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Costa JG, Vidovic B, Saraiva N, do Céu Costa M, Del Favero G, Marko D, Oliveira NG, Fernandes AS. Contaminants: a dark side of food supplements? Free Radic Res 2019; 53:1113-1135. [PMID: 31500469 DOI: 10.1080/10715762.2019.1636045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Food supplements (FS) are often consumed as one of the strategies to fight ageing-associated pathologies, especially in the case of oxidative stress-related diseases. Despite the popularity of FS, some concerns about their quality and safety have been raised, especially regarding the presence of contaminants. This paper reviews and discusses the occurrence of contaminants in marketed samples of FS in the last two decades, considering both scientific literature and notifications registered on RASFF portal. The most relevant classes of contaminants were included namely metals, toxins, pesticides, dioxins and PCBs, as well as pharmacologically active ingredients. Variable amounts of contaminants were reported in a significant number of commercially available FS. Although the presence of contaminants does not necessarily mean that their levels exceed the regulatory limits or that the FS intake constitutes a risk to human health, it alerts for the need to further monitor FS safety. The evaluation of the risk associated to the consumption of FS, especially in the elderly population, is particularly challenging due to the frequent exposure to multiple toxicants and to different exposure sources, as well as due to possible pre-existing diseases and respective therapeutics. Therefore, improved quality control procedures and monitoring programs should be pursued in order to avoid undesirable products and assure the safety of FS.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Guilherme Costa
- CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Bojana Vidovic
- Department of Bromatology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Nuno Saraiva
- CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Maria do Céu Costa
- CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Lisboa, Portugal.,ASAE/ONRE, National Observatory for Emerging Risks, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Giorgia Del Favero
- Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Doris Marko
- Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nuno G Oliveira
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Sofia Fernandes
- CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Lisboa, Portugal.,ASAE/ONRE, National Observatory for Emerging Risks, Lisboa, Portugal
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