Writing in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, the researchers highlighted a “potential significant environmental concern” that extends “beyond dietary supplements to all Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCP), including drugs and medical devices.”
The study is reportedly the first to examine the biodegradability of nine complex supplements using methods that detect persistent compounds even at low levels.
The researchers noted that the study underscores the importance of evaluating the environmental impact of excipients in dietary supplements rather than just the functional component on which the health benefits are marketed.
They noted that this approach aligns with the European Green Deal, the “field to fork” strategy for sustainable food production, and the new “European Union Strategic Approach to Pharmaceuticals in the Environment”.
“Promoting a regulatory framework with specific labelling rules to indicate whether each ingredient is natural or synthetic, along with biodegradation data, is crucial,” they wrote.
“This would enable consumers to make informed choices and help healthcare professionals, such as doctors and pharmacists, to tailor their advice considering these environmental aspects.”
Impact of synthetic additives
Experts advise that artificial substances such as sweeteners, preservatives and dyes only partially undergo a biotransformation in the human body when we consume them. Their metabolites get into sewage and water systems in unchanged form, accumulating as micropollutants in water, soil, air, plants and animals.
Studies indicate that more than 700 emerging pollutants are being added to the environment daily, with artificial sweeteners being recognized “as a new class of environmental contaminants due to their extreme persistence and ubiquitous nature.”
In addition to harming aquatic habitats and cyanobacteria, they can turn into even more toxic metabolites through their metabolic pathways, decreasing microbial populations and adversely affecting fish.
Study details
Scientists from Aboca SpA used the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 301 F ready biodegradation test (RBT) to evaluate the biodegradability of nine dietary supplement products, some of which were manufactured by Aboca Spa, and some purchased from a local pharmacy.
They developed and validated a chromatographic method to quantify the presence of acesulfame, sucralose, tartrazine and carmoisine in the RBT mineral medium.
Their methods reportedly improved the sensitivity and specificity of the analysis, effectively detecting the compounds at very low concentrations.
Although all the products were found to be readily biodegradable, the synthetic sweeteners and dyes were not. The analytical methods revealed that the compounds “remained almost entirely unchanged at the conclusion of the RBT.”
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis,
Volume 255, 116575, doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2024.116575
“Biodegradability of dietary supplements: Advanced analytical methods to study the environmental fate of artificial sweeteners and dyes”
Authors: L. Mattoli et al.