ASSESSMENT OF COUMARIN LEVELS IN CINNAMON SPICES AVAILABLE IN THE TURKISH MARKET

Abstract

Objective: Cinnamon has been widely used as a popular spice. The cheaper and more commonly found Cassia cinnamon contains high amounts of coumarin, a naturally occurring hepatotoxic component. The coumarin content added to food products for flavoring purposes is regulated by the European Food Safety Authority. Therefore, it is important to know the amount of coumarin in commercial cinnamon spices and to determine the consumption amounts.

Material and Method: In this study, 22 samples labeled as cinnamon in stick and ground form in the Turkish markets were analyzed using LC-qTOF-MS. The analyzed coumarin content was compared to the European Union limit, which is the tolerable daily intake set by the European Food Safety Authority at 0.1 mg coumarin/kg body weight.

Result and Discussion: The results showed that all but one of the samples contained coumarin. Considering the daily intake limits of coumarin, which are a maximum of 1.5 mg for a 15 kg child and 6 mg for a 60 kg adult, it was found that most samples exceeded these limits. In addition to the amount of coumarin and daily intake that people should be cautious about when consuming cinnamon, the type of cinnamon, whether in stick or powder form, should also be indicated on cinnamon spice packages.

Keywords

• Cinnamon
• coumarin
• LC-qTOF-MS
• limits

TÜRKİYE PİYASASINDA BULUNAN TARÇIN BAHARATLARINDAKİ KUMARİN DÜZEYLERİNİN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Abstract

Amaç: Tarçın yaygın olarak kullanılan popüler bir baharattır. Daha ucuz ve yaygın bulunan Çin tarçını, doğal olarak bulunan hepatotoksik bir bileşen olan yüksek miktarda kumarin içerir. Gıda ürünlerine aroma vermek amacıyla eklenen kumarin miktarı Avrupa Gıda Güvenliği Otoritesi tarafından düzenlenmektedir. Bu nedenle, ticari tarçın baharatlarındaki kumarin miktarının bilinmesi ve tüketim miktarlarının belirlenmesi önemlidir.

Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışmada, Türkiye pazarında çubuk ve toz formda “tarçın” etiketiyle satılan 22 örnek LC-qTOF-MS kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Analiz edilen kumarin içeriği, Avrupa Gıda Güvenliği Otoritesi tarafından vücut ağırlığı başına 0.1 mg kumarin olarak belirlenen tolere edilebilir günlük alım limiti ile karşılaştırılmıştır.

Sonuç ve Tartışma: Sonuçlar, bir örnek dışında tüm örneklerin kumarin içerdiğini göstermiştir. 15 kg ağırlığında bir çocuk için maksimum 1.5 mg ve 60 kg ağırlığında bir yetişkin için maksimum 6 mg olan günlük kumarin alım sınırları dikkate alındığında, çoğu örneğin bu sınırları aştığı bulunmuştur. Tarçın tüketirken dikkat edilmesi gereken kumarin miktarının ve günlük alımın yanı sıra, tarçının türü ile çubuk ya da toz formda olup olmadığının da tarçın ambalajlarında belirtilmesi gerekmektedir.

Keywords

• Kumarin
• LC-qTOF-MS
• limitler
• tarçın

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