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Background: Food supplements, and in particular those containing botanicals (plant food supplements, PFS), have in recent decades been of great interest both to consumers and to food/pharmaceutical industries., Objectives: The aim of this paper is to examine replies by Italian consumers to the PlantLIBRA consumers' survey in order to: 1) assess the behaviour of an Italian population with respect to the use of PFS, and to compare it with that of other 5 countries involved in the whole survey; 2) identify different habits in the 4 Italian cities selected according to their geographical distribution; 3) collect independent information on the actual intake of PFS and consumers' behaviour., Subjects/setting: 397 Italian consumers enrolled, 187 males (49.5%) and 191 female (50.5%). The distribution of subjects among the 4 cities included was: Milan 99; Venice 90; Rome 96 and Catania 96., Results: The interest in PFS in Italy is high, the prevalence of "regular" consumers being 22.7%. Some differences were observed between the 4 cities involved: the pattern of use during the year was specific to each city; consumers in Milan reported reasons to use PFS significantly different from those in the whole Italian sample and did not indicate supermarkets as an important place of purchase; respondents from Rome and Catania more frequently used family doctors and pharmacists as a source of recommendation. Some significant difference among cities, sex and age groups were observed when the most frequently used botanicals were ranked., Conclusions: The results provide new insights on the socio-economic characteristics and lifestyle of Italian PFS consumers, on their reasons for and pattern of use, and on their behaviour and expectations. The value of this information is not restricted to the specific country (Italy) but allows for a more general evaluation of the pattern of use, according to habits and geographical area.

Aims: The objective of this review was to collect available data on the following: (i) adverse effects observed in humans from the intake of plant food supplements or botanical preparations; (ii) the misidentification of poisonous plants; and (iii) interactions between plant food supplements/botanicals and conventional drugs or nutrients., Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase were searched from database inception to June 2014, using the terms 'adverse effect/s', 'poisoning/s', 'plant food supplement/s', 'misidentification/s' and 'interaction/s' in combination with the relevant plant name. All papers were critically evaluated according to the World Health Organization Guidelines for causality assessment., Results: Data were obtained for 66 plants that are common ingredients of plant food supplements; of the 492 papers selected, 402 (81.7%) dealt with adverse effects directly associated with the botanical and 89 (18.1%) concerned interactions with conventional drugs. Only one case was associated with misidentification. Adverse effects were reported for 39 of the 66 botanical substances searched. Of the total references, 86.6% were associated with 14 plants, including Glycine max/soybean (19.3%), Glycyrrhiza glabra/liquorice (12.2%), Camellia sinensis/green tea ( 8.7%) and Ginkgo biloba/gingko (8.5%)., Conclusions: Considering the length of time examined and the number of plants included in the review, it is remarkable that: (i) the adverse effects due to botanical ingredients were relatively infrequent, if assessed for causality; and (ii) the number of severe clinical reactions was very limited, but some fatal cases have been described. Data presented in this review were assessed for quality in order to make the results maximally useful for clinicians in identifying or excluding deleterious effects of botanicals., (© 2014 The British Pharmacological Society.)

Background: Oral supplementation with some amino acids (like methionine, taurine, and cysteine) could be useful in subjects with hair loss conditions such as androgenic alopecia (AGA or FAGA) or telogen effluvium (TE). Hydrolysed collagen (HC) oral supplementation has demonstrated to have beneficial effects on nail and skin health and could improve hair growth. A food supplement in tablet formulation containing hydrolysed fish‐origin collagen (300 mg/dose), taurine, cysteine, methionine, iron, and selenium has been recently available. To date no controlled data are available regarding the clinical efficacy of this product as adjuvant to hair loss specific treatments in these clinical conditions. Study aims: To evaluate and compare the efficacy and tolerability of an oral supplementation based on HC and amino acids in subjects with hair loss due to AGA/FAGA or chronic TE in combination with drug treatments in comparison with drug treatments alone. Methods and subjects: In a prospective, 12‐week, randomized, assessor‐blinded controlled trial 83 subjects (mean age 41 ± 16 years; 26 men and 57 women) were enrolled in the study. Fifty‐nine subjects suffered from AGA/FAGA (Hamilton I‐VA, Ludwig I‐1, II‐2) and 24 from chronic TE. Subjects were randomized to oral supplementation (1 tablet day) in combination with the specify drug treatment decided by the investigator according to the type of hair loss (AGA/FAGA or TE) (Group A; N = 48) or to specific drugs treatment only (Group B; N = 35). The main outcome of the trial was the clinical efficacy evaluation using a 7‐point global assessment score (GAS) (from +3: Much Improved to ‐3 Much worsened; with score 0 representing no modification). The GAS score was evaluated using standardized photographs by an investigator unaware of the treatment groups at week 6 and at week 12. A secondary outcome was the evaluation of acceptability of the treatment regimen using a 10‐point evaluation score. Results: Seventy‐six participants (91.6%) completed the 12‐week study period. The GAS score at week 6 was 0.5 ± 0.2 in group A and 0.0 ± 0.1 in Group B (p < 0.05; Mann‐Whitney). At week 12 the GAS score in Group A was statistically significant higher in comparison with Group B (1.67 ± 0.16 and 0.66 ± 0.20, p < 0.001; Mann–Whitney test). A higher percentage of Group A subjects achieved a GAS score of ≥2 in comparison with group B (50% vs. 23%). The oral supplement was generally well tolerated. Conclusion: An oral supplement containing hydrolysed fish‐origin collagen, taurine, cysteine, methionine, iron, and selenium has demonstrated to improve the clinical efficacy of specific anti‐hair loss treatments in subjects with AGA/FAGA or chronic TE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The review aims to provide guidance on the definitions and regulation of products containing botanical ingredients, which are at present quite complex. In recent decades, the interest in products containing botanicals and claiming "functional" properties has increased exponentially. Functional foods, novel foods and food supplements have a special impact on the consumers, who show significant expectation for their well-being. Food supplements with botanical ingredients are the food area that has witnessed the greatest development, in terms of the number of available products, budget, and consumer acceptability. This review refers to and discusses some open points, such as: (1) the definitions and regulation of products containing botanicals; (2) the difficulty in obtaining nutritional and functional claims (botanical ingredients obtaining claims in the EU are listed and summarized); (3) the safety aspects of these products; and (4) the poor harmonization between international legislations. The availability of these "new" products can positively influence the well-being of the population, but it is essential to provide the consumers with the necessary recommendations to guide them in their purchase and use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]