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The accumulation of hazardous contaminants in Cannabis sativa L. raises warning signs regarding possible adverse effects on human health due to the consumption of herbal medicines and/or other herbal edible products made from cannabis. Thus, there is an urge to investigate the levels of hazardous contaminants, such as heavy metals, in cannabis plant. In the present study, 29 macro and trace elements, including both beneficial and toxic elements (heavy metals and metalloids), were investigated in 90 samples of Cannabis sativa L. collected from Greece. According to the results, the detected concentrations of macro elements in the leaves/flowers of cannabis ranged between 28 and 138,378 ppm, and of trace elements between 0.002 and 1352.904 ppm. Although the concentrations of elements varied among the samples, their accumulation pattern was found to be similar, with the contribution of toxic elements to the total concentration of trace elements being below 1%. The detected levels of the most toxic elements were below the prescribed limits established by the WHO, while the calculated THQ and CR values showed no risk (non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic) for the population exposed to the current cannabis samples. Positive correlation between the concentration of elements and cannabis geographical origin and variety was observed. Cannabis leaves/flowers were more contaminated with trace and macro elements than seeds.

Major, minor and trace elements in wines from Greece were determined by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). The concentrations of 44 elements (Na, Mg, P, K, Ca, Cu, Co, Cr, Zn, Sn, Fe, Mn, Li, Be, B, V, Sr, Ba, Al, Ag, Ni, As, Sn, Hg, Pb, Sb, Cd, Ti, Ga, Zr, Nb, Pd, Te, La, Sm, Ho, Tm, Yb, W, Os, Au, Tl, Th, U) in 90 white and red wines from six different regions in Greece for two consecutive vinification years, 2017 and 2018, were determined. Results for the elements aforementioned were evaluated by multivariate statistical methods, such as discriminant analysis and cluster analysis, and the wines were discriminated according to wine variety and geographical origin. Due to the specific choice of the analytes for multivariate statistical investigation, a prediction rate by cross-validation of 98% could be achieved. The aim of this study was not only to reveal specific relationships between the wine samples or between the chemical variables in order to classify the wines from different regions and varieties according to their elemental profile (wine authentication), but also to observe the annual fluctuation in the mineral content of the studied wine samples.

Abstract Background Migrant children are a population at risk for various health problems. Despite the increased inflow of migrants in Greece, data regarding their health assessment are lacking. This study aims to describe the clinical and certain laboratory characteristics and identify possible associations in a group of new immigrant (I) and refugee (R) children, arriving in Athens, Greece. Methods A prospective, cross- sectional study was performed in a migrant outpatient clinic of a tertiary Children’s hospital. All immigrant and refugee children, examined to obtain a health certificate, within 3 months of their arrival in the country, were enrolled. Clinical and laboratory information was collected in a pre- designed form. We applied multiple logistic regression models to investigate the association between the child’s status (immigrant vs refugee) and health indicators controlling for possible confounding effects, mainly of age and area of origin. Results From 2010 to 2013, a total of 300 children (I/R:138/162) with a mean age of 7.08 (range 1–14) years were included. Overall, 79.3% presented unknown vaccination status, 21.3% dental and 7.3% additional clinical problems. Latent tuberculosis was identified in 2.7%, while anemia, low serum ferritin and eosinophilia were found in 13.7%, 17.3%, and 22.7% of subjects, respectively. 57.7% had protective antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs ≥ 10 IU/L) and 30.6% elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs). Immigrants had less likely unknown immunization (OR = 0.25, p

Bee pollen contains a diversity of bioactive components. Nevertheless, since pollen is retrieved from a variety of plants, including the cultivated ones which are subjected to agrochemical treatments, its contamination is unavoidable. In this context, 45 samples of pollen were analysed with optimized analytical methods for trace and macro elements (ICP-MS), pesticides and metabolites residues (LC & GC-MS/MS) content. According to the results, potassium and iron were the most abundant in terms of concentration and frequency of detection, while the contribution of the most hazardous elements, such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury, to the total concentration of trace elements was lower than 1%. For pesticides, coumaphos was the most frequently detected in the examined samples (22%), followed by propargite, azoxystrobin, dimethoate and cypermethrin. Non-carcinogenic health risk assessment demonstrated in the majority of cases negligible risk for adults and children. On the contrary, carcinogenic risk assessment considering a worst case scenario disclosed nickel and in less extent chromium and arsenic, as risk drivers, exhibiting in several samples carcinogenic risk values for adults above the safety threshold. Yet, regarding that both adults and children unlikely will daily consume such pollen quantities, especially on a long-term basis, an overestimation of risk should be appraised., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The accumulation of hazardous contaminants in Cannabis sativa L. raises warning signs regarding possible adverse effects on human health due to the consumption of herbal medicines and/or other herbal edible products made from cannabis. Thus, there is an urge to investigate the levels of hazardous contaminants, such as heavy metals, in cannabis plant. In the present study, 29 macro and trace elements, including both beneficial and toxic elements (heavy metals and metalloids), were investigated in 90 samples of Cannabis sativa L . collected from Greece. According to the results, the detected concentrations of macro elements in the leaves/flowers of cannabis ranged between 28 and 138,378 ppm, and of trace elements between 0.002 and 1352.904 ppm. Although the concentrations of elements varied among the samples, their accumulation pattern was found to be similar, with the contribution of toxic elements to the total concentration of trace elements being below 1%. The detected levels of the most toxic elements were below the prescribed limits established by the WHO, while the calculated THQ and CR values showed no risk (non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic) for the population exposed to the current cannabis samples. Positive correlation between the concentration of elements and cannabis geographical origin and variety was observed. Cannabis leaves/flowers were more contaminated with trace and macro elements than seeds., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Zafeiraki, Kasiotis, Nisianakis and Machera.)

Background: Migrant children are a population at risk for various health problems. Despite the increased inflow of migrants in Greece, data regarding their health assessment are lacking. This study aims to describe the clinical and certain laboratory characteristics and identify possible associations in a group of new immigrant (I) and refugee (R) children, arriving in Athens, Greece., Methods: A prospective, cross- sectional study was performed in a migrant outpatient clinic of a tertiary Children's hospital. All immigrant and refugee children, examined to obtain a health certificate, within 3 months of their arrival in the country, were enrolled. Clinical and laboratory information was collected in a pre- designed form. We applied multiple logistic regression models to investigate the association between the child's status (immigrant vs refugee) and health indicators controlling for possible confounding effects, mainly of age and area of origin., Results: From 2010 to 2013, a total of 300 children (I/R:138/162) with a mean age of 7.08 (range 1-14) years were included. Overall, 79.3% presented unknown vaccination status, 21.3% dental and 7.3% additional clinical problems. Latent tuberculosis was identified in 2.7%, while anemia, low serum ferritin and eosinophilia were found in 13.7%, 17.3%, and 22.7% of subjects, respectively. 57.7% had protective antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs ≥ 10 IU/L) and 30.6% elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs). Immigrants had less likely unknown immunization (OR = 0.25, p < 0.001), but had increased odds of low ferritin (OR = 1.97, p = 0.043), EBLLs (OR = 2.97, p = 0.001) and protective anti-HBs (OR = 1.79, p = 0.03). Age was inversely associated with anemia (OR = 0.0.89, p = 0.017), low ferritin (OR = 0.91, p = 0.027), EBLLs (OR = 0.86, p = 0.001) or positive anti-HBs (OR = 0.92, p = 0.025). Children from Europe or Africa presented decreased probability of EBLLs (OR = 0.31, p = 0.001, and OR = 0.15, p = 0.005, respectively) compared to those from Asia., Conclusions: New immigrant and refugee children presented distinct clinical problems and certain laboratory abnormalities. Some of these health issues differed according to their migration status, age and geographic area of origin. These findings provide evidence that may assist the optimal approach of this vulnerable population.