title: Detection of Cyanotoxins in Algae Dietary Supplements.
abstract: Algae dietary supplements are marketed worldwide as natural health products. Although their proprieties have been claimed as beneficial to improve overall health, there have been several previous reports of contamination by cyanotoxins. These products generally contain non-toxic cyanobacteria, but the methods of cultivation in natural waters without appropriate quality controls allow contamination by toxin producer species present in the natural environment. In this study, we investigated the presence of total microcystins, seven individual microcystins (RR, YR, LR, LA, LY, LW, LF), anatoxin-a, dihydroanatoxin-a, epoxyanatoxin-a, cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxin, and β-methylamino-l-alanine in 18 different commercially available products containingSpirulinaorAphanizomenon flos-aquae. Total microcystins analysis was accomplished using a Lemieux oxidation and a chemical derivatization using dansyl chloride was needed for the simultaneous analysis of cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxin, and β-methylamino-l-alanine. Moreover, the use of laser diode thermal desorption (LDTD) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) both coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) enabled high performance detection and quantitation. Out of the 18 products analyzed, 8 contained some cyanotoxins at levels exceeding the tolerable daily intake values. The presence of cyanotoxins in these algal dietary supplements reinforces the need for a better quality control as well as consumer's awareness on the potential risks associated with the consumption of these supplements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada. a.roy.lachapelle@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roy-Lachapelle
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada. morgan.solliec@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Morgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Solliec
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1A8, Canada. maryse.bouchard@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Maryse F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bouchard
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada. sebastien.sauve@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sauvé
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D046890:Aphanizomenon; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D018570:Risk Assessment; D053545:Spirulina
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins
keywords: BMAA; LC-HRMS; LDTD; anatoxin-a; cyanobacteria; cyanotoxins; cylindrospermopsin; dietary supplements; microcystins; saxitoxin