Risk assessment of aflatoxin B1 in herbal medicines and plant food supplements marketed in Malaysia using margin of exposure and RISK21 approaches

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a mycotoxin produced by several species of Aspergillus fungi which can cause liver cancer in animals and humans. This study aims to perform the risk assessment of AFB1 in herbal medicines and plant food supplements (PFS) in Malaysian market. A total of 31 herbal medicines and PFS were purchased through online platforms and over the counter using a targeted sampling strategy. Of 31 samples analysed using the ELISA method, 25 (80.6%) were contaminated with AFB1 at levels ranged from 0.275 to 13.941 μg/kg. The Benchmark Dose Lower Confidence level of 10 (BMDL10) of 63.46 ng/kg bw/day and the estimated dietary intake of the adult population ranged from 0.006 to 10.456 ng/kg bw/day were used to calculate the Margin of Exposure (MOE). The MOEs for 24 (96%) out of the 25 positive samples were lower than 10,000. The RISK21 matrix revealed that AFB1 exposure levels from herbal medicines and PFS differed greatly over the world. The calculated population risk of acquiring liver cancer from AFB1 exposure ranged from 0 to 0.261 cancers/100,000 populations/year and accounted for an estimated percentage of liver cancer incidence ranged from 0.002 to 4.149%. This study revealed a moderate risk of liver cancer attributable to AFB1 from herbal medicine and PFS among Malaysian populations and emphasised an urgency for risk management actions.

The effects of the ginger supplements on inflammatory parameters in type 2 diabetes patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

OBJECTIVES

The effect of ginger supplements on inflammatory biomarkers and oxidative stress in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) has been investigated, but findings are inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to determine the effects of ginger supplementation on inflammatory parameters (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP], tumour necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α], and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) in patients with T2DM.

METHODS

We performed a systematic search using PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science for randomised controlled trials (RCTs), published until March 17, 2021. The quality assessment was carried out using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. The Q-test and I 2 tests were used for the determination of heterogeneity of the included studies. Data were pooled using a random-effects model, and weighted mean difference (WMD) was used for the overall effect size.

RESULTS

Pooled findings of the five RCTs demonstrated that ginger supplementations had significantly reduced hs-CRP (WMD -0.42 mg/L; 95% CI, -0.78, -0.05, P = 0.03), TNF-α (-2.13 pg/mL; 95% CI: -3.41, -0.86, P = 0.001), and IL-6 (WMD: -0.61 pg/mL; 95% CI: -0.92, -0.30, P = 0.001) levels in patients with T2DM. The quality assessment of the studies showed that all of the included studies were at high risk of bias.

CONCLUSIONS

The meta-analysis shows that ginger supplementations reduced inflammatory parameters in patients with T2DM. Nonetheless, the reduction is relatively small, and its meaningful clinical effects are unknown. Future high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm the beneficial effects of ginger supplementation in patients with T2DM.

Utilization of Vegetable and Fruit By-products as Functional Ingredient and Food

With the constant growth of the human population, the global demand for food is increasing annually. Food security is an arising issue due to decreased resources and massive waste production from the agricultural sector. For example, not all parts of fruits and vegetables are consumed by consumers, and this phenomenon can lead to huge amounts of food wastes that are produced globally. Moreover, non-utilized agriculture by-products, including seed coat, hull, husk, peels, seeds, and pomace, can cause environmental issues. Hence, efficiently utilizing food wastes, such as vegetable and fruit by-products, could be a way to increase food sustainability, and in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Moreover, certain agriculture by-products are reported to have a high nutritional value and could be potentially used as functional ingredient and food in the food industry. This review article summarizes findings on the development of new functional foods by utilizing different types of agriculture by-products, that is, vegetable and fruit by-products as ingredients. Furthermore, the nutritional values, processing methods, product acceptability, and potential uses of these vegetable and fruit by-products are also discussed. These by-products can be an alternative source of nutrients to support the global demand for functional foods and as one of the strategies to cope with food insecurity. Studies have shown that different types of fruit and vegetable by-products were well-incorporated in the development of functional foods, such as bakery products and dairy products. Of great importance, this review article provides an insight of the nutritional value, health benefits, and utilization of fruit and vegetable by-products.

Effect of Food Colorants Supplementation on Reactive Oxygen Species, Antioxidant Vitamins Level and DNA Damage

There are various undesirable products generated from endogenous aerobic metabolism such as reactive oxygen species (ROS). Physiological and biochemical lesions are caused by ROS and which give rise to oxidative damages towards DNA, proteins and lipids which ultimately lead to cell death. This study was aimed to examine the effect of oral administration of food colorants (tartrazine and curcumin) on the oxidants and antioxidants level in blood and fecal of rats after 15, 30, and 45 days. Two doses were used based on the admissible daily intake (ADI) of 9.6 and 96 (high) mg/kg/body weight for tartrazine, 3.85 and 38.5 6 mg/kg/body weight for curcumin. The results showed that oral administration of tartrazine had significantly increased the total oxidant level, arylesterase, glutathione reductase, and MDA whereas there was significantly decreased the total antioxidants level, catalase, glutathione peroxidase in plasma and fecal after 30 and 45 days. Vitamin E and C were decreased in plasma. Fecal showed high level of vitamin A. High dose of tartrazine caused alteration in the aldehyde reactive probe (ARP) sites of DNA showing the DNA damage. After 45 day, significant increment was observed in the level of AST in low and high curcumin treated group. Whereas, elevations of arylestrase were seen in high curcumin group after 45 day. High dose of curcumin significantly (P≤ 0.05) decreased the concentration of vitamin C after 45 days of treatment and increased the level of vitamin E in plasma of treated groups after 30 and 45 days of treatment. The present study showed that the ADI and doses up to 10 times higher than ADI showed negative effects on antioxidant level and demonstrated the importance of using appropriate doses of food colorants such as tartrazine and curcumin in different processed food products.

Association between Urinary Aflatoxin (AFM₁) and Dietary Intake among Adults in Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia

Aflatoxin is a food contaminant and its exposure through the diet is frequent and ubiquitous. A long-term dietary aflatoxin exposure has been linked to the development of liver cancer in populations with high prevalence of aflatoxin contamination in foods. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the association between urinary aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁), a biomarker of aflatoxin exposure, with the dietary intake among adults in Hulu Langat district, Selangor, Malaysia. Certain food products have higher potential for aflatoxin contamination and these were listed in a Food Frequency Questionnaire, which was given to all study participants. This allowed us to record consumption rates for each food product listed. Concomitantly, urine samples were collected, from adults in selected areas in Hulu Langat district, for the measurement of AFM₁ levels using an ELISA kit. Of the 444 urine samples collected and tested, 199 were positive for AFM₁, with 37 of them exceeding the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.64 ng/mL. Cereal products showed the highest consumption level among all food groups, with an average intake of 512.54 g per day. Chi-square analysis showed that consumption of eggs (X² = 4.77, p = 0.03) and dairy products (X² = 19.36, p < 0.01) had significant associations with urinary AFM₁ but both food groups were having a phi and Cramer’s V value that less than 0.3, which indicated that the association between these food groups’ consumption and AFM₁ level in urine was weak.

The anti-obesity effects of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota versus Orlistat on high fat diet-induced obese rats

Background

Obesity and overweight are major public health problems. Various factors, such as daily nutritional habits, physical inactivity, and genetic, are related to the prevalence of obesity. Recently, it was revealed that the gut microflora may also play an important role in weight management. Thus, this study aimed to determine the anti-obesity effects of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) compared with those of orlistat in an animal model fed a high-fat diet (HFD).

Design

Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to four groups fed various diets as follows: a standard diet group, HFD group, HFD supplemented with LcS (10₈10₉ colony-forming units (HFD-LcS) group, and HFD group treated with Orlistat (10 mg/kg body weight)). After 15 weeks, the weights of organs, body weight, body fat mass and serological biomarkers were measured. In addition, histological analysis of the liver and adipose tissue was performed.

Results

Body weight, body mass index, fat mass, leptin and glucose levels were lower, and high-density lipoprotein and adiponectin levels were higher in the HFD-LcS and HFD-orlistat groups than in the HFD group. In addition a significant difference in body fat mass was observed between HFD-LcS group with HFD-orlistat group (19.19±5.76 g vs. 30.19±7.98 g). Although the interleukin-6 level was significantly decreased in the HFD-LcS and HFD-orlistat groups compared with the HFD group, no significant change was observed in other inflammatory biomarkers.

Conclusion

The results of the present study show that LcS supplementation improves body weight management and the levels of some related biomarkers. In addition, LcS supplementation showed a better result in fat mass and alanine aminotransferase reduction than Orlistat. Further studies are needed to elucidate the anti-obesity effects of LcS, with a longer period of supplementation.