Possible adulterations of Ginkgo biloba food supplements

Summary Introduction: The use of dietary supplements has been observed for many years. Unfortunately, the status of food supplements and main differences between these and drugs remain unknown to most consumers. Objective: The purpose of the study was to analyze the opinions of future healthcare professionals on dietary supplements, their behavior concerning food supplementation, as well as their knowledge on the safety of these products. Methods: The survey was conducted among 354 future healthcare professionals, using a questionnaire composed of 21 items exploring demographic characteristics, knowledge of supplements, reasons for the use of dietary supplement, and recall of the use. Results: All respondents knew that the purpose of using these products is supplementation. A vast majority of respondents (83.9%) thought that a diet with no supplementation is possible or probably possible. 49.4% of respondents (n=175) declared taking food supplements. The most commonly used ones (68.6%) were products recommended during illness and used to improve the condition of skin, hair, and nails. Moreover, dietary supplements mentioned by students included those containing herbal ingredients, such as: Equisetum arvense, Allium sativum, Panax ginseng, and Ginkgo biloba. Most of respondents buy dietary supplements at pharmacies (89.14%). Conclusions: Use of dietary supplements is widespread among students. Future healthcare professionals have a better knowledge on food supplementation than population of Poland in general, however, they still need good education in this matter.

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Ginkgo biloba Food Supplements on the European Market – Adulteration Patterns Revealed by Quality Control of Selected Samples

Planta Medica ◽

10.1055/a-0581-5203 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 84 (06/07) ◽

pp. 475-482 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Szilvia Czigle ◽

Jaroslav Tóth ◽

Nikoletta Jedlinszki ◽

Erzsébet Háznagy-Radnai ◽

Dezső Csupor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ginkgo Biloba ◽

Peripheral Circulation ◽

Food Supplements ◽

European Market ◽

Dry Extract ◽

Quality Of Food ◽

Herbal Medicinal ◽

Ginkgo Leaf Extract ◽

Ginkgo Leaf

AbstractThe aim of this study was to prove whether Ginkgo biloba food supplements on the European market comply with pharmaceutical quality, and whether their composition satisfies the European Pharmacopoeia criteria. Medicinal products containing a standardised Ginkgo leaf extract are used for the improvement of cognitive impairment and quality of life in mild dementia. Further, Ginkgonis folium is used for the treatment of peripheral circulation disorders. Pharmacopoeial Ginkgo dry extract contains 22.0 – 27.0% flavonoids and 5.4 – 6.6% terpene lactones (ginkgolides, bilobalide). In addition to its widespread use as an herbal medicine (herbal medicinal product), the same extract can be an ingredient in food supplements. The content of active secondary metabolites was quantified in a number of European food supplements containing Ginkgo dry extract or Ginkgo leaf. Flavonoids were quantified using a modified pharmacopoeial HPLC-UV method, and terpene lactones (ginkgolides A, B, C, and bilobalide) using LC-MS/MS. Some Ginkgo leaf supplement samples were also analysed by microscopy. The quality of food supplements on the European market is dubious. In this paper, we present selected examples of several methods of adulteration and falsification, including higher/lower doses of Ginkgo dry extract or Ginkgo leaf than declared and the addition of undeclared extraneous materials. These examples reveal several patterns in the manufacturing of adulterated products.

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Discrimination of Adulterated Ginkgo Biloba Products Based on 2T2D Correlation Spectroscopy in UV-Vis Range

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules27020433 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 433

Author(s):

Agata Walkowiak ◽

Kacper Wnuk ◽

Michał Cyrankiewicz ◽

Bogumiła Kupcewicz

Keyword(s):

Ginkgo Biloba ◽

Leaf Extract ◽

Economic Value ◽

Radical Scavenging ◽

Principal Component ◽

Poor Quality ◽

Correlation Spectroscopy ◽

Food Supplements ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Herbal Products

Ginkgo biloba is a popular medicinal plant widely used in numerous herbal products, including food supplements. Due to its popularity and growing economic value, G. biloba leaf extract has become the target of economically motivated adulterations. There are many reports about the poor quality of ginkgo products and their adulteration, mainly by adding flavonols, flavonol glycosides, or extracts from other plants. In this work, we developed an approach using two-trace two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2T2D COS) in UV-Vis range combined with multilinear principal component analysis (MPCA) to detect potential adulteration of twenty G. biloba food supplements. UV-Vis spectral data are obtained for 80% methanol and aqueous extracts in the range of 245–410 nm. Three series of two-dimensional correlation spectra were interpreted by visual inspection and using MPCA. The proposed relatively quick and straightforward approach successfully differentiated supplements adulterated with rutin or those lacking ginkgo leaf extract. Supporting information about adulteration was obtained from the difference between the DPPH radical scavenging capacity of both extracts and from chromatographic (HPLC-DAD) fingerprints of methanolic samples.

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Citrinin Determination in Food and Food Supplements by LC-MS/MS: Development and Use of Reference Materials in an International Collaborative Study

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins13040245 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 245

Author(s):

Emmanuel K. Tangni ◽

François Van Hove ◽

Bart Huybrechts ◽

Julien Masquelier ◽

Karine Vandermeiren ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reference Materials ◽

Ginkgo Biloba ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Collaborative Study ◽

Standard Operating Procedure ◽

Food Supplements ◽

Red Yeast Rice ◽

Proficiency Tests ◽

Red Yeast ◽

Food And Feed

The development of incurred reference materials containing citrinin (CIT) and their successful application in a method validation study (MVS) in order to harmonize CIT determination in food and food supplements are demonstrated. CIT-contaminated materials made of red yeast rice (RYR), wheat flour, and Ginkgo biloba leaves (GBL), as well as food supplements made of red yeast rice (FS-RYR) and Ginkgo biloba leaves (FS-GBL), were manufactured in-house via fungal cultivation on collected raw materials. The homogeneity and stability from randomly selected containers were verified according to the ISO 13528. CIT was found to be homogenously distributed and stable in all contaminated materials, with no significant degradation during the timescale of the MVS when storage was performed up to +4 °C. Next, an MVS was organized with eighteen international laboratories using the provided standard operating procedure and 12 test materials, including three RYRs (blank, <50 µg/kg, <2000 µg/kg), two wheat flours (blank, <50 µg/kg), two GBL powders (blank, <50 µg/kg), three FS-RYRs (blank, <50 µg/kg, <2000 µg/kg), and two FS-GBLs (blank, <50 µg/kg). The results of seven CIT-incurred materials showed acceptable within-laboratory precision (RSDr) varying from 6.4% to 14.6% and between-laboratory precision (RSDR) varying from 10.2% to 37.3%. Evidenced by HorRat values < 2.0, the results of the collaborative trial demonstrated that the applied analytical method could be standardized. Furthermore, the appropriateness of producing CIT reference materials is an important step towards food and feed quality control systems and the organization of proficiency tests.

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