Analysis of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors as possible adulterants of botanical-based dietary supplements: extensive survey of preparations available at the Czech market

HPTLC sequentially coupled to UV and SERS: A cost-effective tool for confirmative identification and quantitation of sildenafil in falsified herbal products

The detection of falsified drugs usually requires multi-disciplinary analysis for confirmative identification. Among hyphenated techniques with high specificity detection, thin-layer chromatography coupled with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TLC-SERS) is an efficient choice, especially for herbal products with diversified matrix. In this study, HPTLC was coupled to two detection techniques: UV absorption and Raman scattering with silver colloid enhancement for the analysis of sildenafil adulterated in herbal products. With this approach, orthogonal UV and SERS spectral data was collected, so that confirmative results could be obtained within a single TLC analysis. How this approach helped to reduce chances of false positive or false negative results was also discussed. The HPTLC sequentially coupled to UV and SERS (HPTLC-UV-SERS) method was developed and validated parallelly on the UV and SERS signals. To improve the repeatability of the SERS signal, several analytical conditions were optimized, so that direct quantitation with TLC-SERS was feasible without chemometric data extrapolation. The determination was done with UV scanning at 304 nm for HPTLC and with SERS signal at 1580 cm-1 (excitation 633 nm). The TLC-SERS method had a detection limit of 1.65 ng/spot, 95 times lower than HPTLC method (157 ng/spot). The HPTLC-UV-SERS method was applied on 24 real herbal samples collected from the market, among which 3 real samples were positive to sildenafil, and quantitation results by UV and SERS were in consistency. Not only this method was proved feasible for practical applications, but the recommendations for TLC-SERS procedures could also be useful in TLC-SERS method development for other compounds.

Analytical methods for the detection and characterization of unapproved phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE-5i) used in adulteration of dietary supplements- a review

This article is an up-to-date review of 112 unapproved phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE-5i) found as adulterants in sexual enhancement dietary supplements and other products from 2003 to July 2023. Seventy-five of these unapproved PDE-5i are analogues of sildenafil (67%), followed by 26 analogues of tadalafil (23%), 9 analogues of vardenafil (8%) and 2 other type of compounds (2%). The products have been formulated in various packaging, primarily in capsule, tablet, and powder forms. Common screening techniques allowing detection of such analogues include high performance or ultra-high performance liquid chromatography in tandem with ultra-violet detector (HPLC-UV or UPLC-UV) (50%) and thin-layer chromatography in tandem with ultra-violet detection (TLC-UV) (7%). Screening by mass spectrometry (MS) is relatively less common with the use of single-, triple-quadrupole or time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers (9%). Meanwhile, the combined detection by UV-MS has been recorded at 10% usage. Screening by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) (11%) has also been applied. For compound characterization, i.e. structural elucidation, NMR spectroscopy has been preferred (100 out of 112 compounds), followed by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) (74 out of 112 compounds) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) (44 out of 112 compounds). Over the past two decades, analytical technology has been evolving with enhanced sensitivity and resolution. Despite this, structural elucidation of the new emerging analogues in adulterated dietary supplements remains a challenge, especially when the analogues involve complex structural modification. Therefore, the above-mentioned techniques may not be adequate to characterize the analogues. Additional work involving chiroptical methods, two-dimensional (2D) NMR experiments and X-ray crystallography are likely to be required in the future.

Fast screening and identification of illegal adulteration in dietary supplements and herbal medicines using molecular networking with deep-learning-based similarity algorithms

Liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) is a powerful analytical tool used for adulteration inspection. Nevertheless, it is a challenging task to identify illegal adulterants that are not included in the library or are unexpected from large MS data. Molecular networking is a good tool for exploring, visualizing, and organizing MS/MS spectra, and moreover, it employs shifted peak match to calculate spectral similarity, making it capable of identifying adulteration that is not included in the library. The key of molecular networking is spectral similarity algorithms, and therefore, in this study, we compared the performance of four cutting-edge similarity algorithms, modified cosine similarity (shifted peak match), entropy similarity, and two deep-learning-based algorithms, MS2DeepScore and Spec2Vec, in building molecular networking for identification of adulteration that is not included in the library. We conducted an analysis of excluded-query-compound on all MS/MS spectra in test library and performed a large-scale false discovery rate estimation to investigate whether the spectral similarity calculated by each algorithm could represent the actual structural similarity well. The obtained results demonstrated Spec2Vec exhibited good performance in both detection capability and false discovery rate. Further comprehensive evaluation of the performance of Spec2Vec in the identification of adulteration that is not included in the library or is unexpected in different matrices and in application to real samples proved the approach studied here is a promising and powerful tool for adulterant inspection and improved the capability of analyzing large MS data.

Isolation and characterization of a novel tadalafil analogue adulterant, N-cyclohexyl nortadalafil, in a dietary supplement

A novel tadalafil analogue was detected during routine screening of dietary supplements suspected to be adulterated with an erectile dysfunction drug(s) by using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to Quadrupole-Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC‑Q‑Exactive Orbitrap/MS). The MS² spectrum of the compound was highly similar to that of tadalafil within the range of < 300 m/z. The UV spectrum of the compound was almost identical to that of tadalafil. The analogue was purified by semi-preparative HPLC and structurally elucidated by FT-IR, MS and NMR analysis. The analogue was finally determined as N-cyclohexyl nortadalafil, featuring the cyclohexyl group instead of the N-methyl group on the piperazinedione ring of tadalafil.

Combining trapped ion mobility spectrometry with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry for analysis of isomeric PDE-5 inhibitor analogs

The detection and identification of phosphodiesterase type 5 enzyme (PDE-5) inhibitors in dietary supplements poses an analytical challenge due to the large number of analogs and isomers currently available and the continued introduction of novel analogs. The use of trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) in conjunction with liquid chromatography (LC) and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was explored for the analysis of two groups of isomeric PDE-5 inhibitor analogs using a 5-minute method. Of the eight compounds studied, six were resolved by a combination of LC and TIMS; the two remaining isomers were distinguished by one or more unique product ions in the MS/MS spectrum. The results revealed that separation by LC corresponded to differences in substitution on the piperazine moiety of the PDE-5 inhibitors, while separation by TIMS corresponded to the position of a nitrogen atom in the fused ring region of the molecules. Samples prepared by spiking mixtures of varying amounts of the Group 2 isomers into a representative dietary supplement matrix were analyzed and concentrations determined from the mobility-adjusted extracted ion chromatograms exhibited relative standard deviations of 6.0 % or less for 17 of 20 measurements and recoveries between 80 % and 120 % for all measurements. Quantitative measurements from a short LC gradient were possible due to the reduced chemical background associated with the TIMS separation of co-eluting matrix compounds, which enabled acquisition of rapid and qualitatively relevant broadband collision induced dissociation spectra that didn't require precursor ion isolation; the reduced chemical background permits non-targeted detection of novel analogs and eliminates the need for a separate method for quantitative measurement.

Detection of 94 PDE-5is and Their Analogs Including N-Desmethylthiosildenafil in Various Formulations of Dietary Supplements and Food Samples Using HPLC and LC-Q-TOF/MS

Consumption of foods and dietary supplements (DS) adulterated with unprescribed or non-permitted phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE-5i) and their analogs can cause serious risk to human health. This study aims to analyze 93 PDE-5i and their analogs present in adulterated foods and DS using an established and validated method involving high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The method was validated in solid and liquid samples, resulting in a limit of detection and quantitation of 0.03-0.5 and 0.08-1.6 μg/mL, respectively. Using the validated method, a total of 404 samples were screened. It was found that 32% of 404 samples were illegally adulterated with PDE-5i and their analogs; moreover, 16.9% of the adulterated samples were found to contain more than three compounds. HPLC-quadrupole-time-of-flight (TOF)/mass spectrometry (MS) analysis was conducted on all the samples to confirm the detected compounds accurately based on fragmentation ion patterns. In addition, sildenafil and tadalafil were detected from the capsule shells of DS unusually. Subsequently, the detected compounds were identified and quantified using HPLC at concentrations ranging from 0.007 to 370.0 mg/g. NMR analysis was carried out to confirm the accurate chemical structure of a compound found during the TOF/MS analysis, which did not match with the 93 reference standards.; it was identified to be N-desmethylthiosildenafil. In this study, various PDE-5i compounds and their analogs were detected from low to high concentrations in a sample. Therefore, the study sheds light on the misuse of PDE-5i and their analogs in consumable products, which pose a severe threat to public health.

HPLC/Fluorescence-Diode Array Detection for Rapid and Reliable Determination of Illegal Synthetic Drugs in Male Sexual Herbal and Honey Remedies: Comparative Study with UFLC–MS

Background

Nutraceuticals (NTCs), as honey and tablets with herbal extract are subjected to adulteration.

Objective

For NTCs claimed to enhance sexual performance, synthetic drugs (sildenafil, tadalafil, avanafil, vardenafil, and dapoxetine) are common adulterants, so they were selected to be simultaneously analyzed in the current study. Natural aphrodisiacs (icariin and yohimbine) are claimed to be present in many fake NTCs, so they were also included in the study.

Methods

In order to achieve the target of the current study, three liquid chromatographic methods with different unique detectors were developed and validated.

Results

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection enables rapid and reliable determination of natively fluorescent yohimbine, tadalafil vardenafil, and dapoxetine and it is the first report to analyze these compounds as adulterants in counterfeit NTC. Although the diode-array detector (DAD) enables the analysis of the seven adulterants, the fluorescence detector (FLD) shows better sensitivity and selectivity with lower LOQs and LODs. On the other hand, ultra-fast liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UFLC–MS) offers the advantages of peak identity confirmation, and it is of comparable sensitivity and selectivity to HPLC–FLD.

Conclusion

One or more of these synthetic drugs were found in the analyzed NTCs while natural aphrodisiacs were absent.

Highlights

Aphrodisiac nutraceuticals, NTCs, were analyzed for adulterants: five aphrodisiac synthetic drugs (adulterants) and two natural claimed aphrodisiacs. UFLC–MS and HPLC–DAD/FLD were compared for illicit NTCs analysis; all NTCs show the presence of synthetic aphrodisiacs and the absence of natural ones.

Identification of phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors in herbal supplements using a tiered approach and associated consumer risk

The use of herbal supplements for improved sexual performance is a common practice amongst the youth and some senior citizens in Ghana. These products are considered 'natural' and greatly preferred over synthetic alternatives due to the assurance of little to no adverse effects by producers. However, the high rate of adulteration often compromises their safety. Forty herbal supplements, of which 25 were previously shown to result in medium to high intake of phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors using a PDE-Glo bioassay, were further investigated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis to examine the reliability of the bioassay and whether the observed higher responses could be ascribed to inherent plant constituents or adulterants. Results showed significant amounts of vardenafil, tadalafil and especially sildenafil, in 2, 1 and 10 samples, respectively, with total concentration levels resulting in estimated daily intakes (EDIs) above 25 mg sildenafil equivalents with six supplements even having EDIs above 100 mg sildenafil equivalents. Only one sample contained a natural ingredient (icariin), but its concentration (0.013 mg g^-1) was too low to explain the observed potency in the bioassay. The estimated concentrations of PDE-5 inhibitors in 35 supplements, according to the bioassay, were in line with those of the LC-MS/MS analysis. However, discrepancies were observed for five supplements. Further examination of one of the latter supplements using the PDE-Glo bioassay to select the positive fraction and further examination with LC-MS/MS and ¹H-NMR revealed the presence of hydroxythiohomosildenafil, a sildenafil analogue not yet included in the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry reference library. This study demonstrates the significance of applying a tiered approach, where the use of a bioassay is followed by chemical analysis of bioactive samples in order to identify unknown bioactive compounds.

Lodenafil

Lodenafil is a class of drugs called an inhibitor of PDE5 which also include a wide range of other erectile medicines, such as sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil. It is part of a new generation of PDE5 inhibitors that includes udenafil and avanafil. Lodenafil is a prodrug manufactured in the form of lodenafil carbonate, the carbonate dimer that divides in the body into two active drug lodenafil molecules. The oral bioavailability of this formulation is higher than that of the parent drug. This article discusses, by a critical comprehensive review of the literature on lodenafil in terms of its description, names, formulae, elemental composition, appearance, and therapeutic uses. The article also discusses the methods for preparation of lodenafil, its physical-chemical properties, analytical methods for its determination, pharmacological-toxicological properties, and dosing information.

Antiglycation and antioxidant activities of the crude extract and saponin fraction of Tribulus terrestris before and after microcapsule release

OBJECTIVE

The present study investigated antiglycation and antioxidant activities of crude dry extract and saponin fraction of Tribulus terrestris. It also developed a method of microencapsulation and evaluated antiglycation and antioxidant activities of crude dry extract and saponin fraction before and after microcapsule release.

METHODS

Antiglycation activity was determined by relative electrophoretic mobility (REM), free amino groups and inhibition of advanced glycation end-product (AGE) formation. Antioxidant activity was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric ion-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), nitric oxide (NO) and thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) tests. Microcapsules were prepared using maltodextrin as wall material and freeze-drying as encapsulation technique. Morphological characterization of microcapsules was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, and encapsulation efficiency and microcapsule release were determined by total saponins released. Antiglycation and antioxidant assays were performed using crude dry extract and saponin fraction of T. terrestris before and after release.

RESULTS

Saponin fraction showed an increase of 32.8% total saponins. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed the presence of saponins in the obtained fraction. Antiglycation evaluation by REM demonstrated that samples before and after release presented antiglycation activity similar to bovine serum albumin treated with aminoguanidine. Additionally, samples inhibited AGE formation, highlighting treatment with saponin fraction after release (89.89%). Antioxidant tests demonstrated antioxidant activity of the samples. Crude dry extract before encapsulation presented the highest activities in DPPH (92.00%) and TBARS (32.49%) assays. Saponin fraction before encapsulation in FRAP test (499 μmol Trolox equivalent per gram of dry sample) and NO test (15.13 μmol nitrite formed per gram of extract) presented the highest activities.

CONCLUSION

This study presented antiglycation activity of crude dry extract and saponin fraction of T. terrestris, besides it demonstrated promising antioxidant properties. It also showed that the encapsulation method was efficient and maintained biological activity of bioactive compounds after microcapsule release. These results provide information for further studies on antidiabetic and antiaging potential, and data for new herbal medicine and food supplement formulations containing microcapsules with crude extract and/or saponin fraction of T. terrestris.

Improved molecular softness of tadalafil hapten enhancing antibody performance in immunoassay: Evidence from computational chemistry

The tadalafil-like compounds have appeared recently as adulterants in drinks and healthcare dietary supplements sourced from medicinal and edible food, which may cause illness and even death. In this work, the rationality of haptens was explored by computational chemistry and molecular simulation theories such as frontier molecular orbital (FMO)-based softness (S), three-dimensional (3D) structure, surface electrostatic potential (ESP), and lipophilic potential (LP). An antiserum from hapten H5 with the highest softness and maintaining the appropriate three-dimensional (3D) structure showed the optimal immunoassay performance, indicating an increasing softness was a critical factor for effective hapten. Based on the antibody induced by hapten H5, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) method for detecting multiple tadalafil-like adulterants was established. The icELISA showed a limit of detection (LOD), 50% inhibition concentration (IC₅₀ ), and a working range of 0.004-0.396, 0.89-4.27, and 0.094-16.71 ng/ml for tadalafil, amino tadalafil, acetamino tadalafil, nortadalafil, and N-desmethyl ent-tadalafil, respectively. The spiked recoveries of tadalafil-like adulterants in samples ranged from 84.9% to 116.2%. The results of the icELISA and HPLC-MS/MS methods had a good correlation for real samples with the R² of 0.9955. Specially, this work not only provided a convenient immunoassay method for measuring tadalafil-like adulterants in spirit drinks and dietary supplements in group-screening manner, but also suggested that softness was likely to be a general theory for rational hapten design. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Rapid monitoring of tadalafil-like adulterants in food samples is very necessary and important for consumers, regulatory agencies, and the food industry.

Assessment of Undeclared Synthetic Drugs in Dietary Supplements in an Analytical View: A Comprehensive Review

Dietary supplements have gained widespread attention globally as they are supposed to be healthier than synthetic pharmaceutical compounds with fewer side effects. Unlike common prescription drugs, dietary supplements are readily available to the general public. However, over the past few years, all kinds of legal and illegal drugs, have been detected in dietary supplements without labeling to defraud consumers, resulting in serious public health consequences. Due to the increasing number of drug frauds in dietary supplements, their consumption will undoubtedly risk consumers. Therefore; the importance of high-tech analytical methods in their assessment for controlling food quality seems undeniable. The current review examines the analytical techniques that focus on adulterating health products with undeclared pharmaceuticals, including registered and banned drugs. The present study referred to a survey from 2004 to 2021 based on articles in the Scopus database.

Facing Counterfeit Medications in Sexual Medicine. A Systematic Scoping Review on Social Strategies and Technological Solutions

Introduction

The counterfeit phenomenon is a largely under-reported issue, with potentially large burden for healthcare. The market for counterfeit drugs used in sexual medicine, most notably type 5 phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE5i), is rapidly growing.

Aims

To report the health risks associated with the use of counterfeit medications, the reasons driving their use, and the strategies enacted to contain this phenomenon.

Methods

A systematic scoping review of the literature regarding counterfeit PDE5i was carried between January and June 2021, then updated in August 2021.

Main Outcome Measure

We primarily aimed to clarify the main drivers for counterfeit PDE5i use, the health risks associated, and the currently available strategies to fight counterfeiters.

Results

One hundred thirty-one records were considered for the present scoping review. Production of fake PDE5i is highly lucrative and the lacking awareness of the potential health risks makes it a largely exploitable market by counterfeiters. Adulteration with other drugs, microbial contamination and unreliable dosages make counterfeit medications a cause of worry also outside of the sexual medicine scope. Several laboratory techniques have been devised to identify and quantify the presence of other compounds in counterfeit medications. Strategies aimed at improving awareness, providing antitampering packaging and producing non-falsifiable products, such as the orodispersible formulations, are also described.

Clinical implications

Improving our understanding of the PDE5i counterfeit phenomenon can be helpful to promote awareness of this issue and to improve patient care.

Strengths & Limitations

Despite the systematic approach, few clinical studies were retrieved, and data concerning the prevalence of counterfeit PDE5i use is not available on a global scale.

Conclusion

The counterfeit phenomenon is a steadily growing issue, with PDE5i being the most counterfeited medication with potentially large harmful effects on unaware consumers.

Sansone A, Cuzin B, and Jannini EA. Facing Counterfeit Medications in Sexual Medicine. A Systematic Scoping Review on Social Strategies and Technological Solutions. Sex Med 2021;9:100437.

Rapid Screening and Quantitative Determination of Illegal Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitors (PDE-5i) in Herbal Dietary Supplements

Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE-5i) are the first-line medication for oral erectile dysfunction, which are used according to the prescription of doctors. However, these substances have been found illegally in supplementary foods. The quality and safety of dietary supplements for enhancing male sexual performance have been questioned, raising the need for continual development of analytical methods. Liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry has become one of the most effective methods to identify and measure PDE-5i concentration. In this research, we focused on (i) developing and validating an effective screening and quantitation method for more than 53 PDE-5i in ingredients and supplementary products using LC-Q-Exactive after a simple sample extraction and (ii) assessing PDE-5i content in natural-based supplementary products available in Vietnam market. The extraction method used a small amount of organic solvent, which makes it more environmentally friendly (greener). The developed method has a limit of detection of 0.4 mg/kg, a limit of quantitation of 1.2 mg/kg, recoveries from 80 to 110%, and repeatability lower than 15%. Ninety-two herbal supplementary foods and ingredients used for enhancement of male sexual performance available in Vietnamese markets were collected. Fourteen PDE-5i including conventional and novel analogous were detected and measured in eighteen food supplements and two formulation ingredient samples.

Drug adulteration of sexual enhancement supplements: a worldwide insidious public health threat

Worldwide, the consumption of dietary supplements for the enhancement of sexual performance is common. Consumers are generally fond of these products because they often want to avoid drugs, preferring "natural" than "chemical" solutions. This is challenging, as many of these supplements labelled "herbal" or "natural" are actually adulterated with drugs, mainly phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. This phenomenon is facilitated by fewer demanding regulations for marketing supplements. Thus, consumers may be widely exposed to serious adverse events, such as acute liver injury, kidney failure, pulmonary embolism, stroke or even death. We aim to warn physicians about this issue. This multidisciplinary review simultaneously deals with clinical consequences of this phenomenon, analytical toxicology and regulation. Indeed, after outlining this worldwide issue and highlighting that a drug-adulterated dietary supplement is actually a falsified drug, we discuss its main contributing factors. Then, we describe some examples of adverse events of which a case of sildenafil-tadalafil-induced ischaemic stroke that benefited medical care in our hospital. Furthermore, we present some means to avoid adulteration and discuss their limitations that may be explained by the heterogeneity of the regulation of dietary supplements between countries. Doing so, we point out the requirement of a global harmonization of this regulation for an efficient eradication of this public health threat. Meanwhile, dietary supplements should be considered adulterated until proven otherwise. Thus, we encourage physicians to investigate these products in the drug histories of their patients, especially when clinical conditions cannot be explained by classical aetiologies.

Liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis of erectile dysfunction drugs and their analogues in food products

The presence of erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs in adulterated dietary supplements, mainly in pharmaceutical dosage forms, is frequently addressed in the literature. Little attention is given to food products despite their increasing adulteration trend. To address this knowledge gap targeted, suspected-target, and non-targeted strategies were utilised to analyse ED drugs and their analogues in powdered drink mix (PDM), honey, jelly, hard candy, and sugar-coated chewing gum using liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). The method was optimised and validated using 23 target analytes, representing different ED drugs with structural similarities. The modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) extraction exhibited insignificant matrix effect (ME) within - 9.2-8.8% and provided complete coverage of target analytes with acceptable extraction recovery (RE) within 75.5-123.9%, except for carbodenafil in the PDM matrix. Based on the ME and RE performance, the analytical method was validated to analyse 25 food samples that claimed to enhance male sexual performance. The method exhibited good specificity and linearity with a limit of detection within 10-70 ng/mL and limit of quantification of 80 ng/mL. Similarly, the accuracy and precision were satisfactory within 77.4-122.0% and< 16.7%RSD, respectively. The LC-HRMS targeted analysis, together with suspected-target and non-targeted screenings, identified and detected ten ED drugs from 24 food samples. The modified QuEChERS extraction with LC-HRMS-based method was demonstrated to be universally applicable to various food products, covering an extensive range of known and potentially novel ED drugs, which is valuable for routine casework.

Screening of Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitors and Their Analogs in Dietary Supplements by Liquid Chromatography-Hybrid Ion Trap-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

An accurate and reliable method based on ion trap–time of flight mass spectrometry (IT–TOF MS) was developed for screening phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, including sildenafil, vardenafil, and tadalafil, and their analogs in dietary supplements. Various parameters affecting liquid chromatographic separation and IT–TOF detection were investigated, and the optimal conditions were determined. The separation was achieved on a reversed-phase column under gradient elution using acetonitrile and water containing 0.2% acetic acid at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The chromatographic eluents were directly ionized in the IT–TOF system equipped with an electrospray ion source operating in the positive ion mode. The proposed screening method was validated by assessing its linearity, precision, and accuracy. Sequential tandem MS was conducted to obtain structural information of the references, and the fragmentation mechanism of each reference was proposed for providing spectral insight for newly synthesized analogs. Structural information, including accurate masses of both parent and fragment ions, was incorporated into the MSⁿ spectral library. The developed method was successfully applied for screening adulterated dietary supplement samples.

Interpol review of controlled substances 2016-2019

This review paper covers the forensic-relevant literature in controlled substances from 2016 to 2019 as a part of the 19th Interpol International Forensic Science Managers Symposium. The review papers are also available at the Interpol website at: https://www.interpol.int/content/download/14458/file/Interpol%20Review%20Papers%202019.pdf.

Contaminants: a dark side of food supplements?

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.