nonspecific specifications, inadequate supply chain qualification, and poor understanding of regulations. Strengthening and conformance to compendial specifications is one of the tools necessary to mitigate risk and help prevent the next DEG adulteration that is part of USP’s efforts to ensure safe medicines.

  6. Using Real-Time PCR as a tool for monitoring the authenticity of commercial coffees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Thiago; Farah, Adriana; Oliveira, Tatiane C; Lima, Ivanilda S; Vitório, Felipe; Oliveira, Edna M M

    2016-05-15

    Coffee is one of the main food products commercialized in the world. Its considerable market value among food products makes it susceptible to adulteration, especially with cereals. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a method based on Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for detection of cereals in commercial ground roast and soluble coffees. After comparison with standard curves obtained by serial dilution of DNA extracted from barley, corn and rice, the method was sensitive and specific to quantify down to 0.6 pg, 14 pg and 16 pg of barley, corn and rice DNA, respectively. To verify the applicability of the method, 30 commercial samples obtained in different countries were evaluated and those classified as gourmets or superior did not present the tested cereals DNA. However, barley was detected in various traditional (cheaper) samples from South America. In addition, corn and rice were also detected in different samples. Real-Time PCR showed to be suitable for detection of food adulterants in commercial ground roast and soluble coffees. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Bar-HRM for Authentication of Plant-Based Medicines: Evaluation of Three Medicinal Products Derived from Acanthaceae Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osathanunkul, Maslin; Madesis, Panagiotis; de Boer, Hugo

    2015-01-01

    Medicinal plants are used as a popular alternative to synthetic drugs, both in developed and developing countries. The economic importance of the herbal and natural supplement industry is increasing every year. As the herbal industry grows, consumer safety is one issue that cannot be overlooked. Herbal products in Thai local markets are commonly sold without packaging or labels. Plant powders are stored in large bags or boxes, and therefore buying local herbal products poses a high risk of acquiring counterfeited, substituted and/or adulterated products. Due to these issues, a reliable method to authenticate products is needed. Here DNA barcoding was used in combination with High Resolution Melting analysis (Bar-HRM) to authenticate three medicinal Acanthaceae species (Acanthus ebracteatus, Andrographis paniculata and Rhinacanthus nasutus) commonly used in Thailand. The rbcL barcode was selected for use in primers design for HRM analysis to produce standard melting profiles of the selected species. Melting data from the HRM assay using the designed rbcL primers showed that the three chosen species could be distinguished from each other. HRM curves of all fifteen test samples indicated that three of tested products did not contain the indicated species. Two closely related species (A. paniculata and R. nasutus), which have a high level of morphological similarity, were interchanged with one another in three tested products. Incorrect information on packaging and labels of the tested herbal products was the cause of the results shown here. Morphological similarity among the species of interest also hindered the collection process. The Bar-HRM method developed here proved useful in aiding in the identification and authentication of herbal species in processed samples. In the future, species authentication through Bar-HRM could be used to promote consumer trust, as well as raising the quality of herbal products.

  8. Determinação da diferença entre o valor real e o teórico do triglicerídeo ECN 42 para a detecção de adulteração em azeites de oliva comercializados no Brasil Calculation of the difference between the actual and theoretical ECN 42 triacylglyceride content to detect adulteration in olive oil samples commercialized in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabria Aued-Pimentel

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The difference between the actual ECN 42 triacylglyceride content in vegetable oils, obtained by HPLC analysis, and the theoretical value calculated from the fatty acid composition was applied to detect the addition of seed oils with high contents of linoleic acid to olive oils commercialized in Brazil. The results indicate that samples analyzed were probably adulterated with low commercial value seed oils, rich in linoleic acid, like soybean, sunflower or corn.

  9. Metabolites of 5F-AKB-48, a synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist, identified in human urine and liver microsomal preparations using liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Niels Bjerre; Pedersen, Anders Just; Dalsgaard, Petur Weihe

    2015-01-01

    New types of synthetic cannabinoid designer drugs are constantly introduced to the illicit drug market to circumvent legislation. Recently, N-​(1-Adamant​yl)-​1-​(5-​fluoropentyl)-​1H-​indazole-​3-​carboxamide (5F-AKB-48), also known as 5F-APINACA, was identified as an adulterant in herbal products...

  10. Thermal oxidation process accelerates degradation of the olive oil mixed with sunflower oil and enables its discrimination using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and chemometric analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mabood, Fazal; Boqué, Ricard; Folcarelli, Rita; Busto, Olga; Al-Harrasi, Ahmed; Hussain, Javid

    2015-05-01

    We have investigated the effect of thermal treatment on the discrimination of pure extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) samples from EVOO samples adulterated with sunflower oil. Two groups of samples were used. One group was analyzed at room temperature (25 °C) and the other group was thermally treated in a thermostatic water bath at 75 °C for 8 h, in contact with air and with light exposure, to favor oxidation. All samples were then measured with synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence spectra were acquired by varying the excitation wavelength in the region from 250 to 720 nm. In order to optimize the differences between excitation and emission wavelengths, four constant differential wavelengths, i.e., 20 nm, 40 nm, 60 nm and 80 nm, were tried. Partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to discriminate between pure and adulterated oils. It was found that the 20 nm difference was the optimal, at which the discrimination models showed the best results. The best PLS-DA models were those built with the difference spectra (75-25 °C), which were able to discriminate pure from adulterated oils at a 2% level of adulteration. Furthermore, PLS regression models were built to quantify the level of adulteration. Again, the best model was the one built with the difference spectra, with a prediction error of 1.75% of adulteration.

  11. Traditional Medicinal Oils Sourced from Birds: Anti-inflammatories and Potential Immunoregulants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Athol; Hancock, Gerald; Wells, John; Whitehouse, Michael

    2015-01-01

    This chapter describes medicinal oils of animal origin, used in Africa and Australasia both for nutritional and medicinally for treating pain and inflammation. Analytical studies of composition, bio-efficacy and their remarkable safety are described. For obtaining reproducible benefits, it is very important to introduce Quality Controls whenever possible. These should cover all stages of production, storage and certify the 'truth in their advertising': to help eliminate adulterated products and false claims for purity and potency.

  12. Detection of partridge meat for the authentication of “alheiras de caça” using polymerase chain reaction

    OpenAIRE

    Santos, C.G.; Melo, V.S.; Mafra, I.; Amaral, J.S.; Costa, J.; Oliveira, M.B.P.P.

    2011-01-01

    The manufacture or traditional meat products is a long-eslablished lradition in Northeastern region of Portugal, in particular the case of "Alheiras" Besides the traditional "Alheiras" mainly produced with pork and poultry meat, others are currently available in lhe market. which are produced with diffcrcnt game meats, such as "Alhciras de caça" Since this kind of mcat products are prepared using more expensive meats, they are prone to adulterations due to the economic profit t...

  13. A Simultaneous Analytical Method for Duplex Identification of Porcine and Horse in the Meat Products by EvaGreen based Real-time PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakalar, Ergün; Ergün, Seyma Özçirak; Akar, Emine

    2015-01-01

    A duplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assay for the detection of porcine and horse meat in sausages was designed by using EvaGreen fluorescent dye. Primers were selected from mitochondrial 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes which are powerful regions for identification of horse and porcine meat. DNA from reference samples and industrial products was successfully extracted using the GIDAGEN® Multi-Fast DNA Isolation Kit. Genomes were identified based on their specific melting peaks (Mp) which are 82.5℃ and 78℃ for horse and porcine, respectively. The assay used in this study allowed the detection of as little as 0.0001% level of horse meat and 0.001% level of porcine meat in the experimental admixtures. These findings indicate that EvaGreen based duplex real-time PCR is a potentially sensitive, reliable, rapid and accurate assay for the detection of meat species adulterated with porcine and horse meats.

  14. Application of Metabolomics to Quality Control of Natural Product Derived Medicines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kyung-Min; Jeon, Jun-Yeong; Lee, Byeong-Ju; Lee, Hwanhui; Choi, Hyung-Kyoon

    2017-11-01

    Metabolomics has been used as a powerful tool for the analysis and quality assessment of the natural product (NP)-derived medicines. It is increasingly being used in the quality control and standardization of NP-derived medicines because they are composed of hundreds of natural compounds. The most common techniques that are used in metabolomics consist of NMR, GC-MS, and LC-MS in combination with multivariate statistical analyses including principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Currently, the quality control of the NP-derived medicines is usually conducted using HPLC and is specified by one or two indicators. To create a superior quality control framework and avoid adulterated drugs, it is necessary to be able to determine and establish standards based on multiple ingredients using metabolic profiling and fingerprinting. Therefore, the application of various analytical tools in the quality control of NP-derived medicines forms the major part of this review. Veregen ® (Medigene AG, Planegg/Martinsried, Germany), which is the first botanical prescription drug approved by US Food and Drug Administration, is reviewed as an example that will hopefully provide future directions and perspectives on metabolomics technologies available for the quality control of NP-derived medicines.

  15. Safety and efficacy of health supplement for weight loss

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saliza Ibrahim

    2016-01-01

    Conclusions: Ministry of Health has banned the selling of acai berry ABC in Malaysia due to adulteration with sibutramine which may risk and harmful to cardiovascular disease patient. As for Malaysian, it is not safe to consume the product that contains with control poison without consultation from physician or pharmacist. It is a pharmacist responsibility to educate people to consume an only product that registered with Ministry of Health. Malaysian should always consult with a physician or pharmacist if any confusion regarding any product that they have been consumed.

  16. Feasibility analysis of organic Tea authentication using 15N natural abundance method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng Haiqiang; Pan Zhiqiang; Yu Cuiping; Wang Xiaochang

    2011-01-01

    Organic agricultural products were always adulterated by pollutant-free agricultural products in market because of lacking of available authentication technique. Organic tea was one of the largest organic agricultural products in China which are facing the same problem and can not be accepted by consumers. In this paper, based on the newest information of δ 15 N from soil-plant-fertilizer system, a new method was suggested to identify whether N fertilizer was applied to organic tea in producing processing. Meanwhile, the principle of this new method and its feasibility were discussed. (authors)

  17. Access and use of information resources in assessing health risks from chemicals in food

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, W.A. [Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD (United States)

    1990-12-31

    The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for the wholesomeness, safety, and adulteration-free status of meat and poultry. The agency developed the National Residue Program (NRP) to monitor these products for residue of drugs, pesticides, and environmental contaminants. Today, few chemical residues are detected in meat and poultry because of the success of the NRP. 3 figs.

  18. Adverse effects of levamisole in cocaine users: a review and risk assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunt, Tibor Markus; van den Berg, Jorrit; Pennings, Ed; Venhuis, Bastiaan

    2017-06-01

    The immunomodulatory adjuvant and antihelminth levamisole is increasingly used as an adulterant in cocaine worldwide. An accumulating body of clinical and toxicological literature has appeared since 2010 describing neutropenia, agranulocytosis, leukoencephalopathy and vasculitis in cases associated with levamisole-adulterated cocaine. Mostly, neutropenia and agranulocytosis were reported, characterized by a decimation of neutrophils. A large proportion of cases also involved vasculopathy, characterized by pronounced black and purple skin purpura with cutaneous necrosis. Females are more susceptible for both agranulocytosis and vasculitis. Another complication reported with levamisole-adulterated cocaine is leukoencephalopathy, a disabling and potentially fatal neurological disorder caused by cerebral demyelination. In this review, all adverse effects associated with therapeutic levamisole and levamisole-adulterated cocaine are described. In addition, this review provides an update of the pharmacology of levamisole, its metabolism, including toxic metabolites and metabolites that are relevant for levamisole's addition to cocaine. Special emphasis is put on the immunopathology and the dose-effect relationship of chronic levamisole exposure. Finally, a risk assessment is provided based on the current level of levamisole adulteration in street cocaine, the dose range calculated per gram and the pattern of chronic exposure in heavy or dependent users.

  19. Use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics for the authentication of avocado oil in ternary mixtures with sunflower and soybean oils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez-Sotelo, Paola; Hernández-Martínez, Maylet; Osorio-Revilla, Guillermo; Meza-Márquez, Ofelia Gabriela; García-Ochoa, Felipe; Gallardo-Velázquez, Tzayhrí

    2016-07-01

    Avocado oil is a high-value and nutraceutical oil whose authentication is very important since the addition of low-cost oils could lower its beneficial properties. Mid-FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics was used to detect and quantify adulteration of avocado oil with sunflower and soybean oils in a ternary mixture. Thirty-seven laboratory-prepared adulterated samples and 20 pure avocado oil samples were evaluated. The adulterated oil amount ranged from 2% to 50% (w/w) in avocado oil. A soft independent modelling class analogy (SIMCA) model was developed to discriminate between pure and adulterated samples. The model showed recognition and rejection rate of 100% and proper classification in external validation. A partial least square (PLS) algorithm was used to estimate the percentage of adulteration. The PLS model showed values of R(2) > 0.9961, standard errors of calibration (SEC) in the range of 0.3963-0.7881, standard errors of prediction (SEP estimated) between 0.6483 and 0.9707, and good prediction performances in external validation. The results showed that mid-FTIR spectroscopy could be an accurate and reliable technique for qualitative and quantitative analysis of avocado oil in ternary mixtures.

  20. Raman spectroscopy method for subsurface detection of food powders through plastic layers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) powder, valued for both medicinal properties and culinary use, has been subject to economically driven hazardous chemical adulteration by the similarly colored but toxic metanil yellow. Such adulterated food powders in sealed containers can often go undetected due to lack...

  1. A reliable and validated LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantification of 4 cannabinoids in 40 consumer products.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingfang Meng

    Full Text Available In the past 50 years, Cannabis sativa (C. sativa has gone from a substance essentially prohibited worldwide to one that is gaining acceptance both culturally and legally in many countries for medicinal and recreational use. As additional jurisdictions legalize Cannabis products and the variety and complexity of these products surpass the classical dried plant material, appropriate methods for measuring the biologically active constituents is paramount to ensure safety and regulatory compliance. While there are numerous active compounds in C. sativa the primary cannabinoids of regulatory and safety concern are (--Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, cannabidiol (CBD, and their respective acidic forms THCA-A and CBDA. Using the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA bioanalytical method validation guidelines we developed a sensitive, selective, and accurate method for the simultaneous analysis CBD, CBDA, THC, and THCA-A in oils and THC & CBD in more complex matrices. This HPLC-MS/MS method was simple and reliable using standard sample dilution and homogenization, an isocratic chromatographic separation, and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ for analytes was 0.195 ng/mL over a 0.195-50.0 ng/mL range of quantification with a coefficient of correlation of >0.99. Average intra-day and inter-day accuracies were 94.2-112.7% and 97.2-110.9%, respectively. This method was used to quantify CBD, CBDA, THC, and THCA-A in 40 commercial hemp products representing a variety of matrices including oils, plant materials, and creams/cosmetics. All products tested met the federal regulatory restrictions on THC content in Canada (1,000 (an oil-based product. Overall, the method proved amenable to the analysis of various commercial products including oils, creams, and plant material and may be diagnostically indicative of adulteration with non-hemp C. sativa, specialized hemp cultivars, or unique manufacturing methods.

  2. The US regulatory and pharmacopeia response to the global heparin contamination crisis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szajek, Anita Y; Chess, Edward; Johansen, Kristian; Gratzl, Gyöngyi; Gray, Elaine; Keire, David; Linhardt, Robert J; Liu, Jian; Morris, Tina; Mulloy, Barbara; Nasr, Moheb; Shriver, Zachary; Torralba, Pearle; Viskov, Christian; Williams, Roger; Woodcock, Janet; Workman, Wesley; Al-Hakim, Ali

    2016-06-09

    The contamination of the widely used lifesaving anticoagulant drug heparin in 2007 has drawn renewed attention to the challenges that are associated with the characterization, quality control and standardization of complex biological medicines from natural sources. Heparin is a linear, highly sulfated polysaccharide consisting of alternating glucosamine and uronic acid monosaccharide residues. Heparin has been used successfully as an injectable antithrombotic medicine since the 1930s, and its isolation from animal sources (primarily porcine intestine) as well as its manufacturing processes have not changed substantially since its introduction. The 2007 heparin contamination crisis resulted in several deaths in the United States and hundreds of adverse reactions worldwide, revealing the vulnerability of a complex global supply chain to sophisticated adulteration. This Perspective discusses how the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) and international stakeholders collaborated to redefine quality expectations for heparin, thus making an important natural product better controlled and less susceptible to economically motivated adulteration.

  3. [Restriction endonuclease digest - melting curve analysis: a new SNP genotyping and its application in traditional Chinese medicine authentication].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Chao; Huang, Lu-Qi; Yuan, Yuan; Chen, Min; Hou, Jing-Yi; Wu, Zhi-Gang; Lin, Shu-Fang

    2014-04-01

    Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) is an important molecular marker in traditional Chinese medicine research, and it is widely used in TCM authentication. The present study created a new genotyping method by combining restriction endonuclease digesting with melting curve analysis, which is a stable, rapid and easy doing SNP genotyping method. The new method analyzed SNP genotyping of two chloroplast SNP which was located in or out of the endonuclease recognition site, the results showed that when attaching a 14 bp GC-clamp (cggcgggagggcgg) to 5' end of the primer and selecting suited endonuclease to digest the amplification products, the melting curve of Lonicera japonica and Atractylodes macrocephala were all of double peaks and the adulterants Shan-yin-hua and A. lancea were of single peaks. The results indicated that the method had good stability and reproducibility for identifying authentic medicines from its adulterants. It is a potential SNP genotyping method and named restriction endonuclease digest - melting curve analysis.

  4. Characteristics of PCR-SSCP and RAPD-HPCE methods for identifying authentication of Penis et testis cervi in Traditional Chinese Medicine based on cytochrome b gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mingcheng; Gao, Lijun; Qu, Li; Sun, Jingyu; Yuan, Guangxin; Xia, Wei; Niu, Jiamu; Fu, Guilian; Zhang, Lihua

    2016-07-01

    The use of Penis et testis cervi, as a kind of precious Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which is derived from dry deer's testis and penis, has been recorded for many years in China. There are abundant species of deer in China, the Penis et testis from species of Cervus Nippon and Cervus elaphusL were authentic, others species were defined as adulterant (different subspecies of deer) or counterfeits (different species). Identification of their origins or authenticity becomes a key in controlling the herbal products. A modified column chromatography was used to extract mitochondrial DNA of dried deer's testis and penis from sika deer (C. Nippon) and red deer (C. elaphusL) in addition to adulterants and counterfeits. Column chromatography requires for a short time to extract mitochondrial DNA of high purity with little damage of DNA molecules, which provides the primary structure of guarantee for the specific PCR; PCR-SSCP method showed a clear intra-specific difference among patterns of single-chain fragments, and completely differentiate Penis et testis origins from C. Nippon and C. elaphusL. RAPD-HPCE was based on the standard electropherograms to compute a control spectrum curve as similarity reference (R) among different samples. The similarity analysis indicated that there were significant inter-species differences among Penis et testis' adulterant or counterfeits. Both techniques provide a fast, simple, and accurate way to directly identify among inter-species or intra-species of Penis et testis.

  5. 21 CFR 189.5 - Prohibited cattle materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... passed, it was found to be not adulterated. (3) Mechanically Separated (MS)(Beef) means a meat food... were created. (3) Records must be retained at the manufacturing or processing establishment or at a... deemed adulterated under section 402(a)(3) of the act. (3) Food additive status. Prohibited cattle...

  6. 75 FR 66769 - Draft Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 690.800 Salmonella

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-29

    ...] Draft Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 690.800 Salmonella in Animal Feed; Availability; Extension of Comment... that are adulterated due to the presence of Salmonella. The Agency is taking this action in response to... action against animal feed or feed ingredients that are adulterated due to the presence of Salmonella...

  7. Olive oils qualitative evaluation using a potentiometric electronic tongue: a review of practical applications

    OpenAIRE

    Dias, L.G.; Rodrigues, Nuno; Veloso, Ana C.A.; Pereira, J.A.; Peres, António M.

    2015-01-01

    Olive oil is a food product highly prone to fraud, including mislabeling of olive oil commercial category, geographical or olive cultivar origin. Several analytical techniques have been reported to assess olive oil quality, authenticity as well as to detect possible adulterations, namely gas-, liquid- and mass-spectrometry chromatography, DNA and spectroscopy based methods. However, in general, these techniques require expensive pre-sample treatments, are time-consuming and need cost equipmen...

  8. JPRS Report, Near East & South Asia, Pakistan

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-08-09

    edibles , is very alert indeed in apprehending those who adulterate alcoholic beverages. Regarding the aid issue the U.S. administration ensured He...do not wish to see our industry achieve unrealistic cutlery exports have been exempted from payment of growth under the umbrella of high tariff...ores all sorts. cutlery . (c) Semi-processed agricultural products e.g. Malik Naeem announced duty free import of machinery (i) cotton year, and spare

  9. Identification of common horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.; Equisetaceae) using Thin Layer Chromatography versus DNA barcoding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saslis Lagoudakis, Haris; Bruun-Lund, Sam; Iwanycki, Natalie Eva

    2015-01-01

    collections and commercial herbal products. We find that both methods can discriminate between the two species and positively identify E. arvense. The TLC-test is more cost- and time-efficient, but DNA barcoding is more powerful in determining the identity of adulterant species. Our study shows that, although....... palustre L. that can produce toxic alkaloids. As morphology-based identification is often difficult or impossible, the identification of processed material can be aided by molecular techniques. In this study, we explore two molecular identification techniques as methods of testing the purity these products...

  10. The role of the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service after the Chernobyl accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Engel, Ronald E; Randecker, Victor; Johnson, Wesley [Food Safety and Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture (United States)

    1989-09-01

    The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspects domestic and imported meat and poultry food products to assure the public that they are safe, wholesome, not economically adulterated and properly labeled. The Service also monitors the activities of meat and poultry plants and related activities in allied industries, and establishes standards and approves labels for meat and poultry products. As part of its responsibility, shortly after the Chernobyl accident occurred, FSIS developed a plan to assess this accident's impact on domestically produced and imported meat and poultry.

  11. The role of the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service after the Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engel, Ronald E.; Randecker, Victor; Johnson, Wesley

    1989-01-01

    The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspects domestic and imported meat and poultry food products to assure the public that they are safe, wholesome, not economically adulterated and properly labeled. The Service also monitors the activities of meat and poultry plants and related activities in allied industries, and establishes standards and approves labels for meat and poultry products. As part of its responsibility, shortly after the Chernobyl accident occurred, FSIS developed a plan to assess this accident's impact on domestically produced and imported meat and poultry

  12. Model of predicting proportion of diesel fuel and engine oil in diesel ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Viscosity of diesel adulterated SAE 40 engine oil at varying proportions of the mixture is presented. Regression, variation of intercept and the power parameters methods are used for developing polynomial and power law functions for predicting proportion of either diesel or engine oil in diesel adulterated SAE 40 engine oil ...

  13. De geschiedenis van de ontwikkeling van de Nederlandsche zuivelbereiding in het laatst van de negentiende en het begin van de twintigste eeuw

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Croesen, V.R.IJ.

    1931-01-01

    At the end of the 19th century Dutch butter was losing its reputation. After the introduction of margarine about 1870, some dishonest merchants took the opportunity to sell an adulterated article as pure butter. Although the amount of adulterated butter was a small fraction of total output, it did

  14. Improved detection of sugar addition to maple syrup using malic acid as internal standard and in 13C isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tremblay, Patrice; Paquin, Réal

    2007-01-24

    Stable carbon isotope ratio mass spectrometry (delta13C IRMS) was used to detect maple syrup adulteration by exogenous sugar addition (beet and cane sugar). Malic acid present in maple syrup is proposed as an isotopic internal standard to improve actual adulteration detection levels. A lead precipitation method has been modified to isolate quantitatively malic acid from maple syrup using preparative reversed-phase liquid chromatography. The stable carbon isotopic ratio of malic acid isolated from this procedure shows an excellent accuracy and repeatability of 0.01 and 0.1 per thousand respectively, confirming that the modified lead precipitation method is an isotopic fractionation-free process. A new approach is proposed to detect adulteration based on the correlation existing between the delta13Cmalic acid and the delta13Csugars-delta13Cmalic acid (r = 0.704). This technique has been tested on a set of 56 authentic maple syrup samples. Additionally, authentic samples were spiked with exogeneous sugars. The mean theoretical detection level was statistically lowered using this technique in comparison with the usual two-standard deviation approach, especially when maple syrup is adulterated with beet sugar : 24 +/- 12% of adulteration detection versus 48 +/- 20% (t-test, p = 7.3 x 10-15). The method was also applied to published data for pineapple juices and honey with the same improvement.

  15. Electrophoretic separation of alginic sodium diester and sodium hexametaphosphate in chondroitin sulfate that interfere with the cetylpyridinium chloride titration assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiguo, Zhang; Giancaspro, Gabriel; Adams, Kristie M; Neal-Kababick, James; Hildreth, Jana; Li, Aishan; Roman, Mark C; Betz, Joseph M

    2014-01-01

    The most commonly used chondroitin sulfate (CS) assay method is cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) titration. Cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis (CAME) is the technique used for detection of impurities in the U.S. Pharmacopeia's CS monograph. Because CPC titration is a relatively nonspecific quantitative technique, the apparent amount of CS as determined by CPC titration alone may not reflect the true amount of CS due to possible interference with the CPC assay by impurities that contain CPC titratable functional groups. When CAME is used in conjunction with CPC titration, certain non-CS and adulterants can be visualized and estimated, and a true value for CS can be assigned once the presence of these non-CS impurities has been ruled out. This study examines conjunct application of CPC and CAME in ascertaining CS assay and purity in the presence of certain adulterants. These include propylene glycol alginate sulfate sodium, known in commerce as alginic sodium diester (ASD), and Zero One (Z1), a water-soluble agent newly reported in the CS marketplace and subsequently identified as sodium hexametaphosphate. ASD, Z1, and CS are similar in physical appearance and solubility in water and ethanol. They are also titratable anions and form ionic pairs with CPC, therefore interfering with the CPC titration assay for CS CAME separates these adulterants from each other and from CS by differences in their electrophoretic mobility. CAME is able to detect these impurities in CS at levels as low as 0.66% by weight. Although it is recommended that a method for detecting impurities (e.g., CAME) be used in cormbination with relatively nonspecific assay methods such as CPC titration, this is seldom done in practice. Assay results for CS derived fromn CPC titration may, therefore, be misleading, leaving the CS supply chain vulnerable to adulteration. In this study, the authors investigated ASD and Z1 adulteration of CS and developed an electrophoretic separation of these

  16. Traditional alcohol production and use in three provinces in Vietnam: an ethnographic exploration of health benefits and risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luu, Bich Ngoc; Nguyen, Thi Thieng; Newman, Ian M

    2014-07-18

    Gaps exist in knowledge about the production and use of traditional alcohols, particularly in Asia. This study adds new information about the nature, production and sale of traditional distilled spirit alcohol in Vietnam. This was an ethnographic study of traditional distilled spirit alcohol production in rural areas of three provinces in Vietnam. Researchers interviewed more than 300 individuals and recorded responses to general open-ended questions about local alcohol production. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and studied to discern what information about traditional alcohol was important to the speakers. Methods of production followed long-held traditions. Participants listed both personal and community benefits (economic, health, and social) from traditional alcohol making. Older people favoured traditional alcohol, while younger people favoured brand-name beer. Typically people consumed 2-4 drinks daily, mainly at meal times. People consumed more alcohol at special events and festivals. Distribution patterns ranged from low-risk distribution to family and neighbours to high-risk distribution by an agent who might combine alcohol from several producers, which increases the opportunity for dilution and adulteration. The most commonly listed health risks associated with locally-made alcohol were local air pollution and water pollution; participants also mentioned traffic crashes and bad public behaviour. Depending on the location, community leaders reported that production may be relatively stable or it may be declining. Traditional alcohol manufacture, sale, and use in Vietnam is a long-standing practice and low- to moderate-risk to health. There do not appear to be instances of accidental or intentional contamination. Urbanization seems to be affecting the market share of traditional alcohol as urbanized youth turn to branded products, mainly beer, making traditional alcohol making and consumption an activity mainly linked to older people in rural areas

  17. Peptide Nucleic Acid Based Molecular Authentication for Identification of Four Medicinal Paeonia Species Using Melting Array Analysis of the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wook Jin Kim

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Accurate taxonomic identification of plant materials in herbal medicines is important for product quality control. The genus Paeonia (Saxifragales is the source of the herbal preparations Paeoniae Radix (Paeoniae Radix Alba and Paeoniae Radix Rubra and Moutan Radicis Cotex. However, confusion has arisen regarding their contents due to linguistic and taxonomic ambiguities, similar morphologies and different definitions of Paeoniae Radix in the Korean and Chinese national pharmacopoeias, leading to the distribution of adulterated products. To develop a method for identifying the four Paeonia species used in these medicines, three fluorescently-labeled peptide nucleic acid (PNA probes were designed against ITS2 sequences containing single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs and used in a real-time PCR melting curve assay. Each of the four Paeonia species was accurately identified using this analysis. The accuracy and analytical stability of the PNA melting curve assay was confirmed using commercially available samples of the four Paeonia species. This assay is a reliable genetic tool to distinguish between different Paeonia-derived herbal medicines and identify the botanical origins of Paeoniae Radix and Moutan Radicis Cortex. This technique may also contribute to quality control and standardization of herbal medicines by providing a reliable authentication tool and preventing the distribution of inauthentic adulterants.

  18. Peptide Nucleic Acid Based Molecular Authentication for Identification of Four Medicinal Paeonia Species Using Melting Array Analysis of the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Wook Jin; Yang, Sungyu; Choi, Goya; Moon, Byeong Cheol

    2017-11-07

    Accurate taxonomic identification of plant materials in herbal medicines is important for product quality control. The genus Paeonia (Saxifragales) is the source of the herbal preparations Paeoniae Radix (Paeoniae Radix Alba and Paeoniae Radix Rubra) and Moutan Radicis Cotex. However, confusion has arisen regarding their contents due to linguistic and taxonomic ambiguities, similar morphologies and different definitions of Paeoniae Radix in the Korean and Chinese national pharmacopoeias, leading to the distribution of adulterated products. To develop a method for identifying the four Paeonia species used in these medicines, three fluorescently-labeled peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes were designed against ITS2 sequences containing single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and used in a real-time PCR melting curve assay. Each of the four Paeonia species was accurately identified using this analysis. The accuracy and analytical stability of the PNA melting curve assay was confirmed using commercially available samples of the four Paeonia species. This assay is a reliable genetic tool to distinguish between different Paeonia -derived herbal medicines and identify the botanical origins of Paeoniae Radix and Moutan Radicis Cortex. This technique may also contribute to quality control and standardization of herbal medicines by providing a reliable authentication tool and preventing the distribution of inauthentic adulterants.

  19. DNA Barcoding for the Identification and Authentication of Animal Species in Traditional Medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan Yang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Animal-based traditional medicine not only plays a significant role in therapeutic practices worldwide but also provides a potential compound library for drug discovery. However, persistent hunting and illegal trade markedly threaten numerous medicinal animal species, and increasing demand further provokes the emergence of various adulterants. As the conventional methods are difficult and time-consuming to detect processed products or identify animal species with similar morphology, developing novel authentication methods for animal-based traditional medicine represents an urgent need. During the last decade, DNA barcoding offers an accurate and efficient strategy that can identify existing species and discover unknown species via analysis of sequence variation in a standardized region of DNA. Recent studies have shown that DNA barcoding as well as minibarcoding and metabarcoding is capable of identifying animal species and discriminating the authentics from the adulterants in various types of traditional medicines, including raw materials, processed products, and complex preparations. These techniques can also be used to detect the unlabelled and threatened animal species in traditional medicine. Here, we review the recent progress of DNA barcoding for the identification and authentication of animal species used in traditional medicine, which provides a reference for quality control and trade supervision of animal-based traditional medicine.

  20. DNA Barcoding for the Identification and Authentication of Animal Species in Traditional Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fan; Ding, Fei; Chen, Hong; He, Mingqi; Zhu, Shixin; Ma, Xin; Jiang, Li; Li, Haifeng

    2018-01-01

    Animal-based traditional medicine not only plays a significant role in therapeutic practices worldwide but also provides a potential compound library for drug discovery. However, persistent hunting and illegal trade markedly threaten numerous medicinal animal species, and increasing demand further provokes the emergence of various adulterants. As the conventional methods are difficult and time-consuming to detect processed products or identify animal species with similar morphology, developing novel authentication methods for animal-based traditional medicine represents an urgent need. During the last decade, DNA barcoding offers an accurate and efficient strategy that can identify existing species and discover unknown species via analysis of sequence variation in a standardized region of DNA. Recent studies have shown that DNA barcoding as well as minibarcoding and metabarcoding is capable of identifying animal species and discriminating the authentics from the adulterants in various types of traditional medicines, including raw materials, processed products, and complex preparations. These techniques can also be used to detect the unlabelled and threatened animal species in traditional medicine. Here, we review the recent progress of DNA barcoding for the identification and authentication of animal species used in traditional medicine, which provides a reference for quality control and trade supervision of animal-based traditional medicine.

  1. ePedigree Traceability System for the Agricultural Food Supply Chain to Ensure Consumer Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umar Farooq

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability relies on the environmental, social and economical systems: the three pillars of sustainability. The social sustainability mostly advocates the people’s welfare, health, safety, and quality of life. In the agricultural food industry, the aspects of social sustainability, such as consumer health and safety have gained substantial attention due to the frequent cases of food-borne diseases. The food-borne diseases due to the food degradation, chemical contamination and adulteration of food products pose a serious threat to the consumer’s health, safety, and quality of life. To ensure the consumer’s health and safety, it is essential to develop an efficient system which can address these critical social issues in the food distribution networks. This research proposes an ePedigree (electronic pedigree traceability system based on the integration of RFID and sensor technology for real-time monitoring of the agricultural food to prevent the distribution of hazardous and adulterated food products. The different aspects regarding implementation of the proposed system in food chains are analyzed and a feasible integrated solution is proposed. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated and finally, a comprehensive analysis of the proposed ePedigree system’s impact on the social sustainability in terms of consumer health and safety is presented.

  2. Bamboo tea: reduction of taxonomic complexity and application of DNA diagnostics based on rbcL and matK sequence data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Häser, Annette

    2016-01-01

    Background Names used in ingredient lists of food products are trivial and in their nature rarely precise. The most recent scientific interpretation of the term bamboo (Bambusoideae, Poaceae) comprises over 1,600 distinct species. In the European Union only few of these exotic species are well known sources for food ingredients (i.e., bamboo sprouts) and are thus not considered novel foods, which would require safety assessments before marketing of corresponding products. In contrast, the use of bamboo leaves and their taxonomic origin is mostly unclear. However, products containing bamboo leaves are currently marketed. Methods We analysed bamboo species and tea products containing bamboo leaves using anatomical leaf characters and DNA sequence data. To reduce taxonomic complexity associated with the term bamboo, we used a phylogenetic framework to trace the origin of DNA from commercially available bamboo leaves within the bambusoid subfamily. For authentication purposes, we introduced a simple PCR based test distinguishing genuine bamboo from other leaf components and assessed the diagnostic potential of rbcL and matK to resolve taxonomic entities within the bamboo subfamily and tribes. Results Based on anatomical and DNA data we were able to trace the taxonomic origin of bamboo leaves used in products to the genera Phyllostachys and Pseudosasa from the temperate “woody” bamboo tribe (Arundinarieae). Currently available rbcL and matK sequence data allow the character based diagnosis of 80% of represented bamboo genera. We detected adulteration by carnation in four of eight tea products and, after adapting our objectives, could trace the taxonomic origin of the adulterant to Dianthus chinensis (Caryophyllaceae), a well known traditional Chinese medicine with counter indications for pregnant women. PMID:27957401

  3. Simultaneous Detection of Three Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitors and Eight of Their Analogs in Lifestyle Products and Screening for Adulterants by High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Do, Tiên T K; Theocharis, Grigorios; Reich, Eike

    2015-01-01

    An HPTLC method is proposed to permit effective screening for the presence of three phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5-Is; sildenafil, vardenafil, and tadalafil) and eight of their analogs (hydroxyacetildenafil, homosildenafil, thiohomosildenafil, acetildenafil, acetaminotadalafil, propoxyphenyl hydroxyhomosildenafil, hydroxyhomosildenafil, and hydroxythiohomosildenafil) in finished products, including tablets, capsules, chocolate, instant coffee, syrup, and chewing gum. For all the finished products, the same simple sample preparation may be applied: ultrasound-assisted extraction in 10 mL methanol for 30 min followed by centrifugation. The Rf values of individual HPTLC bands afford preliminary identification of potential PDE5-Is. Scanning densitometry capabilities enable comparison of the unknown UV spectra with those of known standard compounds and allow further structural insight. Mass spectrometric analysis of the material derived from individual zones supplies an additional degree of confidence. Significantly, the proposed screening technique allows focus on the already known PDE5 Is and provides a platform for isolation and chemical categorization of the newly-synthesized analogs. Furthermore, the scope could be expanded to other therapeutic categories (e.g., analgesics, antidiabetics, and anorexiants) that are occasionally coadulterated along with the PDE5-Is. The method was successfully applied to screening of 45 commercial lifestyle products. Of those, 31 products tested positive for at least one illegal component (sildenafil, tadalafil, propoxyphenyl hydroxyhomosildenafil, or dimethylsildenafil).

  4. Handheld Raman Spectroscopy for the Distinction of Essential Oils Used in the Cosmetics Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Jentzsch, Paul; Ramos, Luis; Ciobotă, Valerian

    2015-01-01

    Essential oils are highly appreciated by the cosmetics industry because they have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, among others. Since essential oils are natural products, their inclusion in cosmetic formulations is a common practice. Currently, low-quality and/or adulterated essential oils can be found on the market; therefore, analytical methods for control are required. Raman spectroscopy is a versatile technique that can be used for quality control tasks; the portability of moder...

  5. A reliable and validated LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantification of 4 cannabinoids in 40 consumer products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Qingfang; Buchanan, Beth; Zuccolo, Jonathan; Poulin, Mathieu-Marc; Gabriele, Joseph; Baranowski, David Charles

    2018-01-01

    In the past 50 years, Cannabis sativa (C. sativa) has gone from a substance essentially prohibited worldwide to one that is gaining acceptance both culturally and legally in many countries for medicinal and recreational use. As additional jurisdictions legalize Cannabis products and the variety and complexity of these products surpass the classical dried plant material, appropriate methods for measuring the biologically active constituents is paramount to ensure safety and regulatory compliance. While there are numerous active compounds in C. sativa the primary cannabinoids of regulatory and safety concern are (-)-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and their respective acidic forms THCA-A and CBDA. Using the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bioanalytical method validation guidelines we developed a sensitive, selective, and accurate method for the simultaneous analysis CBD, CBDA, THC, and THCA-A in oils and THC & CBD in more complex matrices. This HPLC-MS/MS method was simple and reliable using standard sample dilution and homogenization, an isocratic chromatographic separation, and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) for analytes was 0.195 ng/mL over a 0.195-50.0 ng/mL range of quantification with a coefficient of correlation of >0.99. Average intra-day and inter-day accuracies were 94.2-112.7% and 97.2-110.9%, respectively. This method was used to quantify CBD, CBDA, THC, and THCA-A in 40 commercial hemp products representing a variety of matrices including oils, plant materials, and creams/cosmetics. All products tested met the federal regulatory restrictions on THC content in Canada (CBD, the majority of analyzed products contained low CBD levels and a CBD: CBDA ratio of CBD and a CBD: CBDA ratio of >1,000 (an oil-based product). Overall, the method proved amenable to the analysis of various commercial products including oils, creams, and plant material and may be diagnostically indicative of

  6. Method development and survey of Sudan I-IV in palm oil and chilli spices in the Washington, DC, area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genualdi, Susie; MacMahon, Shaun; Robbins, Katherine; Farris, Samantha; Shyong, Nicole; DeJager, Lowri

    2016-01-01

    Sudan I, II, III and IV dyes are banned for use as food colorants in the United States and European Union because they are toxic and carcinogenic. These dyes have been illegally used as food additives in products such as chilli spices and palm oil to enhance their red colour. From 2003 to 2005, the European Union made a series of decisions requiring chilli spices and palm oil imported to the European Union to contain analytical reports declaring them free of Sudan I-IV. In order for the USFDA to investigate the adulteration of palm oil and chilli spices with unapproved colour additives in the United States, a method was developed for the extraction and analysis of Sudan dyes in palm oil, and previous methods were validated for Sudan dyes in chilli spices. Both LC-DAD and LC-MS/MS methods were examined for their limitations and effectiveness in identifying adulterated samples. Method validation was performed for both chilli spices and palm oil by spiking samples known to be free of Sudan dyes at concentrations close to the limit of detection. Reproducibility, matrix effects, and selectivity of the method were also investigated. Additionally, for the first time a survey of palm oil and chilli spices was performed in the United States, specifically in the Washington, DC, area. Illegal dyes, primarily Sudan IV, were detected in palm oil at concentrations from 150 to 24 000 ng ml(-1). Low concentrations (spices and are most likely a result of cross-contamination during preparation and storage and not intentional adulteration.

  7. Method development and survey of Sudan I–IV in palm oil and chilli spices in the Washington, DC, area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genualdi, Susie; MacMahon, Shaun; Robbins, Katherine; Farris, Samantha; Shyong, Nicole; DeJager, Lowri

    2016-01-01

    Sudan I, II, III and IV dyes are banned for use as food colorants in the United States and European Union because they are toxic and carcinogenic. These dyes have been illegally used as food additives in products such as chilli spices and palm oil to enhance their red colour. From 2003 to 2005, the European Union made a series of decisions requiring chilli spices and palm oil imported to the European Union to contain analytical reports declaring them free of Sudan I–IV. In order for the USFDA to investigate the adulteration of palm oil and chilli spices with unapproved colour additives in the United States, a method was developed for the extraction and analysis of Sudan dyes in palm oil, and previous methods were validated for Sudan dyes in chilli spices. Both LC-DAD and LC-MS/MS methods were examined for their limitations and effectiveness in identifying adulterated samples. Method validation was performed for both chilli spices and palm oil by spiking samples known to be free of Sudan dyes at concentrations close to the limit of detection. Reproducibility, matrix effects, and selectivity of the method were also investigated. Additionally, for the first time a survey of palm oil and chilli spices was performed in the United States, specifically in the Washington, DC, area. Illegal dyes, primarily Sudan IV, were detected in palm oil at concentrations from 150 to 24 000 ng ml−1. Low concentrations (spices and are most likely a result of cross-contamination during preparation and storage and not intentional adulteration. PMID:26824489

  8. Development of a multiplex DNA-based traceability tool for crop plant materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voorhuijzen, Marleen M; van Dijk, Jeroen P; Prins, Theo W; Van Hoef, A M Angeline; Seyfarth, Ralf; Kok, Esther J

    2012-01-01

    The authenticity of food is of increasing importance for producers, retailers and consumers. All groups benefit from the correct labelling of the contents of food products. Producers and retailers want to guarantee the origin of their products and check for adulteration with cheaper or inferior ingredients. Consumers are also more demanding about the origin of their food for various socioeconomic reasons. In contrast to this increasing demand, correct labelling has become much more complex because of global transportation networks of raw materials and processed food products. Within the European integrated research project 'Tracing the origin of food' (TRACE), a DNA-based multiplex detection tool was developed-the padlock probe ligation and microarray detection (PPLMD) tool. In this paper, this method is extended to a 15-plex traceability tool with a focus on products of commercial importance such as the emmer wheat Farro della Garfagnana (FdG) and Basmati rice. The specificity of 14 plant-related padlock probes was determined and initially validated in mixtures comprising seven or nine plant species/varieties. One nucleotide difference in target sequence was sufficient for the distinction between the presence or absence of a specific target. At least 5% FdG or Basmati rice was detected in mixtures with cheaper bread wheat or non-fragrant rice, respectively. The results suggested that even lower levels of (un-)intentional adulteration could be detected. PPLMD has been shown to be a useful tool for the detection of fraudulent/intentional admixtures in premium foods and is ready for the monitoring of correct labelling of premium foods worldwide.

  9. [GPC Fingerprint Chromatograms of Aloe vera Leaf Gel Polysaccharides].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qiao-e; Xie, Dan; Qian, Jie; Dong, Yin-mao

    2015-10-01

    To establish the gel permeation chromatography (GPC) fingerprint chromatograms of polysaccharides in Aloe vera leaf gel from the same habitat (Beijing) and different habitats for evaluating the quality of Aloe vera leaf gel products commercially available and testing common adulterated substances. The samples were prepared by water-extraction and alcohol-precipitation method. GPC separation was performed on a Shodex SUGAR KS-805 (300 mm x 8.0 mm, 7 μm) column and a Shodex SUGAR KS-803 (300 mm x 8.0 mm, 6 μm) column at the temperature of 60 degrees C by eluting with 0.1 mol/L NaNO3 (containing 0.2 per thousand NaN) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min, the chromatographic effluent was detected by refractive index detector (RID) at the temperature of 50 degrees C. The common pattern of GPC fingerprint chromatograms was established and four common peaks were demarcated. The similarities of samples from the same habitat (Beijing) and different habitats were over 0.9. Taking the GPC fingerprint chromatograms for the qualified model, three commercially available aloe products were evaluated to be made of Aloe vera by the different manufacturing processes and four common adulterated substances of aloe polysaccharides were identified effectively. The method is simple and accurate with a good reproducibility, and it can be used for the identification and quality evaluation of Aloe vera leaf gel products.

  10. Identification and analysis of the barriers hampering wheat production in the punjab, pakistan: the case study of vehari district

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amir, R.M.; Ali, T.; Khan, G.A.; Ahmad, M.

    2013-01-01

    Wheat, being staple food occupies a very conspicuous place for ensuring food security in Pakistan but the real matter of concern is the gap between its potential and actual yield. The present study has attempted to identify the factors that have been hampering its required production. There has certainly been many production hindering factors. The aim of the research was to analyze those obstacles and present useful suggestions so that state of food security in the country can be improved. A cross-sectional survey research was conducted through an interview schedule after selecting the sample of 120 respondents randomly. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in this research. The results of the study indicate that high prices of fertilizers and pesticides coupled with their adulteration are the most prominent barriers of wheat production. Likewise, unavailability of irrigation water and good quality low priced seed are also exacerbating the problem. Farmers are also being exploited by marketer in terms of inappropriate payments and dealings in the presence of price fluctuations and non-availability of credits to them. Last but not the least there remains a big gap between latest information regarding wheat and its growers due to which the former was not easily accessible and relied upon. The arguments in this paper could act as a food for thought for all the concerned stakeholders for an in-depth understanding of the issue. In this way they may be able to control to the barriers before it is too late by giving due attention to the factors identified in this paper. Otherwise the state of food insecurity may worsen in the years to come. Government level check and balance and mass media campaigns can play a potential role for reducing the problems of production. (author)

  11. Differentiation of frog fats from vegetable and marine oils by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and chemometric analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. N. Nina Naquiah

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The agro-based production and consumption of frogs coupled with world-wide trading have been increased in the recent years giving rise to the risk of frog fat adulteration in expensive vegetable and marine oils. For the first time, we profiled here frog fats using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR Spectroscopy coupled with multivariate principal component analysis (PCA. The comparison of the FTIR spectral absorbance intensities demonstrated linkage of frog fats to other edible fats and oils. Three commercially available marine oils and three vegetables oils were studied with frog fats and clear pattern of clusters with distinctive identifiable features were obtained through PCA modeling. PCA analysis identified 2922.21 cm-1, 2852.88 cm-1, 1745.45 cm-1, 1158.29 cm-1 and 721.51 cm-1 FTIR-frequencies as the most discriminating variables influencing the group separation into different clusters. This fundamental study has clear implications in the identification of frog fat from its marine and vegetable counterparts for the potential detection of frog fat adulteration in various fat and oils.

  12. Differentiation of Ecuadorian National and CCN-51 cocoa beans and their mixtures by computer vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimenez, Juan C; Amores, Freddy M; Solórzano, Eddyn G; Rodríguez, Gladys A; La Mantia, Alessandro; Blasi, Paolo; Loor, Rey G

    2018-05-01

    Ecuador exports two major types of cocoa beans, the highly regarded and lucrative National, known for its fine aroma, and the CCN-51 clone type, used in bulk for mass chocolate products. In order to discourage exportation of National cocoa adulterated with CCN-51, a fast and objective methodology for distinguishing between the two types of cocoa beans is needed. This study reports a methodology based on computer vision, which makes it possible to recognize these beans and determine the percentage of their mixture. The methodology was challenged with 336 samples of National cocoa and 127 of CCN-51. By excluding the samples with a low fermentation level and white beans, the model discriminated with a precision higher than 98%. The model was also able to identify and quantify adulterations in 75 export batches of National cocoa and separate out poorly fermented beans. A scientifically reliable methodology able to discriminate between Ecuadorian National and CCN-51 cocoa beans and their mixtures was successfully developed. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  13. Detection of non-milk fat in milk fat by gas chromatography and linear discriminant analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutiérrez, R; Vega, S; Díaz, G; Sánchez, J; Coronado, M; Ramírez, A; Pérez, J; González, M; Schettino, B

    2009-05-01

    Gas chromatography was utilized to determine triacylglycerol profiles in milk and non-milk fat. The values of triacylglycerol were subjected to linear discriminant analysis to detect and quantify non-milk fat in milk fat. Two groups of milk fat were analyzed: A) raw milk fat from the central region of Mexico (n = 216) and B) ultrapasteurized milk fat from 3 industries (n = 36), as well as pork lard (n = 2), bovine tallow (n = 2), fish oil (n = 2), peanut (n = 2), corn (n = 2), olive (n = 2), and soy (n = 2). The samples of raw milk fat were adulterated with non-milk fats in proportions of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% to form 5 groups. The first function obtained from the linear discriminant analysis allowed the correct classification of 94.4% of the samples with levels <10% of adulteration. The triacylglycerol values of the ultrapasteurized milk fats were evaluated with the discriminant function, demonstrating that one industry added non-milk fat to its product in 80% of the samples analyzed.

  14. Influence of feeding bee colonies on colony strenght and honey authenticity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreja KANDOLF BOROVŠAK

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available For the natural development of bee colonies, there is the need for appropriate nutrition. Lack of natural honey flow must be supplemented by feeding bee colonies with sugar syrups or candy paste. This supplementary feeding encourages brood breeding and forage activity, whereby stronger colonies collect more honey. Sugar syrups can cause honey adulteration, which is more frequent with the reversing of the brood combs with the bee food, with the combs moved from the brood chamber to the upper chamber. Authentication of honey from the standpoint of the presence of sugar syrup is very complex, because there is no single method by which honey adulteration can be reliably confirmed. Feeding the colonies in spring should result in stronger colonies and hence the collection of more honey in the brood chambers. The objective of the present study was to determine whether this has effects also on honey authenticity, and to discover a simple method for detection of honey adulteration. The colonies were fed with candy paste that had added yeast and blue dye, to provide markers for detection of honey adulteration. The strength of the colonies and quantity of honey in the brood chambers were monitored. The results of the analysis of stable isotope and activity of foreign enzymes were compared with the results of yeast quantity and colour of the honey (absorbance, L*, a*, b* parameters. Detection of yeast in the honey samples and presence of colour as a consequence of added dye appear to be appropriate methods to follow honey adulteration, and further studies are ongoing.

  15. Sika deer (Cervus nippon)-specific real-time PCR method to detect fraudulent labelling of meat and meat products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaltenbrunner, Maria; Hochegger, Rupert; Cichna-Markl, Margit

    2018-05-08

    Since game meat is more valuable and expensive than meat from domesticated animal species it is a potential target for adulteration. Analytical methods must allow the identification and quantification of meat species to be applicable for the detection of fraudulent labelling. We developed a real-time PCR assay for the authentication of sika deer (Cervus nippon) and products thereof. The primer/probe system amplifies a 71 bp fragment of the kappa-casein precursor gene. Since the target sequence contained only one sika deer-specific base, we introduced a deliberate base mismatch in the forward primer. The real-time PCR assay did not show cross-reactivity with 19 animal and 49 plant species tested. Low cross-reactivity was observed with red deer, fallow deer, reindeer and moose. However, with a ΔCt value of ≥11.79 between sika deer and the cross-reacting species, cross-reactivity will not affect the accuracy of the method. LOD and LOQ, determined by analysing serial dilutions of a DNA extract containing 1% (w/w) sika deer DNA in pig DNA, were 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. The accuracy was evaluated by analysing DNA mixtures and DNA isolates from meat extract mixtures and meat mixtures. In general, recoveries were in the range from 70 to 130%.

  16. Scientific and Regulatory Perspectives in Herbal and Dietary Supplement Associated Hepatotoxicity in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark I. Avigan

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In the United States (US, the risk of hepatotoxicity linked to the widespread use of certain herbal products has gained increased attention among regulatory scientists. Based on current US law, all dietary supplements sold domestically, including botanical supplements, are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA as a special category of foods. Under this designation, regulatory scientists do not routinely evaluate the efficacy of these products prior to their marketing, despite the content variability and phytochemical complexity that often characterizes them. Nonetheless, there has been notable progress in the development of advanced scientific methods to qualitatively and quantitatively measure ingredients and screen for contaminants and adulterants in botanical products when hepatotoxicity is recognized.

  17. Determining the Time of Flight and Speed of Sound on Different types of Edible Oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azman, N. A.; Hamid, S. B. Abd

    2017-11-01

    Edible oil is most often plant-based oils that have been extracted from various seeds. There are cases where the fully virgin edible oil was found to be a fraud. The adulterated edible oil indicates the intentional, fraudulent addition of extraneous, improper or cheaper ingredients puts into the oil or the dilution or removal of some valuable ingredient of the oil in order to increase profits. Hence, decrease the reliability of the Malaysian food product quality. This research was done by using the method of time of flight obtained using the Texas Instrument board, TDC1000-TDC7200 EVM connected to an ultrasonic transducer with 1 MHz frequency. The authors measured the time of flight and temperatures controlled from 20°C to 40°C of five vegetable oils (olive oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, coconut oil, and mustard oil). The value is observed and compared with other research from the literature review. From the study, time of flight values decreases exponentially while speed of sound value increases. This relationship will be useful in spectrum unfolding method to investigate the adulteration in different type of edible oil.This research outcome is to investigate the quality value of the different type of edible oil while eliminates the issues where the quality of Malaysian food product is not reliable.

  18. Forensic DNA barcoding and bio-response studies of animal horn products used in traditional medicine.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan Yan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Animal horns (AHs have been applied to traditional medicine for more than thousands of years, of which clinical effects have been confirmed by the history. But now parts of AHs have been listed in the items of wildlife conservation, which limits the use for traditional medicine. The contradiction between the development of traditional medicine and the protection of wild resources has already become the common concern of zoophilists, traditional medical professionals, economists, sociologists. We believe that to strengthen the identification for threatened animals, to prevent the circulation of them, and to seek fertile animals of corresponding bioactivities as substitutes are effective strategies to solve this problem. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A powerful technique of DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase I (COI was used to identify threatened animals of Bovidae and Cervidae, as well as their illegal adulterants (including 10 species and 47 specimens. Meanwhile, the microcalorimetric technique was used to characterize the differences of bio-responses when those animal specimens acted on model organism (Escherichia coli. We found that the COI gene could be used as a universal primer to identify threatened animals and illegal adulterants mentioned above. By analyzing 223 mitochondrial COI sequences, a 100% identification success rate was achieved. We further found that the horns of Mongolian Gazelle and Red Deer could be exploited as a substitute for some functions of endangered Saiga Antelope and Sika Deer in traditional medicine, respectively. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Although it needs a more comprehensive evaluation of bioequivalence in order to completely solve the problem of substitutes for threatened animals, we believe that the identification (DNA barcoding of threatened animals combined with seeking substitutions (bio-response can yet be regarded as a valid strategy for establishing a balance

  19. Traditional alcohol production and use in three provinces in Vietnam: an ethnographic exploration of health benefits and risks

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Gaps exist in knowledge about the production and use of traditional alcohols, particularly in Asia. This study adds new information about the nature, production and sale of traditional distilled spirit alcohol in Vietnam. Method This was an ethnographic study of traditional distilled spirit alcohol production in rural areas of three provinces in Vietnam. Researchers interviewed more than 300 individuals and recorded responses to general open-ended questions about local alcohol production. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and studied to discern what information about traditional alcohol was important to the speakers. Results Methods of production followed long-held traditions. Participants listed both personal and community benefits (economic, health, and social) from traditional alcohol making. Older people favoured traditional alcohol, while younger people favoured brand-name beer. Typically people consumed 2-4 drinks daily, mainly at meal times. People consumed more alcohol at special events and festivals. Distribution patterns ranged from low-risk distribution to family and neighbours to high-risk distribution by an agent who might combine alcohol from several producers, which increases the opportunity for dilution and adulteration. The most commonly listed health risks associated with locally-made alcohol were local air pollution and water pollution; participants also mentioned traffic crashes and bad public behaviour. Depending on the location, community leaders reported that production may be relatively stable or it may be declining. Conclusions Traditional alcohol manufacture, sale, and use in Vietnam is a long-standing practice and low- to moderate-risk to health. There do not appear to be instances of accidental or intentional contamination. Urbanization seems to be affecting the market share of traditional alcohol as urbanized youth turn to branded products, mainly beer, making traditional alcohol making and consumption an activity mainly

  20. Authentication of organically grown plants - advantages and limitations of atomic spectroscopy for multi-element and stable isotope analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laursen, Kristian Holst; Schjørring, Jan Kofod; Kelly, S.D.

    2014-01-01

    Organic food products are believed to be healthier, safer and more environment-friendly than their conventional counterparts and are sold at premium prices. Consequently, adulteration of organic plants and fraudulent activities for economic profit are increasing. This has spurred the development...... plant tissue, and compound-specific isotope analysis based on isotope ratio-mass spectrometry are promising tools for documenting the fertilization history of organic plants. However, these techniques are challenged by the potential diversity of fertilization practices of organic and conventional plant...

  1. Authentication of vegetable oils on the basis of their physico-chemical properties with the aid of chemometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Guowen; Ni, Yongnian; Churchill, Jane; Kokot, Serge

    2006-09-15

    In food production, reliable analytical methods for confirmation of purity or degree of spoilage are required by growers, food quality assessors, processors, and consumers. Seven parameters of physico-chemical properties, such as acid number, colority, density, refractive index, moisture and volatility, saponification value and peroxide value, were measured for quality and adulterated soybean, as well as quality and rancid rapeseed oils. Chemometrics methods were then applied for qualitative and quantitative discrimination and prediction of the oils by methods such exploratory principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares (PLS), radial basis function-artificial neural networks (RBF-ANN), and multi-criteria decision making methods (MCDM), PROMETHEE and GAIA. In general, the soybean and rapeseed oils were discriminated by PCA, and the two spoilt oils behaved differently with the rancid rapeseed samples exhibiting more object scatter on the PC-scores plot, than the adulterated soybean oil. For the PLS and RBF-ANN prediction methods, suitable training models were devised, which were able to predict satisfactorily the category of the four different oil samples in the verification set. Rank ordering with the use of MCDM models indicated that the oil types can be discriminated on the PROMETHEE II scale. For the first time, it was demonstrated how ranking of oil objects with the use of PROMETHEE and GAIA could be utilized as a versatile indicator of quality performance of products on the basis of a standard selected by the stakeholder. In principle, this approach provides a very flexible method for assessment of product quality directly from the measured data.

  2. Getting More Than You Paid For: Unauthorized "Natural" Substances in Herbal Food Supplements on EU Market.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zovko Končić, Marijana

    2018-04-01

    As the population in the industrialized world develops preference for what is perceived as a natural and holistic way of disease treatment, the popularity and the number of food supplements on the market, including herbal ones, is experiencing an unprecedented rise. However, unlike herbal medicinal products, intended for treating or preventing disease, current legislation classifies food supplements as products intended for achieving nutritional or physiological effect and to supplement the normal diet. Accordingly, most food supplements are not to be associated with specific health claims. However, either due to the subtle suggestions by the producers or the wishful thinking of the consumers, certain pharmacological effects from food supplements are often expected. Medicinal plants included in food supplements usually do not produce dramatic and instant pharmacological effects. Therefore, in order to meet the expectation of their customers, some producers have turned to the illicit and dangerous practice of adulterating their products with synthetic adulterants, including naturally occurring molecules, having the desired activity. Such practice is prevalent in, although not limited to, food supplements intended for use as weight-loss aids, as well as for sport performance and libido enhancement. The review is focusing on naturally occurring alkaloids, phenylethanolamines, and their semi-synthetic derivatives in food supplements in the European Union as reported by the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. Their desired and undesired pharmacological effects, as well as the methods for their detection and quantification in food supplements, will be reviewed. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  3. Dietary supplements: What's in a name? What's in the bottle?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcus, Donald M

    2016-01-01

    The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which arbitrarily classified herbals and other medicinal products as dietary supplements, obscured fundamental differences between two classes of products. Authentic supplements to the diet, such as multivitamins or calcium, have nutritional value and are safe. Herbals are used worldwide as medicines, they do not supplement the diet, they may cause severe adverse events, and they should be regulated as medicines. DSHEA also prevented the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from effectively regulating herbal supplements as medicines. One consequence of weak FDA regulatory oversight is the poor quality of herbals. FDA inspections of manufacturing facilities have revealed violations of good manufacturing practices in over half of facilities inspected, including unsanitary conditions and lack of product specifications. Moreover, many "all natural" herbals marketed for weight loss, enhancement of sexual health and improving sports performance are adulterated with prescription and over-the-counter medications that have caused adverse cardiovascular events. New procedures to authenticate the identity of plants used in herbals will neither detect adulteration by medications nor provide assurance of appropriate pharmacological activity or safety. Nonvitamin, nonmineral "supplements" should be regulated as medicines, but revision or repeal of DSHEA faces strong opposition in Congress. The marketing of botanical supplements is based on unfounded claims that they are safe and effective. Health professionals need to inform patients and the public that there is no reason to take herbal medicines whose composition and benefits are unknown, and whose risks are evident. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Do We Need Plant Food Supplements? A Critical Examination of Quality, Safety, Efficacy, and Necessity for a New Regulatory Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdel-Tawab, Mona

    2018-04-01

    Given the expanding market of plant food supplements (PFSs) not undergoing any pre-marketing authorization, the overall quality, safety and efficacy of PFSs were subjected to a critical examination. Although many high-quality PFSs exist on the legal market, quality concerns are in general justified. Besides economic adulteration, active ingredients dramatically differing from label claims and among products were reported in several studies. In addition, PFSs sold via the Internet may be intentionally adulterated with undeclared prescription drugs. Compared to PFSs with only one single herb, PFSs containing herbal mixtures were more involved in moderate and severe clinical courses. Although prohibited by regulation, misleading labels on PFSs are common. Above all, only vague evidence for the efficacy of PFSs exists. Notwithstanding the unproven efficacy and insufficient safety assessment, PFSs represent a relevant source for consumers to get access to herbal preparations in the United States and meanwhile also in Europe, as launching of licensed/registered European herbal medicinal products (HMPs) has steadily decreased. However, being non-vitamin, non-mineral products, PFSs are neither food nor drugs. In terms of protecting public health and providing the consumer with high-quality, effective, and safe PFSs, possibilities are shown how to deal with the many challenges of PFSs. Last but not least, suggestions are made for assigning PFSs a separate regulatory category being less regulated compared to HMPs but more strictly regulated compared to food laws including implementation of good manufacturing practices and a scientific pre-marketing review process by an expert commission. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  5. Survey of South African fruit juices using a fast screening HILIC-MS method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stander, Marietjie A; Kühn, Wernich; Hiten, Nicholas F

    2013-01-01

    Adulteration of fruit juices--by the addition of sugar or other less expensive fruit juices as well as preservatives, artificial sweeteners and colours--was tested for by using a developed screening method. The method employs hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS) using electrospray ionisation in the negative mode and ultraviolet light detection. Different fruit juices can be differentiated by the content of marker compounds like sorbitol, certain phenolic molecules and their saccharide profile. This method was used to test 46 fruit juice samples from the retail market as well as 12 control samples. The study focused on the main types of fruit juices consumed on the South African market including apple, orange, grape and blends of these juices with other fruits like mango, pear and guava. Overall, the 46 samples tested mostly agreed with label claims. One grape juice sample was adulterated, probably with apple juice. Natamycin above the legal limits was found in two samples. In addition, two samples contained natamycin and one sample benzoate without it being indicated on the label. The method is well suited as a quick screening method for fruit juice adulteration and if used routinely would reduce fruit juice adulteration without the cost of the current array of tests needed for authenticity testing.

  6. Rapid Identification and Verification of Indirubin-Containing Medicinal Plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Zhigang; Tu, Yuan; Xia, Ye; Cheng, Peipei; Sun, Wei; Shi, Yuhua; Guo, Licheng; He, Haibo; Xiong, Chao; Chen, Shilin; Zhang, Xiuqiao

    2015-01-01

    Indirubin, one of the key components of medicinal plants including Isatis tinctoria, Polygonum tinctorium, and Strobilanthes cusia, possesses great medicinal efficacy in the treatment of chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML). Due to misidentification and similar name, materials containing indirubin and their close relatives frequently fall prey to adulteration. In this study, we selected an internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) for distinguishing these indirubin-containing species from five of their usual adulterants, after assessing identification efficiency of matK, rbcL, psbA-trnH, and ITS2 among these species. The results of genetic distances and neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic tree indicated that ITS2 region is a powerful DNA barcode to accurately identify these indirubin-containing species and discriminate them from their adulterants. Additionally, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to verify indirubin in different organs of the above species. The results showed that indirubin had been detected in the leaves of Is. tinctoria, P. tinctorium, S. cusia, and Indigo Naturalis (made from their mixture), but not in their roots, or in the leaves of their adulterants. Therefore, this study provides a novel and rapid method to identify and verify indirubin-containing medicinal plants for effective natural treatment of CML.

  7. Rapid Identification and Verification of Indirubin-Containing Medicinal Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhigang Hu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Indirubin, one of the key components of medicinal plants including Isatis tinctoria, Polygonum tinctorium, and Strobilanthes cusia, possesses great medicinal efficacy in the treatment of chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML. Due to misidentification and similar name, materials containing indirubin and their close relatives frequently fall prey to adulteration. In this study, we selected an internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2 for distinguishing these indirubin-containing species from five of their usual adulterants, after assessing identification efficiency of matK, rbcL, psbA-trnH, and ITS2 among these species. The results of genetic distances and neighbor-joining (NJ phylogenetic tree indicated that ITS2 region is a powerful DNA barcode to accurately identify these indirubin-containing species and discriminate them from their adulterants. Additionally, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC was used to verify indirubin in different organs of the above species. The results showed that indirubin had been detected in the leaves of Is. tinctoria, P. tinctorium, S. cusia, and Indigo Naturalis (made from their mixture, but not in their roots, or in the leaves of their adulterants. Therefore, this study provides a novel and rapid method to identify and verify indirubin-containing medicinal plants for effective natural treatment of CML.

  8. Microbial and chemical analysis of illicit drugs samples confiscated from different areas of PakistanMicrobial and chemical analysis of illicit drugs samples confiscated from different areas of Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Shahzad; Khattak, Zainab; Mahmood, Sidra; Malik, Farnaz; Riaz, Humayun; Raza, Syed Atif; Khan, Samiullah

    2016-09-01

    The microbial and chemical analysis of illicit drug samples from different areas of Pakistan i.e. Quetta, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad was conducted in a cross-sectional study at National Institute of Health, Islamabad. The drug samples were confiscated by Anti Narcotics Force (ANF), Pakistan. Microbial analysis was done by estimating bioburden which revealed the presence of gram negative and positive bacteria's, fungus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus species. Trypton soya agar was used for total aerobic count, MacConkey agar for gram-negative bacteria, Sabouraud dextrose agar for fungus and Vogel-Johnson agar for Streptococcus and Staphylococcus species. Colour tests were applied to identify the drug samples. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of suspected samples of Heroin, morphine, cocaine and acetic anhydride was made by employing different chromatographic techniques i.e. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The samples were found to be adulterated with paracetamol, diazepam and Dextromethorphen. Acetic anhydride was adulterated with hydrochloric acid (HCl). There is lack of information providing structured advice on responses to the consequences of illicit drug adulteration. Robust and rehearsed interventions and communication strategies would provide a basis for response for a wide variety of organisations. Research into the usefulness of media warnings about adulteration of illicit drugs is required.

  9. Quantification of whey in fluid milk using confocal Raman microscopy and artificial neural network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves da Rocha, Roney; Paiva, Igor Moura; Anjos, Virgílio; Furtado, Marco Antônio Moreira; Bell, Maria José Valenzuela

    2015-06-01

    In this work, we assessed the use of confocal Raman microscopy and artificial neural network as a practical method to assess and quantify adulteration of fluid milk by addition of whey. Milk samples with added whey (from 0 to 100%) were prepared, simulating different levels of fraudulent adulteration. All analyses were carried out by direct inspection at the light microscope after depositing drops from each sample on a microscope slide and drying them at room temperature. No pre- or posttreatment (e.g., sample preparation or spectral correction) was required in the analyses. Quantitative determination of adulteration was performed through a feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN). Different ANN configurations were evaluated based on their coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error values, which were criteria for selecting the best predictor model. In the selected model, we observed that data from both training and validation subsets presented R2>99.99%, indicating that the combination of confocal Raman microscopy and ANN is a rapid, simple, and efficient method to quantify milk adulteration by whey. Because sample preparation and postprocessing of spectra were not required, the method has potential applications in health surveillance and food quality monitoring. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Through-container, extremely low concentration detection of multiple chemical markers of counterfeit alcohol using a handheld SORS device

    OpenAIRE

    Ellis, David; R, Eccles; Xu, Yun; J, Griffen; Muhamadali, H; P, Matousek; Goodall, I; Goodacre, Royston

    2017-01-01

    Major food adulteration incidents occur with alarming frequency and are episodic, with the latest incident, involving the adulteration of meat from 21 producers in Brazil supplied to 60 other countries, reinforcing this view. Food fraud and counterfeiting involves all types of foods, feed, beverages, and packaging, with the potential for serious health, as well as significant economic and social impacts. In the spirit drinks sector, counterfeiters often ‘recycle’ used genuine packaging, or em...

  11. Quantitative analysis of Sudan dye adulteration in paprika powder using FTIR spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    The presence of Sudan dye used illegally for coloring in food stuffs has become a point of food safety concern, especially in paprika- and chili-containing food products. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been extensively used as an analytical method for quality control and safety m...

  12. Handheld Raman Spectroscopy for the Distinction of Essential Oils Used in the Cosmetics Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Vargas Jentzsch

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Essential oils are highly appreciated by the cosmetics industry because they have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, among others. Since essential oils are natural products, their inclusion in cosmetic formulations is a common practice. Currently, low-quality and/or adulterated essential oils can be found on the market; therefore, analytical methods for control are required. Raman spectroscopy is a versatile technique that can be used for quality control tasks; the portability of modern devices expand the analytical possibilities also to in situ measurements. Fifteen essential oils of interest for the cosmetics industry were measured using a handheld Raman spectrometer, and the assignment of the main bands observed in their average spectra was proposed. In most cases, it is possible to distinguish the essential oils by a simple visual inspection of their characteristic Raman bands. However, for essential oils extracted from closely-related vegetable species and containing the same main component in a very high proportion, the visual inspection of the spectra may be not enough, and the application of chemometric methods is suggested. Characteristic Raman bands for each essential oil can be used to both identify the essential oils and detect adulterations.

  13. Case studies in food safety and authenticity: Lessons from real-life situations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    . The contents are divided into six parts, covering outbreak investigations, source tracing, crisis management, farm-level interventions, safe food production and food adulteration and authenticity. Each chapter is organized as an independent story/case study that has evolved over a certain period of time...... the learning process. Some are supported by illustrations, graphs, photos or maps. The case studies examine among other food products: bakery products, fresh produce, sprouted seeds, drinking water, chicken products, cattle, milk and raw milk, fresh herbs, meat, street foods, dairy foods, animal feed, rice......The identification and control of food contaminants rely on careful investigation and implementation of appropriate management strategies. Using a wide range of worldwide examples, this book provides a vital insight into the practical application of strategies for control and prevention...

  14. Heparin: Past, Present, and Future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oduah, Eziafa I; Linhardt, Robert J; Sharfstein, Susan T

    2016-07-04

    Heparin, the most widely used anticoagulant drug in the world today, remains an animal-derived product with the attendant risks of adulteration and contamination. A contamination crisis in 2007-2008 increased the impetus to provide non-animal-derived sources of heparin, produced under cGMP conditions. In addition, recent studies suggest that heparin may have significant antineoplastic activity, separate and distinct from its anticoagulant activity, while other studies indicate a role for heparin in treating inflammation, infertility, and infectious disease. A variety of strategies have been proposed to produce a bioengineered heparin. In this review, we discuss several of these strategies including microbial production, mammalian cell production, and chemoenzymatic modification. We also propose strategies for creating "designer" heparins and heparan-sulfates with various biochemical and physiological properties.

  15. Development and Application of UPLC-QTof/MS Method for the Differentiation between Tea Varieties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jandrić, Zora

    2016-01-01

    Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is one of the most popularly consumed beverages worldwide. It has been used as a natural medicine for thousands of years, containing many compounds beneficial to health. The two most popular varieties are green (favoured in Asia) and black tea (favoured in the western countries). The different growing season, geographical regions, processing and fermentation methods create many varieties of tea, some of which have premium value compared to the others. The expansion of the consumer market, which has increased demand for “manufactured” food as well as transported “pure” food such as tea, has encouraged adulteration simply because of the prospects for increased profit. The adulteration of tea has become a common problem. Mixing exhausted tealeaves with leaves of some other plants (e.g. elder, hawthorn, sloe), addition of the dust of the tea leaves and sand, chemical enhancement of green tea (with Prussian blue and sulphate of lime or gypsum) and simply redried and resold tea-leaves, are some of the main examples of tea adulteration. To help address these issues, the Food and Environmental Protection Laboratory (FEPL) applied an untargeted metabolomics approach previously developed for some other commodities (e.g. honey, fruit juices) to investigate the possibility of distinguishing teas from different origins, and detecting varieties that had been adulterated.

  16. Analytical methods used for the authentication of food of animal origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbas, Ouissam; Zadravec, Manuela; Baeten, Vincent; Mikuš, Tomislav; Lešić, Tina; Vulić, Ana; Prpić, Jelena; Jemeršić, Lorena; Pleadin, Jelka

    2018-04-25

    Since adulteration can have serious consequences on human health, it affects market growth by destroying consumer confidence. Therefore, authentication of food is important for food processors, retailers and consumers, but also for regulatory authorities. However, a complex nature of food and an increase in types of adulterants make their detection difficult, so that food authentication often poses a challenge. This review focuses on analytical approaches to authentication of food of animal origin, with an emphasis put on determination of specific ingredients, geographical origin and adulteration by virtue of substitution. This review highlights a current overview of the application of target approaches in cases when the compound of interest is known and non-target approaches for screening issues. Papers cited herein mainly concern milk, cheese, meat and honey. Moreover, advantages, disadvantages as well as challenges regarding the use of both approaches in official food control but also in food industry are investigated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Authentication and Quantitation of Fraud in Extra Virgin Olive Oils Based on HPLC-UV Fingerprinting and Multivariate Calibration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carranco, Núria; Farrés-Cebrián, Mireia; Saurina, Javier

    2018-01-01

    High performance liquid chromatography method with ultra-violet detection (HPLC-UV) fingerprinting was applied for the analysis and characterization of olive oils, and was performed using a Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C8 reversed-phase column under gradient elution, employing 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and methanol as mobile phase. More than 130 edible oils, including monovarietal extra-virgin olive oils (EVOOs) and other vegetable oils, were analyzed. Principal component analysis results showed a noticeable discrimination between olive oils and other vegetable oils using raw HPLC-UV chromatographic profiles as data descriptors. However, selected HPLC-UV chromatographic time-window segments were necessary to achieve discrimination among monovarietal EVOOs. Partial least square (PLS) regression was employed to tackle olive oil authentication of Arbequina EVOO adulterated with Picual EVOO, a refined olive oil, and sunflower oil. Highly satisfactory results were obtained after PLS analysis, with overall errors in the quantitation of adulteration in the Arbequina EVOO (minimum 2.5% adulterant) below 2.9%. PMID:29561820

  18. Authenticity of aroma components Enantiomeric separation and compound specific stable isotope analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anne-Mette Sølvbjerg

    of both enantiomers contrary to natural aromas where often only one of the enantiomers will be in excess. Consequently, if equal amounts of enantiomers are detected in a food product labelled “Natural” it could be an indication of adulteration. Artificial aroma compounds often have very different ratios......The word “authenticity” is increasingly used in the marketing of food products. A product can be marketed claiming its authenticity such as containing only natural ingredients or originating from a special location produced using local traditional production methods. Within the area of food...... ingredients a problem with authenticity of aroma compounds has occurred, because natural aromas are wholly or partly replaced with synthetic ones. This is a large economic problem, since natural aromas are often more expensive than artificial ones. Furthermore, the European Union has legal requirements...

  19. 77 FR 26929 - Requirements for Official Establishments To Notify FSIS of Adulterated or Misbranded Product...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-08

    ... security of plant recall information and whether recall plans would be subject to the Freedom of... information. Pursuant to USDA's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations (7 CFR 1.1 et seq.), FSIS is... and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability...

  20. Establishment and application of milk fingerprint by gel filtration chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, P; Li, J; Li, Z; Hao, J; Zan, L

    2016-12-01

    Raw milk adulteration frequently occurs in undeveloped countries. It not only reduces the nutritional value of milk, but it is also harmful to consumers. In this paper, we focused on investigating an efficient method for the quality control of raw milk protein. A gel filtration chromatography (GFC) fingerprint method combined with chemometrics was developed for fingerprint analysis of raw milk. To optimize the GFC conditions, milk fat was removed by centrifugation, and GFC analysis was performed on a Superdex 75 10/300GL column (Just Scientific, Shanghai, China) with 0.2 M NaH 2 PO 4 -Na 2 HPO 4 buffer (pH 7.0) as the mobile phase. The flow rate was 0.5mL/min, and the detection wavelength was set at 280 nm. Ten batches of 120 raw milk samples were analyzed to establish the GFC fingerprint under optimal conditions. Six major peaks common to the chromatogram of each raw milk sample were selected for fingerprint analysis, and the characteristic peaks were used to establish a standard chromatographic fingerprint. Principal component analysis was then applied to classify GFC information of adulterated milk and raw milk, allowing adulterated samples to be effectively screened out from the raw milk in principal component analysis scores plot. The fingerprint method demonstrates promising features in detecting milk protein adulteration. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. A Decision-Making Model for Deterring Food Vendors from Selling Harmless Low-Quality Foods as High-Quality Foods to Consumers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Po-Yu Chen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available For certain types of foods, food vendors often label low-quality foods that are harmless to human health as foods of excellent quality and sell these falsely labeled products to consumers. Because this type of food poses no harm to human health, when public health units discover their act of false labeling or food adulteration, vendors are only penalized with a fine rather than having them assume criminal liability. Upon discovering vendors act of falsely labeling food, public health units typically punish the involved parties according to the extent of false labeling. Such static protective measure is ineffective. Instead, the extent of punishment should be based not only on the extent of false labeling, but also on the frequency of food sampling as well as the number of samples obtained for food inspections. Only through this dynamic approach can food adulteration or false labeling be effectively prevented. Adopting the standpoint of the public sector in food safety management, this study developed a mathematical model that facilitates discussion on the aforementioned problems. Furthermore, we discussed how the supply-demand environmental factors of the food market are influenced by the administrative means that the public health units have used to prevent food false labeling.

  2. Food certification based on isotopic analysis, according to the European standards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costinel, Diana; Ionete, Roxana Elena; Vremera, Raluca; Stanciu, Vasile; Iordache, Andreea

    2007-01-01

    Full text: Under current EU research projects, several public research institutions, universities and private companies are collaborating to develop new methods of evidencing food adulteration and consequently assessing food safety. The use of mass spectrometry (MS) to determine the ratio of stable isotopes in bio-molecules now provides the means to prove the natural origin of a wide variety of foodstuffs - and therefore, to identify the fraud and consequently to reject the improper products or certify the food quality. Isotope analysis has been officially adopted by the EU as a means of controlling adulteration of some food stuffs. A network of research organizations developed the use of isotopic analysis to support training and technology transfer to encourage uptake of the technique. There were also developed proficiency-testing schemes to ensure the correct use of isotopic techniques in national testing laboratories. In addition, ensuring the food quality and safety is a requirement, which must be fulfilled for the integration in EU. The present paper emphasizes the isotopic analysis for D/H, 18 O/ 16 O, 13 C/ 12 C from food (honey, juice, wines) using a new generation Isotope Ratio MS, Finnigan Delta V Plus, coupled to a three flexible continuous flow preparation device (GasBench II, TC Elemental Analyser and GC-C/TC). (authors)

  3. Rapid authentication of edible bird's nest by FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Lili; Wu, Yajun; Liu, Mingchang; Ge, Yiqiang; Chen, Ying

    2018-06-01

    Edible bird's nests (EBNs) have been traditionally regarded as a kind of medicinal and healthy food in China. For economic reasons, they are frequently subjected to adulteration with some cheaper substitutes, such as Tremella fungus, agar, fried pigskin, and egg white. As a kind of precious and functional product, it is necessary to establish a robust method for the rapid authentication of EBNs with small amounts of samples by simple processes. In this study, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) system was utilized and its feasibility for identification of EBNs was verified. FTIR spectra data of authentic and adulterated EBNs were analyzed by chemometrics analyses including principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), support vector machine (SVM) and one-class partial least squares (OCPLS). The results showed that the established LDA and SVM models performed well and had satisfactory classification ability, with the former 94.12% and the latter 100%. The OCPLS model was developed with prediction sensitivity of 0.937 and specificity of 0.886. Further detection of commercial EBN samples confirmed these results. FTIR is applicable in the scene of rapid authentication of EBNs, especially for quality supervision departments, entry-exit inspection and quarantine, and customs administration. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  4. Morpho-anatomical characteristics of the raw material of the herbal drug Olivae folium and its counterfeits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lakušić Branislava

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The olive tree leaf is a very significant plant raw material from the medical and economic points of view (Ph. Eur. 5, PDR. In the region of Southeast Europe, olive leaves are most commonly adulterated with oleander leaves and the leaves of Pittosporum tobira. This paper deals with the morphological and anatomical features of leaves of the following species: Olea europaea, Nerium oleander and Pittosporum tobira. The aim of this research was to define concrete diagnostic parameters permitting detection of adulterants in commercial samples of the herbal drug Olivae folium.

  5. A validated RP-HPLC method for the determination of Irinotecan hydrochloride residues for cleaning validation in production area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunil Reddy

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: cleaning validation is an integral part of current good manufacturing practices in pharmaceutical industry. The main purpose of cleaning validation is to prove the effectiveness and consistency of cleaning in a given pharmaceutical production equipment to prevent cross contamination and adulteration of drug product with other active ingredient. Objective: a rapid, sensitive and specific reverse phase HPLC method was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of irinotecan hydrochloride in cleaning validation swab samples. Method: the method was validated using waters symmetry shield RP-18 (250mm x 4.6mm 5 µm column with isocratic mobile phase containing a mixture of 0.02 M potassium di-hydrogen ortho-phosphate, pH adjusted to 3.5 with ortho-phosphoric acid, methanol and acetonitrile (60:20:20 v/v/v. The flow rate of mobile phase was 1.0 mL/min with column temperature of 25°C and detection wavelength at 220nm. The sample injection volume was 100 µl. Results: the calibration curve was linear over a concentration range from 0.024 to 0.143 µg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.997. The intra-day and inter-day precision expressed as relative standard deviation were below 3.2%. The recoveries obtained from stainless steel, PCGI, epoxy, glass and decron cloth surfaces were more than 85% and there was no interference from the cotton swab. The detection limit (DL and quantitation limit (QL were 0.008 and 0.023 µg ml-1, respectively. Conclusion: the developed method was validated with respect to specificity, linearity, limit of detection and quantification, accuracy, precision and solution stability. The overall procedure can be used as part of a cleaning validation program in pharmaceutical manufacture of irinotecan hydrochloride.

  6. Characterization and quantitation of yohimbine and its analogs in botanicals and dietary supplements using LC/QTOF-MS and LC/QQQ-MS for determination of the presence of bark extract and yohimbine adulteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, Derick; Neal-Kababick, James; Zweigenbaum, Jerry

    2015-01-01

    The compound yohimbine HCl has been restricted in Australia and categorized as a scheduled prescription drug in other parts of the world, including the United States where it is monographed as a drug in the U. S. Pharmacopeia. However, the bark of the yohimbe plant and its extract is considered a botanical that can be used as a dietary supplement in some parts of the world. For these reasons, methods to characterize the indole alkaloids of the bark and quantify yohimbine and its analogs are presented using accurate mass LC/quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF)-MS and triple quadrupole LC/MS, respectively. Samples were extracted with a QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) method to characterize and quantify the indole alkaloids. With the LC/QTOF-MS in auto MS/MS mode the indole alkaloids were identified, and the isomeric response of each could be used to determine whether the actual bark or extract was in samples of dietary supplements and not adulteration with yohimbine HCl. Analogs were identified and include yohimbic acid, methyl yohimbine, and hydroxyl yohimbine. Many isomers of each were also detected, but identified only by the number of chromatographic peaks. Quantification of yohimbine and ajmalicine spiked extracts showed recoveries of 99 to 103% with RSD of 3.6% or lower and LODs of less than 100 ppt. Calibration of the two standards gave r(2) = 0.9999 in a range from 0.1 to 100 ppb. Dietary supplements quantified for these two compounds showed a range from not detected to 3x the amounts found in the bark.

  7. Aims and present state of the radiation processing of fishes and seafood

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hannesson, Gudlaugur.

    1974-01-01

    Acceptability of radurized pasteurized by ionizing radiations or radappertized (sterilized by ionizing radiations) fishery products depends on the irradiated fish quality. Though the sensory test is subjective, it allows a correct estimate of the quality. The correlation that exists between the adulteration degree estimated by chemical tests (T.M.A., total volatile bases, total volatil acids) and the organoleptic quality of the product is very variable. Gamma irradiation causes both qualitative and quantitative changes in the microbial flora. Methods actually used for the quality determination are not very fiable: researchs have to be undertaken to improve them. However, it can be assumed that: quality of radurized fish depends on its initial quality, storage duration, preirradiation storage temperature and amount of irradiation absorbed [fr

  8. Rapid identification of closely related muscle foods by vibrational spectroscopy and machine learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, David I; Broadhurst, David; Clarke, Sarah J; Goodacre, Royston

    2005-12-01

    Muscle foods are an integral part of the human diet and during the last few decades consumption of poultry products in particular has increased significantly. It is important for consumers, retailers and food regulatory bodies that these products are of a consistently high quality, authentic, and have not been subjected to adulteration by any lower-grade material either by accident or for economic gain. A variety of methods have been developed for the identification and authentication of muscle foods. However, none of these are rapid or non-invasive, all are time-consuming and difficulties have been encountered in discriminating between the commercially important avian species. Whilst previous attempts have been made to discriminate between muscle foods using infrared spectroscopy, these have had limited success, in particular regarding the closely related poultry species, chicken and turkey. Moreover, this study includes novel data since no attempts have been made to discriminate between both the species and the distinct muscle groups within these species, and this is the first application of Raman spectroscopy to the study of muscle foods. Samples of pre-packed meat and poultry were acquired and FT-IR and Raman measurements taken directly from the meat surface. Qualitative interpretation of FT-IR and Raman spectra at the species and muscle group levels were possible using discriminant function analysis. Genetic algorithms were used to elucidate meaningful interpretation of FT-IR results in (bio)chemical terms and we show that specific wavenumbers, and therefore chemical species, were discriminatory for each type (species and muscle) of poultry sample. We believe that this approach would aid food regulatory bodies in the rapid identification of meat and poultry products and shows particular potential for rapid assessment of food adulteration.

  9. The use of a conical lens to find the refractive index of liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anguiano-Morales, Marcelino; Salas Peimbert, Didia P; Trujillo-Schiaffino, Gerardo

    2011-01-01

    In this work, the basic idea is to determine the refractive index of liquids unknown using a conical lens. The measurement of the refractive index of liquids is an important work in engineering and science since is one of the most important optical parameter. The adulteration problem is increasing day by day; therefore it is necessary to implement new and simple devices for measure the refractive index of several materials. There is a great variety of interferometric methods that may be used for determining the refractive index. However, these methods either need sophisticated equipment or have low accuracy. Our system consists of a conical lens coupled to a cylindrical container with a liquid whose composition can be changed easily or adulterated. The diameter of the emergent beam of the container is associated to the specific index of refraction of each substance. Any adulteration of the liquid will be reflected in the diameter of the beam, which will be detected by a charge-coupled device (CCD). Our hypothesis is supported by developed mathematical calculations and numerical simulations.

  10. Classification of Brazilian and foreign gasolines adulterated with alcohol using infrared spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Neirivaldo C; Pimentel, Maria Fernanda; Honorato, Ricardo S; Talhavini, Marcio; Maldaner, Adriano O; Honorato, Fernanda A

    2015-08-01

    The smuggling of products across the border regions of many countries is a practice to be fought. Brazilian authorities are increasingly worried about the illicit trade of fuels along the frontiers of the country. In order to confirm this as a crime, the Federal Police must have a means of identifying the origin of the fuel. This work describes the development of a rapid and nondestructive methodology to classify gasoline as to its origin (Brazil, Venezuela and Peru), using infrared spectroscopy and multivariate classification. Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) and Soft Independent Modeling Class Analogy (SIMCA) models were built. Direct standardization (DS) was employed aiming to standardize the spectra obtained in different laboratories of the border units of the Federal Police. Two approaches were considered in this work: (1) local and (2) global classification models. When using Approach 1, the PLS-DA achieved 100% correct classification, and the deviation of the predicted values for the secondary instrument considerably decreased after performing DS. In this case, SIMCA models were not efficient in the classification, even after standardization. Using a global model (Approach 2), both PLS-DA and SIMCA techniques were effective after performing DS. Considering that real situations may involve questioned samples from other nations (such as Peru), the SIMCA method developed according to Approach 2 is a more adequate, since the sample will be classified neither as Brazil nor Venezuelan. This methodology could be applied to other forensic problems involving the chemical classification of a product, provided that a specific modeling is performed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The influence of additional water content towards the spectroscopy and physicochemical properties of genus Apis and stingless bee honey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omar, Ahmad Fairuz; Mardziah Yahaya, Ommi Kalsom; Tan, Kok Chooi; Mail, Mohd Hafiz; Seeni, Azman

    2016-04-01

    The major issues concerning to food products are related to its authenticity. Honey is one of the common food products that suffer from adulteration, mainly due to its constant high market demand and price. Several studies on the authenticity detection have been done mainly on honey from genus Apis (GA), but less research has been conducted on Stingless Bee Honey (SBH) even the market demand for this food product is increasing, particularly in Malaysia due to its possible health benefits. Thus, identification of unadulterated and authenticity of honey is a very key issue for products processors, retailers, consumers and regulatory authorities. There is an increasing demand for appropriate instruments and methods to shield consumers against fraud and to guarantee a fair competition between honey producers. The study presented in this paper shows the effect of diluting pure honey from both genus Apis and Stingless Bee towards its physicochemical attributes (i.e. soluble solids content and pH) and VIS-NIR spectral absorbance features.

  12. Analysis of suspected trace human remains from an indoor concrete surface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Carolyn M; Laskay, Unige A; Jackson, Glen P

    2008-11-01

    This paper describes the sequence of analyses used to determine the nature of a stain located on the floor of room in the former Athens Mental Health and Retardation Hospital in Athens, OH. The location of the stain was reported to be the position in which a decomposing body was discovered on January 11, 1979. The current stain is found to contain strong evidence for both natural decomposition products and deliberate adulteration. Microscopic analyses, solubility tests, FTIR, ICP-OES, pyrolysis-MS, and derivatization GC-MS were consistent in determining the removable parts of the stain to be composed mostly of calcium and sodium salts of free fatty acids, such as palmitic acid, consistent with previous descriptions of adipocere. The free fatty acids could have been formed via known bacterial degradation pathways or via saponification through the basic environment caused through contact with the concrete. To our knowledge, adipocere formation on an exposed indoor environment has not been described before. The stain and concrete also show signs of being chemically modified with an acidic reagent, such as Blu-Lite--a phosphoric acid-based cleaner that was a commonly used cleaner in the building from the time of discovery to the present day. The chemical etching appears to have been restricted to an area resembling the shape of a human body, which is consistent with deliberate adulteration of the appearance of the stain.

  13. Authentication of origins of fermentive ethanol in Philippine-made beverages by C,H,O isotope abundances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sucgang, Raymond J.; Morco, Ryan; Bautista, Angel; Laguitan, Arlin; Sevilla III, Fortunato

    2010-01-01

    This paper demonstrates the expediency of radiocarbon liquid scintillation counting for detection of synthetic ethanol adulteration in Philippine-manufactured wines/alcoholic beverages. The impure wines are distinguished from the pure beverages by radiocarbon assay, taking advantage of the anticipated minor 1 4Carbon content of synthetic ethyl alcohol in comparison with the natural 1 4C abundance of the plant-derived, biogenic products. Biogenic samples give 12-15 dpm/g C activities, while synthetic samples exhibits 0-2 dpm/g C activities. The research moreover explores the utility of Deuterium, Oxygen 16 and 1 3Carbon/ 1 2Carbon isotope ratio analysis in the authentication of the botanical and geographical origins of beverages. Initial investigations revealed the mean of δ 1 8O in the Metro Manila area for precipitation, surface waters and ground waters to be -6.09 ± 2.9, -1.59 ± 2.2, and -6.64 ± 0.7 per mil.respectively. δ 2 H in Metro Manila for precipitation, surface waters and ground waters were -43.8 ± 1.2,-11.9 ± 16.2, -45.0 ± 4.8 per mil respectively. Vital information such as detection of illegal dilution with water, or enrichment using other sugars before and after fermentation, misrepresentation of geographical origin, and adulteration with petroleum-derived ethanol can be generated from the isotopic data. (author)

  14. Leverage principle of retardation signal in titration of double protein via chip moving reaction boundary electrophoresis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Liu-Xia; Cao, Yi-Ren; Xiao, Hua; Liu, Xiao-Ping; Liu, Shao-Rong; Meng, Qing-Hua; Fan, Liu-Yin; Cao, Cheng-Xi

    2016-03-15

    In the present work we address a simple, rapid and quantitative analytical method for detection of different proteins present in biological samples. For this, we proposed the model of titration of double protein (TDP) and its relevant leverage theory relied on the retardation signal of chip moving reaction boundary electrophoresis (MRBE). The leverage principle showed that the product of the first protein content and its absolute retardation signal is equal to that of the second protein content and its absolute one. To manifest the model, we achieved theoretical self-evidence for the demonstration of the leverage principle at first. Then relevant experiments were conducted on the TDP-MRBE chip. The results revealed that (i) there was a leverage principle of retardation signal within the TDP of two pure proteins, and (ii) a lever also existed within these two complex protein samples, evidently demonstrating the validity of TDP model and leverage theory in MRBE chip. It was also showed that the proposed technique could provide a rapid and simple quantitative analysis of two protein samples in a mixture. Finally, we successfully applied the developed technique for the quantification of soymilk in adulterated infant formula. The TDP-MRBE opens up a new window for the detection of adulteration ratio of the poor food (milk) in blended high quality one. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. An ‘innovation-cycle framework’ of integrated agricultural knowledge system and innovation for improving farmers’climate change adaptation and risk mitigation capacities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rahman, Md Zillur

    2015-01-01

    and the increased risks of safe agricultural food production, sustainable environment and health, it will be unprecedented challenges due to increasing demand for safe food supply for future growing population in Bangladesh. Studies show that producers (farmers) are still lagging behind with lack of necessary...... capacities including shortage of adequate knowledge of understanding in both ‘environmental’ and ‘health’ risks, which are contributing to excessive use of pesticides, fertilizers and agrochemicals for agricultural production, mixing of prohibited or hazardous chemicals with foods and foodstuffs for food...... adulteration, post-harvest preservation, and processing without being sufficiently aware of health and environmental consequences. To address the issue, very little investigations were done to understand how producers’ perception and ignorance of risks are interconnected to the ways of their risky behaviour...

  16. Identification of pyrG Used as an Endogenous Reference Gene in Qualitative and Real-Time Quantitative PCR Detection of Pleurotus ostreatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Shi; Shan, Luying; Zhuang, Yongliang; Shang, Ying

    2018-03-01

    As a well-known edible fungus rich in nutrients, Pleurotus ostreatus has been used as an alternative to expensive wild edible fungi. Specifically, the fact that using P. ostreatus instead of other expensive wild edible fungi has damaged the rights and interests of consumers. Among the existing methods for detection of food adulteration, the amplification of endogenous reference gene is the most accurate method. However, an ideal endogenous reference gene for P. ostreatus has yet to be developed. In this study, a DNA extraction method for P. ostreatus was optimized, and pyrG was selected as a species-specific gene through sequence alignment. This gene was subsequently subjected to qualitative and quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assays with 3 different P. ostreatus varieties and 7 other species. A low detection limit of 5 pg/μL was obtained by TaqMan quantitative PCR, and no pyrG amplification product was observed in the 7 other species. No allelic variation was detected in P. ostreatus varieties. These experiments confirmed that pyrG was an ideal endogenous reference gene for the qualitative and real-time quantitative PCR detection of P. ostreatus. This method was also suitable for the examination of processed P. ostreatus samples and determination of adulteration in wild mushrooms. The pyrG gene was chosen as an ideal endogenous reference gene for the qualitative and real-time quantitative PCR detection of P. ostreatus, and the detection limit was 5 pg/μL for the quantification. This method is used not only for raw materials but also for processed P. ostreatus products and other processed mushroom foods. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  17. Rapid identification of pearl powder from Hyriopsis cumingii by Tri-step infrared spectroscopy combined with computer vision technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Siqi; Wei, Wei; Bai, Zhiyi; Wang, Xichang; Li, Xiaohong; Wang, Chuanxian; Liu, Xia; Liu, Yuan; Xu, Changhua

    2018-01-01

    Pearl powder, an important raw material in cosmetics and Chinese patent medicines, is commonly uneven in quality and frequently adulterated with low-cost shell powder in the market. The aim of this study is to establish an adequate approach based on Tri-step infrared spectroscopy with enhancing resolution combined with chemometrics for qualitative identification of pearl powder originated from three different quality grades of pearls and quantitative prediction of the proportions of shell powder adulterated in pearl powder. Additionally, computer vision technology (E-eyes) can investigate the color difference among different pearl powders and make it traceable to the pearl quality trait-visual color categories. Though the different grades of pearl powder or adulterated pearl powder have almost identical IR spectra, SD-IR peak intensity at about 861 cm- 1 (v2 band) exhibited regular enhancement with the increasing quality grade of pearls, while the 1082 cm- 1 (v1 band), 712 cm- 1 and 699 cm- 1 (v4 band) were just the reverse. Contrastly, only the peak intensity at 862 cm- 1 was enhanced regularly with the increasing concentration of shell powder. Thus, the bands in the ranges of (1550-1350 cm- 1, 730-680 cm- 1) and (830-880 cm- 1, 690-725 cm- 1) could be exclusive ranges to discriminate three distinct pearl powders and identify adulteration, respectively. For massive sample analysis, a qualitative classification model and a quantitative prediction model based on IR spectra was established successfully by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS), respectively. The developed method demonstrated great potential for pearl powder quality control and authenticity identification in a direct, holistic manner.

  18. Isotope analysis (δ13C of pulpy whole apple juice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Figueira

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of this study were to develop the method of isotope analysis to quantify the carbon of C3 photosynthetic cycle in pulpy whole apple juice and to measure the legal limits based on Brazilian legislation in order to identify the beverages that do not conform to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA. This beverage was produced in a laboratory according to the Brazilian law. Pulpy juices adulterated by the addition of sugarcane were also produced. The isotope analyses measured the relative isotope enrichment of the juices, their pulpy fractions (internal standard and purified sugar. From those results, the quantity of C3 source was estimated by means of the isotope dilution equation. To determine the existence of adulteration in commercial juices, it was necessary to create a legal limit according to the Brazilian law. Three brands of commercial juices were analyzed. One was classified as adulterated. The legal limit enabled to clearly identify the juice that was not in conformity with the Brazilian law. The methodology developed proved efficient for quantifying the carbon of C3 origin in commercial pulpy apple juices.

  19. Prescription profile of potentially aristolochic acid containing Chinese herbal products: an analysis of National Health Insurance data in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee Chang-Hsing

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Some Chinese herbal products (CHPs may contain aristolochic acid (AA or may be adulterated by the herbs suspected of containing AA which is nephrotoxic and carcinogenic. This study aims to identify the risk and the prescription profile of AA-containing CHPs (AA-CHPs in Taiwan. Methods A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a randomly sampled cohort of 200,000 patients using the data from the National Health Insurance (NHI in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003. Results During the 7-year study period, 78,644 patients were prescribed with AA-CHPs; most patients were females, or middle-aged, or both. A total of 526,867 prescriptions were made to use 1,218 licensed AA-CHPs. Over 85% of the AA-exposed patients took less than 60 g of AA-herbs; however, about 7% were exposed to a cumulated dose of over 100 g of Radix et Rhizoma Asari (Xixin, Caulis Akebiae (Mutong or Fructus Aristolochiae (Madouling. Patients of respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases received most of the AA-CHP prescriptions. The most frequently prescribed AA-CHPs Shujing Huoxie Tang, Chuanqiong Chadiao San and Longdan Xiegan Tang, containing Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae, Radix et Rhizoma Asari and Caulis Akebiae, respectively. Conclusion About one-third of people in Taiwan have been prescribed with AA-CHPs between 1997 and 2003. Although the cumulated doses were not large, further actions should be carried out to ensure the safe use of AA-CHPs.

  20. Prescription profile of potentially aristolochic acid containing Chinese herbal products: an analysis of National Health Insurance data in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Shu-Ching; Lin, I-Hsin; Tseng, Wei-Lum; Lee, Chang-Hsing; Wang, Jung-Der

    2008-10-23

    Some Chinese herbal products (CHPs) may contain aristolochic acid (AA) or may be adulterated by the herbs suspected of containing AA which is nephrotoxic and carcinogenic. This study aims to identify the risk and the prescription profile of AA-containing CHPs (AA-CHPs) in Taiwan. A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a randomly sampled cohort of 200,000 patients using the data from the National Health Insurance (NHI) in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003. During the 7-year study period, 78,644 patients were prescribed with AA-CHPs; most patients were females, or middle-aged, or both. A total of 526,867 prescriptions were made to use 1,218 licensed AA-CHPs. Over 85% of the AA-exposed patients took less than 60 g of AA-herbs; however, about 7% were exposed to a cumulated dose of over 100 g of Radix et Rhizoma Asari (Xixin), Caulis Akebiae (Mutong) or Fructus Aristolochiae (Madouling). Patients of respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases received most of the AA-CHP prescriptions. The most frequently prescribed AA-CHPs Shujing Huoxie Tang, Chuanqiong Chadiao San and Longdan Xiegan Tang, containing Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae, Radix et Rhizoma Asari and Caulis Akebiae, respectively. About one-third of people in Taiwan have been prescribed with AA-CHPs between 1997 and 2003. Although the cumulated doses were not large, further actions should be carried out to ensure the safe use of AA-CHPs.

  1. Fraude em azeites de oliva do comércio brasileiro: avaliação pelo perfil de ácidos graxos, diferença do ECN 42 e parâmetros de qualidade | Fraud in olive oils of Brazilian market: evaluation by fatty acid profile, difference of ECN 42 and quality parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabria Aued-Pimentel

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Introdução: Considerando a alta incidência de adulterações no azeite de oliva comercializado no Brasil, é fundamental o monitoramento contínuo deste produto. Objetivo: No presente estudo foram avaliadas 41 amostras de 18 marcas, sendo 26 declaradas como azeite de oliva extra virgem (AOEV e 15 como azeite de oliva (AO. Método: As amostras foram analisadas no Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, Brasil, entre os anos de 2014 e 2016. Foram determinados: o perfil de ácidos graxos, os índices de acidez e peróxidos a extinção específica a 270 nm, a diferença do ECN 42, o perfil de tocoferóis e a adequação da informação nutricional. Resultados: Dezenove amostras (46%, de 12 marcas, não apresentaram perfil de ácidos graxos característico. A diferença do ECN 42 mostrou-se sensível para indicar a adulteração de outras duas amostras cujo perfil de ácidos graxos era de azeite autêntico. Das 26 amostras declaradas como AOEV, somente 9 enquadraram-se nesta categoria. Vinte e duas amostras apresentaram teor de ácidos graxos monoinsaturados (AGM e/ou poli-insaturados (AGP variando mais que 20% do declarado no rótulo. Conclusões: As amostras adulteradas foram envasadas no Brasil, evidenciando a necessidade de um controle mais rigoroso na produção e na comercialização do produto com vistas à segurança nutricional deste alimento. =============================================== Introduction: Considering the high incidence of adulterations in olive oil marketed in Brazil, a continuous monitoring of this product is fundamental. Objective: In the present study, 41 samples from 18 brands were evaluated, of which 26 were declared as extra virgin olive oil (AOEV and 15 as olive oil (AO. Method: The samples were analyzed at Adolfo Lutz Institute, São Paulo, Brazil, between 2014 and 2016. Fatty acids profile, acidity and peroxides indexes, specific extinction at 270 nm, ECN 42 difference, tocopherols profile and adequacy of nutritional

  2. Authenticity analyses of Phyllanthus amarus using barcoding coupled with HRM analysis to control its quality for medicinal plant product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buddhachat, Kittisak; Osathanunkul, Maslin; Madesis, Panagiotis; Chomdej, Siriwadee; Ongchai, Siriwan

    2015-11-15

    The Phyllanthus genus, a plant used in traditional Thai medicine, has according to several pharmacopeias hepatoprotective properties. Not only is the anatomical morphology of these species relatively similar but they also share the Thai common names Look-Tai-Bai (ลูกใต้ใบ) and Yah-Tai-Bai (หญ้าใต้ใบ), which might cause confusion for laypersons. This study attempted to develop a method for accurate identification of Phyllanthus species, especially Phyllanthus amarus, and to detect contaminants in P. amarus products by using DNA barcoding coupled with high resolution melting (HRM) analysis (bar-HRM). Two plastid loci (rbcL and trnL) were chosen for DNA barcoding to generate a suitable primer for distinguishing Phyllanthus species by HRM analysis. The five species of Phyllanthus were subjected to amplification for testing the specificity and discrimination power of the designed primers derived from rbcL and trnL regions. Sensitivity of the method (DNA barcoding conjugated with HRM) to detect adulterant in P. amarus samples was evaluated. The commercial P. amarus products obtained from a local market were authenticated. The primer pair derived from trnL DNA barcoding (PhylltrnL) had more specificity and power of discrimination for Phyllanthus species than that derived from rbcL DNA barcoding (PhyllrbcL). The result showed that Tm of P. amarus, Phyllanthus urinaria, Phyllanthus debilis, Phyllanthus airy-shawii, and Phyllanthus virgatus was 74.3±0.08, 73.04±0.07, 73.36±0.05, 72.21±0.06, 72.77±0.15°C, respectively. This method proved to be a very sensitive tool that can be used for rapid detection of contamination as low as 1% of other Phyllanthus species in P. amarus admixtures. All commercial products of P. amarus obtained from a local market in Thailand were found to contain pure raw materials of P. amarus without any substitution or contamination. Our results indicated that the use of DNA barcoding coupled with HRM was an

  3. Use of Proteomic Methodology in Optimization of Processing and Quality Control of Food of Animal Origin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dajana Gašo-Sokač

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Food of animal origin, namely meat, seafood, milk and milk products, is the main protein source in human nutrition. These types of food are very complex mixtures that contain proteins and other components, and proteomic techniques enable simultaneous study of several hundred up to several thousand proteins. The use of proteomic methodology for quality control and quality assessment in production as well as for the optimization and development of new manufacturing processes is presented. Newly developed, faster and more selective methods for sample preparation followed by more sensitive mass spectrometry for identification of less abundant proteins are discussed. These techniques will help to understand variations in production, and to find markers for food quality criteria. Furthermore, biologically active peptides in food of animal origin have recently been the focus of proteomic and peptidomic investigations. Isolation and production of biologically active proteins and peptides, including the low abundance ones, will also be a focus of future research. The use of proteomics, peptidomics and metabonomics for the determination of product quality and the detection of adulterations in meat production, seafood identification and in the production of milk and milk products is also discussed.

  4. Wide-range screening of psychoactive substances by FIA-HRMS: identification strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alechaga, Élida; Moyano, Encarnación; Galceran, Maria Teresa

    2015-06-01

    Recreational drugs (illicit drugs, human and veterinary medicines, legal highs, etc.) often contain lacing agents and adulterants which are not related to the main active ingredient. Serious side effects and even the death of the consumer have been related to the consumption of mixtures of psychoactive substances and/or adulterants, so it is important to know the actual composition of recreational drugs. In this work, a method based on flow injection analysis (FIA) coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) is proposed for the fast identification of psychoactive substances in recreational drugs and legal highs. The FIA and HRMS working conditions were optimized in order to detect a wide range of psychoactive compounds. As most of the psychoactive substances are acid-base compounds, methanol-0.1 % aqueous formic acid (1:1 v/v) as a carrier solvent and electrospray in both positive ion mode and negative ion mode were used. Two data acquisition modes, full scan at high mass resolution (HRMS) and data-dependent tandem mass spectrometry (ddMS/HRMS) with a quadrupole-Orbitrap mass analyzer were used, resulting in sufficient selectivity for identification of the components of the samples. A custom-made database containing over 450 substances, including psychoactive compounds and common adulterants, was built to perform a high-throughput target and suspect screening. Moreover, online accurate mass databases and mass fragmenter software were used to identify unknowns. Some examples, selected among the analyzed samples of recreational drugs and legal highs using the FIA-HRMS(ddMS/HRMS) method developed, are discussed to illustrate the screening strategy used in this study. The results showed that many of the analyzed samples were adulterated, and in some cases the sample composition did not match that of the supposed marketed substance.

  5. Combined use of isotopic fingerprint and metabolomics analysis for the authentication of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perini, Matteo; Paolini, Mauro; Camin, Federica; Appendino, Giovanni; Vitulo, Francesca; De Combarieu, Eric; Sardone, Nicola; Martinelli, Ernesto Marco; Pace, Roberto

    2018-04-22

    Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens, SP) is the most expensive oil source of the pharmaceutical and healthfood market, and its high cost and recurrent shortages have spurred the development of designer blends of fatty acids to mimic its phytochemical profile and fraudulently comply with the current authentication assays. To detect this adulteration, the combined use of isotopic fingerprint and omic analysis has been investigated, using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to handle the complex databases generated by these techniques and to identify the possible source of the adulterants. Surprisingly, the presence of fatty acids of animal origin turned out to be widespread in commercial samples of saw palmetto oil. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Quality of cocaine seized in 1997 in the street-drug market of São Paulo city, Brazil Qualidade da cocaína traficada em 1997 na cidade de São Paulo, Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Débora Gonçalves de Carvalho

    2003-03-01

    Full Text Available Street drugs when in great demand in an illicit market become not only more expensive but are also subject to extensive adulteration and dilution. These fraudulent practices may also contribute to the amplification of toxic effects observed in the abuse of certain drugs including cocaine hydrochloride. The number of seizures reflects the increase of illicit use of cocaine powder in the city of S.Paulo, where the identity of the suspected drug is its hydrochloride form. Routine analytical procedures in enforcement laboratories in Brazil now comprise techniques involving thin layer chromatography for presumptive identification of the drug and eventually gas chromatography for its confirmation or quantification whenever required. The determination of cocaine content, adulterants and diluents in street samples is not only of clinical value but also important for enforcement activities, recognition of its geographical distribution and allocation. So, the aim of this study was to continue examining the quality of cocaine hydrochloride in the illicit market of the city of S.Paulo. Cocaine and adulterant contents were determined as well as the identification of several diluents in 389 out of 1958 samples of "white powder" seized in the city of São Paulo. Thin-layer and gas-liquid chromatography (FID and GC-MS were used for the determination of cocaine and adulterant contents. Spot-tests and thin-layer chromatography were the techniques applied for the identification of diluents. The results were as follows: neither cocaine nor adulterants were detected in 17 samples (4.4%; of all positive samples (95.6 % for cocaine, 14% consisted of no more than 200 mg/g; in 70% cocaine purity ranged from 201 to 550 mg/g and in 16% it was not greater than 700 mg/g. The local anesthetics lidocaine and procaine were detected in 19 samples (4,9% in a range from 10 to 602 mg/g. Caffeine was present in only two samples (179 and 356 mg/g. The main diluents detected were

  7. Fourier transform infrared and fluorescence spectroscopy for analysis of vegetable oils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nigri S.

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Fourier transform infrared (FTIR and fluorescence spectroscopy, combined with chemometric approaches have been developed to analysis of extra virgin olive oil adulterated with pomace olive oil. The measurements were made on pure vegetable oils: extra virgin oil, pomace olive oil and that adulterated with varying concentration of pomace olive oil. Today, the application of FTIR spectroscopy has increased in food studied, and particularly has become a powerful analytical tool in the study of edible oils and fats. The spectral regions where the variations were observed chosen for developing models and cross validation was used. The synchronous fluorescence spectrometry takes advantage of the hardware capability to vary both the excitation and emission wavelengths during the analysis with constant wavelength difference is maintained between the two. The region between 300 and 400 nm is attributed to the tocopherols and phenols, the derivatives of vitamin E are associated with the region 400–600 nm and the bands in the region of 600–700 nm are attributed to the chlorophyll and peophytin pigments. The results presented in this study suggest that FTIR and fluorescence may be a useful tool for analysis and detecting adulteration of extra virgin olive oil with pomace oil.

  8. FT-Raman and NIR spectroscopy data fusion strategy for multivariate qualitative analysis of food fraud.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Márquez, Cristina; López, M Isabel; Ruisánchez, Itziar; Callao, M Pilar

    2016-12-01

    Two data fusion strategies (high- and mid-level) combined with a multivariate classification approach (Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogy, SIMCA) have been applied to take advantage of the synergistic effect of the information obtained from two spectroscopic techniques: FT-Raman and NIR. Mid-level data fusion consists of merging some of the previous selected variables from the spectra obtained from each spectroscopic technique and then applying the classification technique. High-level data fusion combines the SIMCA classification results obtained individually from each spectroscopic technique. Of the possible ways to make the necessary combinations, we decided to use fuzzy aggregation connective operators. As a case study, we considered the possible adulteration of hazelnut paste with almond. Using the two-class SIMCA approach, class 1 consisted of unadulterated hazelnut samples and class 2 of samples adulterated with almond. Models performance was also studied with samples adulterated with chickpea. The results show that data fusion is an effective strategy since the performance parameters are better than the individual ones: sensitivity and specificity values between 75% and 100% for the individual techniques and between 96-100% and 88-100% for the mid- and high-level data fusion strategies, respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Cocaine/levamisole-associated autoimmune syndrome: a disease of neutrophil-mediated autoimmunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cascio, Michael J; Jen, Kuang-Yu

    2018-01-01

    Levamisole was previously used for its immunomodulatory properties to treat rheumatoid arthritis and some cancers. However, because of serious side-effects, it was taken off the market in the United States. Recently, levamisole has reemerged as a popular cocaine adulterant. Some individuals who consume levamisole-adulterated cocaine can develop a life-threatening autoimmune syndrome. In this review, the medical consequences of levamisole exposure and postulated mechanisms by which levamisole induces these adverse effects are discussed. Although agranulocytosis and cutaneous vasculitis are the major findings in patients who develop cocaine/levamisole-associated autoimmune syndrome (CLAAS), more recent experience indicates that other organ systems can be involved as well. Current studies point to neutrophil activation and neutrophil extracellular trap formation with subsequent antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-mediated tissue injury as a possible mechanism of CLAAS. In the past decade, the detrimental effects of levamisole have reemerged because of its popularity as a cocaine adulterant. Although infrequent, some individuals develop a systemic autoimmune syndrome characterized by immune-mediated agranulocytosis and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-mediated vasculitis. Mechanistically, neutrophil antigens appear to be a major player in inducing CLAAS. Prompt cessation of levamisole exposure is key to treatment, although relapses are frequent because of the addictive effects of cocaine and the high prevalence of levamisole within the cocaine supply.

  10. Will the new Consumer Protection Act prevent harm to nutritional supplement users?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabriels, Gary; Lambert, Mike; Smith, Pete; Hiss, Donavon

    2011-07-25

    BACKGROUND. There is no clear distinction between the regulation of food, supplements and medicines in South Africa. Consequently, grey areas exist in implementing the legislation, particularly in the supplement industry. The increase in supplement sales in South Africa can be attributed to aggressive marketing by manufacturers whose claims are not always supported by published peer-reviewed evidence. Such claims often go unchecked, resulting in consumers being mislead about the role of supplements. As a result of poor regulation, contaminants or adulterants in supplements may also cause insidious effects unrelated to the listed ingredients. AIM. To assess the regulations, legislation, and claims associated with nutritional supplement products in South Africa. METHOD. Peer-reviewed literature and the relevant South African statutes were consulted. RESULTS. The National Health Act incorporates the Medicine Control Council, which is charged with ensuring the safety, quality and effectiveness of medicines, and related matters, including complementary/alternative medicines. The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport and Amendment Act provides for testing athletes for using banned substances, but currently does not concern itself with monitoring nutritional supplements for contaminants or adulterants that may cause a positive drug test, which has implications for sports participants and also the health of the general population. The implementation of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) could protect consumer rights if it is administered and resourced appropriately. CONCLUSION. The CPA should promote greater levels of policy development, regulatory enforcement, and consumer education of South Africa's supplement industry.

  11. Three Myths About Dietary Supplements … and How Knowing the Right Answers Is Good for Your Integrative Medicine Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Israelsen, Loren; Lampe, Frank

    2016-06-01

    The use of safe and beneficial dietary supplements remains an important part of your patients' healthy lifestyle-and supplements are likely an important part of your integrative medicine practice. Although issues surrounding potency, ingredient identification, adulteration, and the enforcement of existing laws are legitimate concerns for medical professionals and consumers, the responsible industry is actively working to raise quality standards for its products through a number of self-regulatory measures. These include education about and adoption of additional quality assurance initiatives, such as GMPs for botanical ingredients; better supply-chain management; adoption of improved identification and testing methodologies; an industry-wide product registry; the use of accredited third-party certifications and seals; and initiatives to promote widespread membership in the industry's trade associations, which is a reliable indicator of a company's support of and adherence to strict quality guidelines. Also, industry support of appropriate enforcement actions against problem players and products from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and states' attorneys general continues in an effort to rid the market of unsafe and mislabeled products.

  12. The use of stable isotopes for the characterization of honeys, their origin and adulteration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ziegler, Hubert; Stichler, Willibald; Maurizio, Anna.

    1977-01-01

    In general, plants used by bees as nectar sources belong to the C 3 -typ of photosynthetic CO 2 -fixation. As a consequence, honey mostly shows the delta 13 C-values of C 3 -plants. Addition of cane-sugar or corn-products ('isomerose syrup' or 'apireve') to the honey (or feeding these substances to bees) would change this delta 13 C-value. This allows a sensitive proof for the absence of such additions. The deltaD-values in the dry substance of honey may be used in special cases to identify the geographic origin of the honey

  13. Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2009 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

    Science.gov (United States)

    Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2009 award winner, CEM Corporation, developed a fast, automated analytical process using less toxic reagents and less energy to distinguish protein from the food adulterant, melamine.

  14. Drug-related deaths with evidences of body packing: Two case reports and medico-legal issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cappelletti, Simone; Aromatario, Mariarosaria; Bottoni, Edoardo; Fiore, Paola Antonella; Straccamore, Marco; Umani Ronchi, Federica; De Mari, Guido Maria; Ciallella, Costantino

    2016-05-01

    Body packing is a general term used to indicate the internal transportation of drug packages, mainly cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, and methamphetamine, within the gastrointestinal tract. We described two cases of accidental drug intoxication, observed over the last year period, with evidence of intracorporeal drug concealment. The first case concerned a body packer transporting 69 drug packages of heroin adulterated with piracetam. The second body packer transported 16 drug packages of cocaine adulterated with levamisole. For both cases, forensic examination and toxicological analysis of drug packages and biological samples were carried out. Authors also wants to highlight the main medico-legal issues that commonly arise in cases of suspected or ascertained body packers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Enzyme immunoassay for the detection of porcine gelatine in edible bird's nests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tukiran, Nur Azira; Ismail, Amin; Mustafa, Shuhaimi; Hamid, Muhajir

    2015-01-01

    Porcine gelatine is a common adulterant found in edible bird's nests (EBNs) used to increase the net weight prior to sale. This study aimed to develop indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for porcine gelatine adulteration using anti-peptide polyclonal antibodies. Three indirect ELISAs were developed (PAB1, 2 and 3), which had limits of detection (LODs) of 0.12, 0.10 and 0.11 µg g(-1), respectively. When applied to standard solutions of porcine gelatine, the inter- and intra-assays showed coefficients of variation (CVs) less than 20% and were able to detect at least 0.5 ng µg(-1) (0.05%) porcine gelatine in spiked samples. The proposed ELISA offers attractions for quality control in the EBN industry.

  16. A Coordinated Research Project on the Implementation of Nuclear Techniques to Improve Food Traceability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frew, Russell; Cannavan, Andrew; Zandric, Zora; Maestroni, Britt; Abrahim, Aiman

    2013-04-01

    Traceability systems play a key role in assuring a safe and reliable food supply. Analytical techniques harnessing the spatial patterns in distribution of stable isotope and trace element ratios can be used for the determination of the provenance of food. Such techniques offer the potential to enhance global trade by providing an independent means of verifying "paper" traceability systems and can also help to prove authenticity, to combat fraudulent practices, and to control adulteration, which are important issues for economic, religious or cultural reasons. To address some of the challenges that developing countries face in attempting to implement effective food traceability systems, the IAEA, through its Joint FAO/IAEA Division on Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, has initiated a 5-year coordinated research project involving institutes in 15 developing and developed countries (Austria, Botswana, Chile, China, France, India, Lebanon, Morocco, Portugal, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, Uganda, UK, USA). The objective is to help in member state laboratories to establish robust analytical techniques and databases, validated to international standards, to determine the provenance of food. Nuclear techniques such as stable isotope and multi-element analysis, along with complementary methods, will be applied for the verification of food traceability systems and claims related to food origin, production, and authenticity. This integrated and multidisciplinary approach to strengthening capacity in food traceability will contribute to the effective implementation of holistic systems for food safety and control. The project focuses mainly on the development of techniques to confirm product authenticity, with several research partners also considering food safety issues. Research topics encompass determination of the geographical origin of a variety of commodities, including seed oils, rice, wine, olive oil, wheat, orange juice, fish, groundnuts, tea, pork, honey and

  17. Levamisole and cocaine synergism: a prevalent adulterant enhances cocaine's action in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tallarida, Christopher S; Egan, Erin; Alejo, Gissel D; Raffa, Robert; Tallarida, Ronald J; Rawls, Scott M

    2014-04-01

    Levamisole is estimated by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to be present in about 80% of cocaine seized in the United States and linked to debilitating, and sometimes fatal, immunologic effects in cocaine abusers. One explanation for the addition of levamisole to cocaine is that it increases the amount of product and enhances profits. An alternative possibility, and one investigated here, is that levamisole alters cocaine's action in vivo. We specifically investigated effects of levamisole on cocaine's stereotypical and place-conditioning effects in an established invertebrate (planarian) assay. Acute exposure to levamisole or cocaine produced concentration-dependent increases in stereotyped movements. For combined administration of the two agents, isobolographic analysis revealed that the observed stereotypical response was enhanced relative to the predicted effect, indicating synergism for the interaction. In conditioned place preference (CPP) experiments, cocaine produced a significant preference shift; in contrast, levamisole was ineffective at all concentrations tested. For combination experiments, a submaximal concentration of cocaine produced CPP that was enhanced by inactive concentrations of levamisole, indicating synergism. The present results provide the first experimental evidence that levamisole enhances cocaine's action in vivo. Most important is the identification of synergism for the levamisole/cocaine interaction, which now requires further study in mammals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. A study of western pharmaceuticals contained within samples of Chinese herbal/patent medicines collected from New York City's Chinatown.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Gretchen M; Stripp, Richard

    2007-09-01

    In America, recent growth in the popularity of Chinese herbal/patent medicines (CHM/CPM) has generated concerns as to the safety of these and other herbal remedies. Lack of strict federal regulations has lead to the possibility of improper labeling and even adulteration of these products with western drugs or other chemical contaminants. Our laboratory has conducted an analytical study to determine the presence of undeclared pharmaceuticals and therapeutic substances within CHM/CPM sold in New York City's Chinatown. Ninety representative samples randomly purchased in the form of pills, tablets, creams and teas were screened by appropriate analytical techniques including TLC, GC/MS and HPLC. Five samples contained nine different western pharmaceuticals. Two of these samples contained undeclared or mislabeled substances. One sample contained two pharmaceuticals contraindicated in people for whom the product was intended. Drugs identified include promethazine, chlormethiazole, chlorpheniramine, diclofenac, chlordiazepoxide, hydrochlorothiazide, triamterene, diphenhydramine and sildenafil citrate (Viagra).

  19. A comprehensive quality evaluation method by FT-NIR spectroscopy and chemometric: Fine classification and untargeted authentication against multiple frauds for Chinese Ganoderma lucidum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Haiyan; Yin, Qiaobo; Xu, Lu; Wang, Weizheng; Chen, Feng; Yang, Tianming

    2017-07-01

    The origins and authenticity against frauds are two essential aspects of food quality. In this work, a comprehensive quality evaluation method by FT-NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics were suggested to address the geographical origins and authentication of Chinese Ganoderma lucidum (GL). Classification for 25 groups of GL samples (7 common species from 15 producing areas) was performed using near-infrared spectroscopy and interval-combination One-Versus-One least squares support vector machine (IC-OVO-LS-SVM). Untargeted analysis of 4 adulterants of cheaper mushrooms was performed by one-class partial least squares (OCPLS) modeling for each of the 7 GL species. After outlier diagnosis and comparing the influences of different preprocessing methods and spectral intervals on classification, IC-OVO-LS-SVM with standard normal variate (SNV) spectra obtained a total classification accuracy of 0.9317, an average sensitivity and specificity of 0.9306 and 0.9971, respectively. With SNV or second-order derivative (D2) spectra, OCPLS could detect at least 2% or more doping levels of adulterants for 5 of the 7 GL species and 5% or more doping levels for the other 2 GL species. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using new chemometrics and NIR spectroscopy for fine classification of GL geographical origins and species as well as for untargeted analysis of multiple adulterants.

  20. Analytical methods for the evaluation of melamine contamination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantor, Stuart L; Gupta, Abhay; Khan, Mansoor A

    2014-02-01

    There is an urgent need for the analysis of melamine in the global pharmaceutical supply chain to detect economically motivated adulteration or unintentional contamination using a simple, nondestructive analytical technique that confirms the extent of adulteration in a shorter time period. In this work, different analytical techniques (thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), FT-Raman, and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy) were evaluated for their ability to detect a range of melamine levels in gelatin. While FT-IR and FT-Raman provided qualitative assessment of melamine contamination or adulteration, powder X-ray diffraction and NIR were able to detect and quantify the presence of melamine at levels as low as 1.0% w/w. Multivariate analysis of the NIR data yielded the most accurate model when three principal components were used. Data were pretreated using standard normal variate transformation to remove multiplicative interferences of scatter and particle size. The model had a root-mean-square error of calibration of 2.4 (R(2) = 0.99) and root-mean square error of prediction of 2.5 (R(2) = 0.96). The value of the paired t test for actual and predicted samples (1%-50% w/w) was 0.448 (p 5), further indicating the robustness of the model. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  1. [Discrimination of types of polyacrylamide based on near infrared spectroscopy coupled with least square support vector machine].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hong-Guang; Yang, Qin-Min; Lu, Jian-Gang

    2014-04-01

    In this paper, a novel discriminant methodology based on near infrared spectroscopic analysis technique and least square support vector machine was proposed for rapid and nondestructive discrimination of different types of Polyacrylamide. The diffuse reflectance spectra of samples of Non-ionic Polyacrylamide, Anionic Polyacrylamide and Cationic Polyacrylamide were measured. Then principal component analysis method was applied to reduce the dimension of the spectral data and extract of the principal compnents. The first three principal components were used for cluster analysis of the three different types of Polyacrylamide. Then those principal components were also used as inputs of least square support vector machine model. The optimization of the parameters and the number of principal components used as inputs of least square support vector machine model was performed through cross validation based on grid search. 60 samples of each type of Polyacrylamide were collected. Thus a total of 180 samples were obtained. 135 samples, 45 samples for each type of Polyacrylamide, were randomly split into a training set to build calibration model and the rest 45 samples were used as test set to evaluate the performance of the developed model. In addition, 5 Cationic Polyacrylamide samples and 5 Anionic Polyacrylamide samples adulterated with different proportion of Non-ionic Polyacrylamide were also prepared to show the feasibilty of the proposed method to discriminate the adulterated Polyacrylamide samples. The prediction error threshold for each type of Polyacrylamide was determined by F statistical significance test method based on the prediction error of the training set of corresponding type of Polyacrylamide in cross validation. The discrimination accuracy of the built model was 100% for prediction of the test set. The prediction of the model for the 10 mixing samples was also presented, and all mixing samples were accurately discriminated as adulterated samples. The

  2. Non-destructive fraud detection in rosehip oil by MIR spectroscopy and chemometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santana, Felipe Bachion de; Gontijo, Lucas Caixeta; Mitsutake, Hery; Mazivila, Sarmento Júnior; Souza, Leticia Maria de; Borges Neto, Waldomiro

    2016-10-15

    Rosehip oil (Rosa eglanteria L.) is an important oil in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. However, due to its high added value, it is liable to adulteration with other cheaper or lower quality oils. With this perspective, this work provides a new simple, fast and accurate methodology using mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) as a means to discriminate authentic rosehip oil from adulterated rosehip oil containing soybean, corn and sunflower oils in different proportions. The model showed excellent sensitivity and specificity with 100% correct classification. Therefore, the developed methodology is a viable alternative for use in the laboratory and industry for standard quality analysis of rosehip oil since it is fast, accurate and non-destructive. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Authenticity analysis of citrus essential oils by HPLC-UV-MS on oxygenated heterocyclic components

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hao Fan

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Citrus essential oils are widely applied in food industry as the backbone of citrus flavors. Unfortunately, due to relatively simple chemical composition and tremendous price differences among citrus species, adulteration has been plaguing the industry since its inception. Skilled blenders are capable of making blends that are almost indistinguishable from authentic oils through conventional gas chromatography analysis. A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC method was developed for compositional study of nonvolatile constituents in essential oils from major citrus species. The nonvolatile oxygenated heterocyclic components identified in citrus oils were proved to be more effective as markers in adulteration detection than the volatile components. Authors are hoping such an analysis procedure can be served as a routine quality control test for authenticity evaluation in citrus essential oils.

  4. Characterization of polysaccharides from Ganoderma spp. using saccharide mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ding-Tao; Xie, Jing; Hu, De-Jun; Zhao, Jing; Li, Shao-Ping

    2013-09-12

    Polysaccharides from Ganoderma spp. and their adulterants were firstly investigated and compared using saccharide mapping, enzymatic (endo-1,3-β-D-glucanase and pectinase) digestion followed by polysaccharide analysis using carbohydrate gel electrophoresis analysis. The results showed that both 1,3-β-D-glucosidic and 1,4-α-D-galactosiduronic linkages were existed in Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum and Ganoderma sinense), and the similarity of polysaccharides from G. lucidum and G. sinense was high, which may contribute to rational use of Lingzhi. Different species of Ganoderma and their adulterants can be differentiated based on the saccharide mapping, which is helpful to well understand the structural characters of polysaccharides from different species of Ganoderma and to improve the quality control of polysaccharides in Lingzhi. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Micelle Enhanced Fluorimetric and Thin Layer Chromatography Densitometric Methods for the Determination of (± Citalopram and its S – Enantiomer Escitalopram

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elham A. Taha

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Two sensitive and validated methods were developed for determination of a racemic mixture citalopram and its enantiomer S-(+ escitalopram. The first method was based on direct measurement of the intrinsic fluorescence of escitalopram using sodium dodecyl sulfate as micelle enhancer. This was further applied to determine escitalopram in spiked human plasma, as well as in the presence of common and co-administerated drugs. The second method was TLC densitometric based on various chiral selectors was investigated. The optimum TLC conditions were found to be sensitive and selective for identification and quantitative determination of enantiomeric purity of escitalopram in drug substance and drug products. The method can be useful to investigate adulteration of pure isomer with the cheap racemic form.

  6. Micelle Enhanced Fluorimetric and Thin Layer Chromatography Densitometric Methods for the Determination of (± Citalopram and its S - Enantiomer Escitalopram

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elham A. Taha

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Two sensitive and validated methods were developed for determination of a racemic mixture citalopram and its enantiomer s -(+escitalopram. The first method was based on direct measurement of the intrinsic fluorescence of escitalopram using sodium dodecyl sulfate as micelle enhancer. This was further applied to determine escitalopram in spiked human plasma, as well as in the presence of common and co-administerated drugs. The second method was TLC densitometric based on various chiral selectors was investigated. The optimum TLC conditions were found to be sensitive and selective for identification and quantitative determination of enantiomeric purity of escitalopram in drug substance and drug products. The method can be useful to investigate adulteration of pure isomer with the cheap racemic form.

  7. Micelle Enhanced Fluorimetric and Thin Layer Chromatography Densitometric Methods for the Determination of (±) Citalopram and its S – Enantiomer Escitalopram

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taha, Elham A.; Salama, Nahla N.; Wang, Shudong

    2009-01-01

    Two sensitive and validated methods were developed for determination of a racemic mixture citalopram and its enantiomer S-(+) escitalopram. The first method was based on direct measurement of the intrinsic fluorescence of escitalopram using sodium dodecyl sulfate as micelle enhancer. This was further applied to determine escitalopram in spiked human plasma, as well as in the presence of common and co-administerated drugs. The second method was TLC densitometric based on various chiral selectors was investigated. The optimum TLC conditions were found to be sensitive and selective for identification and quantitative determination of enantiomeric purity of escitalopram in drug substance and drug products. The method can be useful to investigate adulteration of pure isomer with the cheap racemic form. PMID:19652757

  8. Cow's Milk Contamination of Human Milk Purchased via the Internet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keim, Sarah A; Kulkarni, Manjusha M; McNamara, Kelly; Geraghty, Sheela R; Billock, Rachael M; Ronau, Rachel; Hogan, Joseph S; Kwiek, Jesse J

    2015-05-01

    The US Food and Drug Administration recommends against feeding infants human milk from unscreened donors, but sharing milk via the Internet is growing in popularity. Recipient infants risk the possibility of consuming contaminated or adulterated milk. Our objective was to test milk advertised for sale online as human milk to verify its human origin and to rule out contamination with cow's milk. We anonymously purchased 102 samples advertised as human milk online. DNA was extracted from 200 μL of each sample. The presence of human or bovine mitochondrial DNA was assessed with a species-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction assay targeting the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase subunit 5 gene. Four laboratory-created mixtures representing various dilutions of human milk with fluid cow's milk or reconstituted infant formula were compared with the Internet samples to semiquantitate the extent of contamination with cow's milk. All Internet samples amplified human DNA. After 2 rounds of testing, 11 samples also contained bovine DNA. Ten of these samples had a level of bovine DNA consistent with human milk mixed with at least 10% fluid cow's milk. Ten Internet samples had bovine DNA concentrations high enough to rule out minor contamination, suggesting a cow's milk product was added. Cow's milk can be problematic for infants with allergy or intolerance. Because buyers cannot verify the composition of milk they purchase, all should be aware that it might be adulterated with cow's milk. Pediatricians should be aware of the online market for human milk and the potential risks. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  9. Abstract ~. ,

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    and Marketed in'Morogoro Municipality,"Taniania. lR. ... It was concluded that water adulteration ofmilk in ... Despite the fact that infofmal milk marketing i{ ..... Least sqoares ~einsand standard error of means (SEM) for'milk quality variables;.

  10. a panacea to food crisis among women farmers in imo state

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    oma

    adulteration of food is common among producers and shopkeepers with a scandalous disregard for ... For instance whereas traditional methods are used for marketing fresh produce in ..... Rural Europe in the Global Agri-Food system. Henson ...

  11. Urea impedimetric biosensing using electrospun nanofibers modified with zinc oxide nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Migliorini, Fernanda L.; Sanfelice, Rafaela C.; Mercante, Luiza A.; Andre, Rafaela S.; Mattoso, Luiz H. C.; Correa, Daniel. S.

    2018-06-01

    Reliable analytical techniques to evaluate dairy products, including milk, are of outmost importance to ensure food safety against contaminants. Among possible substances employed as adulterants in milk, urea raises deep concern due to its harmful effects to consumer's health. In the present study, a biosensing platform was developed to be applied in the electrochemical detection of urea. The sensing platform was fabricated using polymeric electrospun nanofibers of polyamide 6 (PA6) and polypyrrole (PPy) deposited onto fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes, which were then modified with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO). This material showed excellent properties for the immobilization of urease enzyme, conferring the FTO/PA6/PPy/ZnO/urease electrode high sensitivity for urea detection within the concentration range between 0.1 and 250 mg dL-1 with a limit of detection of 0.011 mg dL-1. The results achieved evidence the potential of electrospun nanofibers-based electrodes for applications in biosensors aiming at dairy products analysis.

  12. Quality control of Cordyceps sinensis, a valued traditional Chinese medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, S P; Yang, F Q; Tsim, Karl W K

    2006-08-28

    Cordyceps sinensis, a well-known and valued traditional Chinese medicine, is also called DongChongXiaCao (winter worm summer grass) in Chinese. It is commonly used to replenish the kidney and soothe the lung for the treatment of fatigue, night sweating, hyposexualities, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, asthemia after severe illness, respiratory disease, renal dysfunction and renal failure, arrhythmias and other heart disease, and liver disease. As the rarity and upstanding curative effects of natural Cordyceps, several mycelial strains have been isolated from natural Cordyceps and manufactured in large quantities by fermentation technology, and they are commonly sold as health food products in Asia. In addition, some substitutes such as Cordyceps militaris also have been used and adulterants also confused the market. Therefore, quality control of C. sinensis and its products is very important to ensure their safety and efficacy. Herein, markers and analytical methods for quality control of Cordyceps were reviewed and discussed.

  13. A novel reliable method of DNA extraction from olive oil suitable for molecular traceability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raieta, Katia; Muccillo, Livio; Colantuoni, Vittorio

    2015-04-01

    Extra virgin olive oil production has a worldwide economic impact. The use of this brand, however, is of great concern to Institutions and private industries because of the increasing number of fraud and adulteration attempts to the market products. Here, we present a novel, reliable and not expensive method for extracting the DNA from commercial virgin and extra virgin olive oils. The DNA is stable overtime and amenable for molecular analyses; in fact, by carrying out simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers analysis, we characterise the genetic profile of monovarietal olive oils. By comparing the oil-derived pattern with that of the corresponding tree, we can unambiguously identify four cultivars from Samnium, a region of Southern Italy, and distinguish them from reference and more widely used varieties. Through a parentage statistical analysis, we also identify the putative pollinators, establishing an unprecedented and powerful tool for olive oil traceability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenberg, R B

    1988-10-01

    The Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987 is described, and its implications for hospitals and other health-care entities are discussed. The act, which became effective on July 21, 1988, is intended to reduce public health risks from adulterated, misbranded, and counterfeit drug products that enter the marketplace through drug diversion. The law provides that prescription drug products manufactured in the United States and exported can no longer be reimported, except by the product's manufacturer. It also establishes restrictions on sales of prescription drug products and samples. Samples of prescription drug products may be distributed only if a licensed prescriber requests them. Other distribution channels for samples specified in the law are permissible, provided records are maintained. Under the law, wholesale distributors must be licensed by the state and meet uniform standards. Penalties for violations of the law are also identified. According to FDA's advisory guidelines on the statute, the law will permit hospitals to return drug products, provided the return is made to the manufacturer or wholesaler and provided written notice is secured that the goods were received (for manufacturers) or the goods were destroyed or returned to the manufacturer (for wholesalers). The final chapter on drug diversion must await issuance of final FDA regulations.

  15. Three Myths About Dietary Supplements … and How Knowing the Right Answers Is Good for Your Integrative Medicine Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Israelsen, Loren; Lampe, Frank

    2016-01-01

    The use of safe and beneficial dietary supplements remains an important part of your patients’ healthy lifestyle—and supplements are likely an important part of your integrative medicine practice. Although issues surrounding potency, ingredient identification, adulteration, and the enforcement of existing laws are legitimate concerns for medical professionals and consumers, the responsible industry is actively working to raise quality standards for its products through a number of self-regulatory measures. These include education about and adoption of additional quality assurance initiatives, such as GMPs for botanical ingredients; better supply-chain management; adoption of improved identification and testing methodologies; an industry-wide product registry; the use of accredited third-party certifications and seals; and initiatives to promote widespread membership in the industry’s trade associations, which is a reliable indicator of a company’s support of and adherence to strict quality guidelines. Also, industry support of appropriate enforcement actions against problem players and products from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and states’ attorneys general continues in an effort to rid the market of unsafe and mislabeled products. PMID:27547162

  16. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and partial least squares discriminant analysis applied to the quality control of olive oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, Junia O; Botelho, Bruno G; Sena, Marcelo M; Augusti, Rodinei

    2013-10-01

    Direct infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in the positive ion mode [ESI(+)-MS] is used to obtain fingerprints of aqueous-methanolic extracts of two types of olive oils, extra virgin (EV) and ordinary (OR), as well as of samples of EV olive oil adulterated by the addition of OR olive oil and other edible oils: corn (CO), sunflower (SF), soybean (SO) and canola (CA). The MS data is treated by the partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) protocol aiming at discriminating the above-mentioned classes formed by the genuine olive oils, EV (1) and OR (2), as well as the EV adulterated samples, i.e. EV/SO (3), EV/CO (4), EV/SF (5), EV/CA (6) and EV/OR (7). The PLS-DA model employed is built with 190 and 70 samples for the training and test sets, respectively. For all classes (1-7), EV and OR olive oils as well as the adulterated samples (in a proportion varying from 0.5 to 20.0% w/w) are properly classified. The developed methodology required no ions identification and demonstrated to be fast, as each measurement lasted about 3 min including the extraction step and MS analysis, and reliable, because high sensitivities (rate of true positives) and specificities (rate of true negatives) were achieved. Finally, it can be envisaged that this approach has potential to be applied in quality control of EV olive oils. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Triterpenoids from Brazilian Ilex species and their in vitro antitrypanosomal activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taketa, Alexandre T C; Gnoatto, Simone C B; Gosmann, Grace; Pires, Viviane S; Schenkel, Eloir P; Guillaume, Dominique

    2004-10-01

    From the leaves of Ilex affinis and Ilex buxifolia, two adulterant species of "erva mate" (Ilex paraguariensis), three new triterpenoid glycosides were isolated. Affinoside 1 (3beta-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)-[2-O-acetyl-(1-->2

  18. Verification of animal species in ham and salami by dna microarray and real time pcr methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuzana Drdolová

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Consumer protection and detecting of adulteration is very important and has a wide societal impact in the economic sphere. Detection of animal species in meat products and the use of combining different methods is one of the means to achieve relevant product status. The aim of this study was to reveal whether or not the products label clearly meets the content declared by producer. In our study, 29 samples of meat products such as salami and ham obtained from stores and supermarkets in Slovakia were analyzed to detect the existing animal species according to the product label the use of Chipron LCD Array Analysis System, Meat 5.0. Products in which the presence of non-declared animal species has been detected were subjected to testing by the innuDETECT PCR Real-Time Kit, repeatedly. The results showed that 20 (68.96% samples were improperly labeled. From in total 14 tested ham samples 11 (78.57% products exhibited non-conformity with declared composition. Tested salami samples (15 revealed 9 (60% incorrectly labelled products. The results obtained by DNA Microarray and Real Time PCR methods were identical, and both methods should be extensively promoted for the detection of animal species in the meat and meat products. Normal 0 21 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE

  19. Propriedades físico-químicas de amostras comerciais de mel com própolis do estado de São Paulo Physicochemical properties of commercial samples of honey added with propolis from São Paulo state, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Bera

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available O mel contém principalmente açúcares em alta concentração, provenientes do néctar das flores, e a própolis é coletada principalmente das folhas, brotos, exsudatos e resinas das mais variadas espécies botânicas. Tanto a composição química do mel quanto a da própolis podem variar conforme uma série de fatores, que podem estar direta ou indiretamente relacionados com as abelhas e o meio em que vivem. No entanto, esse produto pode sofrer adulterações e/ou problemas relacionados à qualidade ou adição de ingredientes de baixo valor comercial. Na tentativa de detectar esse problema, este trabalho teve como objetivo realizar um estudo de algumas características físico-químicas do mel com própolis, com o intuito de verificar possíveis alterações ou adulterações em amostras comerciais do Estado de São Paulo. Foram adquiridas onze amostras comerciais de mel com própolis e realizadas as análises: umidade, HMF, açúcares redutores, sacarose aparente, proteínas, reações de Fiehe, Lugol e Lund. Os resultados obtidos nas análises das amostras indicaram que todas elas continham mel verdadeiro e que não houve indícios de adulteração do produto com água, amido ou açúcar comercial.Honey mainly consists of sugars at high concentrations from the nectar of flowers and propolis is formed from plant secretions. The chemical composition of honey and propolis can vary according to some factors, which can be directly or indirectly related with bees and the environment. However, this product can experience adulterations and/or problems related to the quality control or addition of ingredients of lower commercial value. In the attempt to detect this problem, the aim of this work is to verify possible alterations or adulterations in eleven commercial samples of honey added with propolis from São Paulo State, using some physicochemical analysis: moisture, HMF, reducing sugars, apparent sucrose, proteins, Fiehe, Lugol and Lund

  20. Providing safe medicines for children in Nigeria: The impediments ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    clinical medicine trials and repeated victims of use of fake and adulterated ... comprehensive national pediatric drug research network in collaborations with ... present at the International Paediatric Pharmacology .... Drugs,[33] Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology[34] ..... Nigerian Medical and Dental Council, Paediatric.