Safety evaluation of calcium L-methylfolate.

Calcium L-methylfolate (L-5-MTHF-Ca; CAS Number 151533-22-1) is a source of folate and an alternative to folic acid for use in human food and food supplements. The safety of L-5-MTHF-Ca was evaluated by testing for genotoxicity, subchronic and prenatal developmental toxicity. In in vitro assays L-5-MTHF-Ca was not mutagenic and did not induce other chromosomal events. Additionally, L-5-MTHF-Ca was not genotoxic in the in vivo micronucleus test nor did it induce DNA damage in rat liver cells. In a subchronic toxicity study, rats administered up to 400 mg/kg bw/day of L-5-MTHF-Ca via oral gavage for 13 weeks had no treatment-related mortalities, and no treatment-related effects were identified on behaviour, body weight, food consumption, ophthalmology, haematology, or organ weights. No treatment-related macroscopic or histopathological findings were observed. Calcium and sodium levels increased with increasing dosage, however the slight increases were within historical control ranges and reversible after the recovery period. L-5-MTHF-Ca is neither teratogenic nor embryotoxic. Based on the results of the in vitro and in vivo studies, the safe use of L-5-MTHF-Ca as an ingredient in foods is supported. The no observed adverse effect level was the highest dose in the subchronic toxicity study, i.e. 400 mg/kg bw/day for male and female rats.

Diatom detection in the diagnosis of death by drowning.

A medicolegal/algological collaboration lasting several years aimed at developing methods for dealing with dead bodies found in water where the circumstances are not clear, has led to an interdisciplinary procedure. To enable algological analysis, sample preservation and preparation must be free from contamination or carry-over at the beginning of the autopsy, although it should be noted that the demands on the digestion method are very high. One or more water samples from the site of drowning (from surface and bed) should be taken. Microscopic-algological analysis should record quantitative (diatom density), qualitative (species) and morphological (description of diatom valves) details for every sample. Furthermore, the species index and dominance identity similarity indices are calculated during the analysis procedure. The algological conclusions are based primarily on the separation values of Kater as well as on pair-matching. The final report is the result of interdisciplinary collaboration.