| Title: |
Cross-Analytical Strategies to Tackle 'Medicines in Disguise' Presented as Food Supplements, a New Threat for Human Health |
| Authors: |
Kouassi, Judith, Nzoughet; Bouzidi, Chouaha; Nicolai, Béatrice; Jamaa, Farah, Ben; Dugay, Annabelle; Langrand, Jérôme; Vodovar, Dominique; Houzé, Pascal; Labat, Laurence; Mégarbane, Bruno; Bocca, Cinzia; Reynier, Pascal; Guiblin, Nicolas; Michel, Sylvie; Cachet, Xavier |
| Contributors: |
Cibles Thérapeutiques et conception de médicaments (CiTCoM - UMR 8038); Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie (INC-CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité); Laboratoire Structures, Propriétés et Modélisation des solides (SPMS); Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie (INC-CNRS)-CentraleSupélec-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Centre antipoison et de toxicovigilance (Paris) (CAPTV Paris); Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Hôpitaux Universitaires Saint-Louis, Lariboisière, Fernand-Widal; Laboratoire de Toxicologie Biologique, Hôpital Lariboisière; Hôpital Lariboisière-Fernand-Widal APHP; Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP); Service de Réanimation Médicale et Toxicologique Hôpital Lariboisière; Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Hôpital Lariboisière-Fernand-Widal APHP; Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP); MitoVasc - Physiopathologie Cardiovasculaire et Mitochondriale (MITOVASC); Université d'Angers (UA)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); ANR-18-IDEX-0001,Université de Paris,Université de Paris(2018) |
| Source: |
ISSN: 1420-3049 ; Molecules ; https://hal.science/hal-05009710 ; Molecules, 2025, 30 (6), pp.1372. ⟨10.3390/molecules30061372⟩. |
| Publisher Information: |
CCSD; MDPI |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Subject Terms: |
plant-based food supplement; adulteration; medicine in disguise; liquid chromatography (LC); high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS); nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD); [CHIM.ANAL]Chemical Sciences/Analytical chemistry; [SDV.IDA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Food engineering; [SDV.SP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Pharmaceutical sciences |
| Description: |
International audience ; Plant-based food supplements (FS) of doubtful traceability have now emerged as a new threat to human health. Food supplements adulterated with pharmaceutical ingredients are considered "medicines in disguise" by regulatory authorities, which is a sub-category of falsified medicines. In the context of illegal manufacture and trade, as well as in the absence of an official phyto-and/or pharmacovigilance system, emergency departments and poison control centers constitute a early warning system for detecting ingested suspect FS. In the present investigation, we set up efficient workflows for the systematic characterization of adulterated plant-based FS in the context of an original local early warning alert system (i.e., FalsiMedTrack) involving an emergency department, a poison center, and academic analytical chemistry laboratories. Fit-for-purpose cross-analytical methods were employed, including sophisticated methods such as liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, Xray powder diffraction, as well as the most accessible and affordable HPLC method with UV/DAD detection. The strategy was applied successfully to typical cases of suspect plant-based health products, i.e., sample incriminated in patients experiencing side effects and herbal products currently commercialized for their "amazing health benefits". The samples contained active pharmaceutical ingredients, including diclofenac, piroxicam, dexamethasone 21-acetate, and sibutramine. We provided evidence of "medicines in disguise" presented as food supplements, which raises concerns about their quality and safety. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.3390/molecules30061372 |
| Availability: |
https://hal.science/hal-05009710; https://hal.science/hal-05009710v1/document; https://hal.science/hal-05009710v1/file/N%20Guiblin%20molecules.pdf; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30061372 |
| Rights: |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ; info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.E2F1B5BD |
| Database: |
BASE |