Application of UHPLC and GC/MS for Detection of Hidden Drugs in Traditional Hand-Made Herbal Slimming Products

AuthorTayebeh Tahamtanen
AuthorMaryam Akhgarien
AuthorZahra Mousavien
AuthorAlireza Jahanbakhshen
OrcidMaryam Akhgari [0000-0002-4126-3398]en
OrcidZahra Mousavi [0000-0001-6524-491X]en
Issued Date2020-08-31en
AbstractBackground: Obesity is one of the health issues all over the world. Patients always demand convenient and fast methods for weight reduction. Hand-made herbal drugs are advertised by herbal practitioners to gain this goal. Unscrupulous manufacturers produce herbal products that are adulterated with hidden legal or illegal drugs to lose weight in a shorter period of time. Objectives: The main purpose of the present study was to analyze hand-made herbal slimming drugs to detect undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients. Methods: Forty hand-made herbal products sold as weight loss aid were prepared from 270 herb shops in Gilan province, Iran, in a six-month period. All samples were analyzed using UHPLC and GC/MS instrumentations. Results: The results showed that 25% of collected herbal preparations contained caffeine. Moreover, an unlabeled herbal tablet contained metformin. Conclusions: Herbal slimming products in Gilan province were not adulterated as much as herbal drugs collected from other provinces in Iran. However, adulteration practices may endanger the health or safety of consumers.en
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.5812/jjnpp.82992en
KeywordHand-Made Herbal Drugsen
KeywordSlimming Productsen
KeywordAdulteration Practiceen
KeywordAnalytical Toxicologyen
PublisherBrieflandsen
TitleApplication of UHPLC and GC/MS for Detection of Hidden Drugs in Traditional Hand-Made Herbal Slimming Productsen
TypeResearch Articleen

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