Food supplements derived from natural products are not properly regulated in Latin America. In order to control these supplements, the content of compounds responsible for their activity must be analyzed. For this purpose, a simple methodology and an identification of the corresponding molecular markers are proposed. This study evaluated five products used worldwide: Hypericum perforatum, Tanacetum parthenium, Sylibum marianum, Ginkgo biloba, and Echinacea were obtained from local markets as well as a highly regulated market (used as a reference sample). These phytopharmaceuticals contain characteristic compounds that are readily identifiable with 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR). It was possible to demonstrate the presence of certain compounds (flavonoids in Hypericum perforatum, parthenolide in the Tanacetum parthenium, sylimarin in Sylibum marianum, ginkgolids and bilobalids in Ginkgo biloba and polyenes in Echinacea) in the reference sample. With a simple and standarized methodology based on principal components analysis, the presence of active ingredients in the products from the regulated market was demonstrated, but not for the samples from the local markets.

Determination of the quality of phytopharmaceuticals and dietary supplements of products that are marketed in Costa Rica

255th National Meeting (2018)

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