Assessment of Physicochemical Parameters and Contaminants in Herbal Dietary Supplements Used in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a complex disorder characterized by chronic gastrointestinal inflammation. Thus, patients prefer to use herbal dietary supplements containing turmeric, Indian frankincense, green chiretta, and black pepper in an attempt to cope better with their chronic condition. The dietary supplements' dosage forms and herbal ingredients were assessed in terms of the products' physicochemical parameters (weight uniformity, friability, disintegration, rupture test, tablet's breaking force, and powder flowability) in view of the USP-NF requirements. In addition, contaminants such as organic solvents and ethylene oxide were evaluated using gas chromatography. Assessment of gluten via an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay was also performed. Most of the products met USP requirements. The high average weight of one multicomponent tablet sample with a high breaking force value can explain the observed negative results of the disintegration test. A total of 26% of samples tested positive for gluten, but the most alarming fact is that the ethylene oxide levels found in two samples were up to 30 times higher than the EU limit. Accordingly, dietary supplement quality control is of fundamental importance.

Environmental aspects of UV-C-based processes for the treatment of oxytetracycline in water.

This study is focused on oxytetracycline (OTC) degradation by direct photolysis (UV-C) and photobased advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) (UV-C/H2O2 and UV-C/S2O82-). OTC degradation pathways were revealed by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS analyses. The evolution/degradation profiles of 12 detected byproducts were correlated with changes in biodegradability and toxicity toward Vibrio fischeri recorded during the treatment. Both photobased AOPs yielded higher OTC degradation and mineralization rates than direct photolysis. The OTC degradation pathway was found to be rather specific regarding the main reactive species (HO• or SO4•-)/mechanism, yielding different patterns in toxicity changes, while biodegradability profiles were less affected. Biodegradability was correlated with the observed degradation and mineralization kinetics. The recorded toxicity changes indicate that byproducts formed by initial OTC degradation are more toxic than the parent pollutant. The prolonged treatment resulted in the formation of byproducts that contributed to a decrease in toxicity and an increase in biodegradability, as particularly emphasized in the case of UV-C/S2O82-.