Plant-Based Food Supplements Contain High Levels Of Carcinogenic Agents

A new study that was published in the last issue of the journal Food and Nutrition Sciences revealed that there are plant-based supplements that can contain compounds that can cause liver cancer in high doses in experimental animals.

This study further stresses that although there is a new wave of health conscious consumers which choose to go natural to be safe, it is not enough to trust a product claiming that it is natural and safe without learning what it contains. Alkenylbenzenes are compounds present in these plant-based supplements that can cause liver cancer when used in high doses. At a clinical setting laboratory animals developed tumors in response to continuous intake of supplements with alkenylbenzenes.

Researchers at the Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR, the University of Milan and Proform SA collaborating under the EU project PlantLIBRA, have studied plant-based supplements. An extensive study was at hand since plant-based supplements were extensively used by consumers within the European Union and to date, the market volume for these products is expanding at an alarming rate.

30 botanical compounds are in question which are found in most plant-based supplements; these may be either damaging to the genetic material of cells or may be carcinogenic in increased amounts. Natural supplements that contain basil, fennel, nutmeg, cinnamon, essential oils and sassafras are just some of the many main ingredients that have been found to contain high levels of alkenylbenzenes. Aside from this chemical are alkenylbenzenes estragole, methyleugenol, safrole or β-asarone which can also lead to cancer if taken continuosly or in very large quantitiesm

A need for better regulation as well as quality control of plant-based supplements is at hand to make natural supplements safer and more therapeutic. Thus is not just for the countries in the EU but for all the countries in the world.

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