20 Quality Management
Author: Arne Dübecke, Tentamus Center for Food Fraud (TCF²), Quality Services International GmbH, Bremen, Germany
Unlike pesticides or other man made
substances, pyrrolizidine alkaloids
(PAs) are completely natural
and occur worldwide in a variety
of plants. However, „natural“ doesn’t always
translate to „healthy“, just think of the aconitine
found in monkshood (Aconitum napellus L.) or
the blowfish with its tetrodotoxin. In the case of
PAs it is less the acute toxicity that is of interest
but rather the chronic toxicity due to intake
of low levels of PAs over an extended period of
time. PAs show potentially carcinogenic properties
and are thus unwanted in foodstuffs.
The topic is not really new. Already in the
early 20th century farmers observed, that
their animals feeding on pastures infested with
ragworts suffered from Seneciosis, a disease
attacking mostly the liver which usually lead to
death of the affected animal. In Germany the
disease was commonly known as „Schweinsberger
Krankheit“ while it was called „walking
disease“ in english speaking countries due to
the observation, that sickened horses kept on
walking around aimlessly.
Early research targeted mostly the methods
of extraction of PAs from plant material and the
elucidation of their chemical structures and also
there acute toxicity on farm animals. Furthermore,
plants that were used for medicinal purposes, e.g.
comfrey (Symphytum officinale) and colts foot
(Tussilago farfara), were also investigated.
Honey was the first food analysed for PAs
(Deinzer et al., 1977). Subsequent research was
directed towards herbals and finally lead to the
publications of WHO in 1988 (Environmental
Health Criteria for Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids). The
„Bundesgesundheitsamt“ in Germany introduced
Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Food
Table 1: Maximum Levels for PAs which will be included in regulation 1881/2006
and come into effect July 1, 2022.