-
Medicine Apr 2024Protein powders, including those containing herbal and dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, and other natural or synthetic ingredients, can be associated with...
Protein powders, including those containing herbal and dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, and other natural or synthetic ingredients, can be associated with hepatotoxicity. Protein supplements are often mislabeled and deceptive in their contents. In this self-funded transparent study, we extensively analyzed popular protein supplements in India to identify potential hepatotoxic substances based on industrial standards. All products underwent extensive analysis, including total protein content, fungal aflatoxin detection, pesticide residue estimation, heavy metal quantification, steroid detection, and complete organic and inorganic profiling, according to industry standards. Most protein supplements did not meet the labeled and advertised protein content, while certain brands surpassed the stated levels, raising concerns about potential "protein/amino-spiking." In addition, the major brands contained detectable fungal toxins and pesticide residues. Furthermore, many major formulations contained harmful heavy metals such as lead and arsenic, and some featured hepatoxic herbal extracts, particularly green tea extract, turmeric, Garcinia cambogia, and Ashwagandha. Indian-made products were inferior to those manufactured by multinational companies. The presence of various potentially toxic compounds, such as cycloheptatriene, benzene derivatives, toluene, and isopropyl alcohol, within a nonstandardized and unregulated diverse ingredient mix added to the overall concern. We demonstrate that the protein-based herbal and dietary supplement industry requires stringent scrutiny, regulation, and basic safety studies before being marketed. Manufacturers must consider reducing "ingredient complexities" of their protein powders to prevent adverse interactions between herbal and nonherbal components in consumers. Manufacturers must avoid using known toxic ingredients to reduce the avoidable disease burden within the public community.
Topics: Humans; Metals, Heavy; Arsenic; Dietary Supplements; Vitamins; Antioxidants
PubMed: 38579036
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000037724 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2023The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is an unprecedented global pandemic, sparking grave public health emergencies. One of the measures to reduce COVID-19...
The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is an unprecedented global pandemic, sparking grave public health emergencies. One of the measures to reduce COVID-19 transmissions recommended by the World Health Organization is hand hygiene, i.e., washing hands with soap and water or disinfecting them using an alcohol-based hand sanitiser (ABHS). Unfortunately, competing ABHSs with unknown quality, safety, and efficacy thrived, posing yet another risk to consumers. This study aims to develop, optimise, and validate a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based analytical method to simultaneously identify and quantify ethanol or isopropyl alcohol as the active ingredient in ABHS, with simultaneous determination of methanol as an impurity. The GC-MS was operated in Electron Ionisation mode, and Selected Ion Monitoring was chosen as the data acquisition method for quantitation. The analytical method was validated for liquid and gel ABHSs, covering the specificity, linearity and range, accuracy, and precisions, including the limit of detection and the limit of quantitation. The specificity of each target analyte was established using the optimised chromatographic separation with unique quantifier and qualifier ions. The linearity was ascertained with a coefficient of determination (r) of > 0.9994 over the corresponding specification range. Respectively, the accuracy and precisions were satisfactory within 98.99 to 101.09% and < 3.04% of the relative standard deviation. The method was successfully applied to 69 ABHS samples, where 14 contained insufficient amounts of the active ingredient. Alarmingly, four samples comprised a high amount of methanol ranging from 5.3 to 19.4% with respect to the active alcohol percentage, which may pose significant short- and long-term health issues, leading to life-threatening crises for consumers. The method established would benefit in protecting the public against the potential harm due to substandard or unsafe ABHS products, primarily due to the presence of hazardous impurities such as methanol.
Topics: Humans; Hand Sanitizers; Ethanol; Methanol; 2-Propanol; COVID-19
PubMed: 37301842
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36283-1 -
Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia 2023Isopropyl alcohol (IA) is a colorless, flammable organic compound that has been used in the manufacturing process of a wide variety of industrial and household... (Review)
Review
Isopropyl alcohol (IA) is a colorless, flammable organic compound that has been used in the manufacturing process of a wide variety of industrial and household chemicals. Inhalation of its vapor has been noted to potentially have antiemetic effects, which may be useful in the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). However, given the varied study protocols and endpoints assessing its efficacy as antiemetic, clinical trials have yielded mixed results. If effective, inhalation of IA may be a cost-effective, readily available, and inexpensive therapy that can be used for the treatment of PONV with a low risk of adverse effects. The following narrative review explores the available information regarding the mechanism of action of IA in treating PONV, presents clinical information including possible mechanism of action and clinical applications, and reviews the published literature on its efficacy to treat nausea and vomiting with a focus on its use postoperatively. While early studies suggested that inhaled IA may be successful for the short-term treatment of PONV compared with placebo, subsequent studies both in and out of the operating room (OR) have reported conflicting results. In general, studies in the perioperative setting have provided some evidence to support the use of inhaled IA in alleviating or reducing the severity of PONV in adults. In particular, inhaled IA may have a more rapid onset compared with traditional antiemetic agents, but the clinical effect has generally been found to be short-lived. The results outside of the OR and perioperative setting have been somewhat more favorable, generally showing that inhaled IA reduces nausea and vomiting of various etiologies in adults in the emergency department setting. Similarly, it has been shown to reduce the need for rescue antiemetic agents in this area and thus may be considered a cost-cutting strategy with no reported adverse effects. The available literature suggests that inhaled IA may be considered a potential therapy to achieve rapid relief of PONV and assist in the management of nausea and vomiting in adult patients outside of the perioperative setting. There remain insufficient data to determine how inhaled IA may impact PONV in children. Given the mixed results and the limitations of the current studies, additional data are needed to draw firm conclusions regarding the utility of inhaled IA.
PubMed: 37601520
DOI: 10.4103/sja.sja_151_23