Medical use and toxicity of Hericium mushrooms – a narrative review
Introduction Hericium is an edible, wood rotting fungus of temperate deciduous forests (Grace & Mudge, 2015). It is a culinary-medicinal mushroom and has a long history of usage in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic for stomach disorders, ulcers and gastrointestinal ailments (Xu et al., 1985). Recently it has received increased attention for its potential […]
Neoboletus luridiformis: nutritional value, medicinal use and content of potentially toxic elements – a review and health risk assessment
Introduction Besides constituents affecting taste, mushrooms are nutritionally desirable because of their low energy value, fibre content, specifically β-glucans, and high antioxidant capacity (Kalač, 2013). In addition, their potential medicinal use becomes increasing attention. On the other hand, the ability of some species to accumulate detrimental elements including radioisotopes has to be taken into account […]
Methylmercury in fish with a focus on pike (Esox Lucius) and European water bodies: A review and safety assessment
Abstract Pike is regularly consumed where it occurs and as a top predator in European water bodies especially prone to biomagnification of methylmercury. Therefore, upper limits for the mercury contamination of edible fish have been set in various food regulations. However, sold fish is rarely tested for its actual mercury contamination and despite fish meat […]
In silico assessment of developmental and reproductive toxicity
Chemicals leaching from medical devices are toxicologically not always fully characterized. Supplementary approaches are therefore needed to allow for a detailed hazard assessment. In this article the use of in silico toxicology to identify and quantify the developmental and reproductive toxicity (DART) potential of substances is investigated. Reproductive toxicity represents the harmful effects of chemical exposure on […]
Upcoming universal restriction of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in EU and EEA
The main concern related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is their environmental persistence. If release continues the abundance in the environment and hence exposure to organisms including humans will increase. The EU Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) have provisionally concluded on four sectors. The planed universal restriction aims to […]
Potential of alkyl glycol ethers to cause endocrine disruption
An endocrine disruptor is defined as “an exogenous substance or mixture that alters function(s) of the endocrine system and consequently causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, or (sub)populations” (WHO/PCS, 2002). In recent years publications have appeared that mention individual glycol ethers or glycol ethers in general amongst those substances with […]
In vitro assessment of respiratory toxicity: selection of a suitable cell line
With the human lung having more than 60 different cell types and a variety of different cell functions present, the in vitro assessment of respiratory toxicity is a challenging endeavor. Each cell type and the function it performs represents a potential target for a toxic mechanism of action. The first question when selecting a suitable […]
Toxicological risk assessment (TRA)
A toxicological risk assessment or TRA is a multi-step process that estimates the risk of adverse health events from exposure to leachable substances from a medical device. It encompasses the scientific review and evaluation of all relevant scientific data on the toxicity of, and the exposure to, a certain compound or mixture (Younes, 2014). Components […]
Safety risk categorization for organic extractables and manufacturing aid constituents
Medical matters has developed a risk management (RM) tool that allows to calculate risk scores for chemical constituents. Risk scores are based amongst others on a constituent’s physicochemical properties and its quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) assessment outcomes. Risk scores therefore reflect the patient safety risk posed by a detected leachable/extractable or any other constituent, by consideration of […]
Probabilistic derivation of population thresholds for human skin sensitizer
Reynolds et al. has introduced the concept of a population threshold for human skin sensitizers – a chemical-specific exposure level at which no individual in a population will experience induction of contact allergy to a chemical. Therefore, a Bayesian multilevel (hierarchical) regression model was developed to estimate population thresholds under the conditions of a human-repeat-insult-patch-test. […]