Surveilance of possible adulterants in herbal sliming products in bosnian market

On the world markets there is large and still growing number of herbal sliming products, that promise fast and easy loss of weight. Such products are easily available to consumers through different distribution channels: pharmacies, supermarkets, via internet etc. They are declared and registered as dietary products, and as such, they don't undergo rigorous testing and control intended for medicines. Due to this, once in a while a product reaches market with added undeclared substances.

In this study, we tested 9 herbal sliming products available in pharmacies in Bosnia and Herzegovina on presence of undeclared substances: theophyline, ephedrine, metformin, caffeine, phenolphthalein and sibutramine (Table 1.)

Tab. 1: Overview of analyzed samples

Sample N°	Country of origin	Dosage form	Labeled API(s)
01	Serbia	powder for oral suspension	chitosan, chromium, lyophilized pineapple
02	Serbia	herbal mixture for tea preparation	These folium, Millefolii herba, Frangulae cortex, Sennae folium, Foeniculi fructus, Menthae piperitae folium, Taraxaci radix, Betulae folium, Juniperi fructus, Melissae folium, Cyani flos
03	Italy	tablets	dry extract Ananas comosus (L.)
04	Serbia	tablets	Clove essential oil, Cinnamon essential oil, Ginger essential oil
05	China	capsules	extracts: Folium Nelumbinis, Rhizoma Dioscoreae, Poria, Fructus Crataegi
06	Croatia	capsules	Natural brown seaweed extract, extract from red orange, regular orange, grapefruit and guarana
07	Denmark	tablets	Chili Pepper, Green Tea, Dill seed, Ginger. Peppermint oil
08	Austria	capsules	Pineapple extract, Asparagus extract
09	Slovenia	powder for oral suspension	chlogenic acid, chromium

Validated UPLC method was used with gradient elution and mobile phase consisting of mixture of acetate buffer and acetonitrile (1.). Samples were prepared by extracting amount of product equivalent to one dose with 25 ml 20% acetonitrile. Identification was performed by comparing retention times of UV spectra of suspicious peaks with those of standards.

The tested undeclared substances were not found in the tested products. Even so, there is an increased interest in this type of products by government institutions after scandal with added sibutramine in one sliming product a few years ago (2.). The need for constant monitoring of food supplements must be stressed here, especially in the markets with “gray areas” in existence.

Reference:

[1] E. Deconinck, K. Verlinde, P. Courselle, J.O. De Beer, A validated Ultra High Pressure Liquid Chromatographic method for the characterization of confiscated illegal slimming products containing anorexics. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2012; 59: 38 – 43.

[2] Napitak zelena kafa povučena sa tržišta u Srbiji http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Drustvo/179525/Napitak-zelena-kafa-povucena-sa-trzista-u-Srbiji> (Accesed March 2, 2013.)