Analysis of adulterated herbal medicines and dietary supplements marketed for weight loss by DOSY 1H NMR

Julie Vaysse (1) , Stéphane Balayssac (1) , Véronique Gilard (1) , Denis Desoubzdanne (1) , Myriam Malet-Martino (1) , Robert Martino (1)

1 SPCMIB - Synthèse et Physico-Chimie de Molécules d'Intérêt Biologique

Twenty herbal medicines or dietary supplements marketed as natural slimming products were analyzed by Diffusion Ordered SpectroscopY (DOSY) 1H NMR and DOSY-COSY 1H NMR. The method allows analysis of the whole sample with detection of both active and inactive ingredients in these complex matrices. Among the 20 formulations analyzed, 2 were strictly herbal and 4 had a composition corresponding to declared ingredients on the packaging or the leaflet. The others were all adulterated. Eight formulations contain sibutramine alone at doses ranging from 4.4 to 30.5 mg/capsule. Five formulations contain sibutramine (from 5.0 to 19.6 mg/capsule or tablet) in combination with phenolphthalein (from 4.4 to 66.1 mg/capsule), and the last formulation was adulterated with synephrine (19.5 mg/capsule). Quantification of the actives was carried out with 1H NMR. Several other compounds were also characterized including methylsynephrine, vitaberin, sugars, vitamins etc. DOSY NMR is thus proposed as a useful tool for detection of unexpected adulteration.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Julie Vaysse, Stéphane Balayssac, Véronique Gilard, Denis Desoubzdanne, Myriam Malet-Martino, et al.. Analysis of adulterated herbal medicines and dietary supplements marketed for weight loss by DOSY 1H NMR. Food Additives and Contaminants, 2010, 27 (07), pp.903-916. ⟨10.1080/19440041003705821⟩. ⟨hal-00598944⟩