Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a group of toxins produced by several species of plants, that typically grow as weeds. Contamination of other plant crops with PAs, e.g. teas and herbal products can occur as a result of small amounts of these weeds being included with these crops. These toxins are a potential risk for consumers as they can enter the food chain. It is reported that PAs result in damage to the liver, kidneys, heart, brain, smooth muscles, lungs, DNA, lesions all over the body, and could be a potential cause of cancer.

Fera has developed an LC-MSMS method to analyse for 28 pyrrolizidine alkaloids each with a Limit of Quantification (LOQ) of 1 μg/kg. The method includes the following pyrrolizidine alkaloids: Echimidine (Em), Echimidine-N-oxide (Em-ox), Erucifoline (Er), Erucifoline-N-oxide (Er-ox), Europine (Eu), Europine-N-oxide (Eu), Heliotrine (Ht), Heliotrine-N-oxide (Ht-ox), Intermedine (Im), Intermedine-N-oxide (Im-ox), Jacobine (Jb), Jacobine-N-oxide (Jb-ox), Lasiocarpine (Lc), Lasiocarpine-N-oxide (Lc-ox), Lycopsamine (Ly), Lycopsamine-N-oxide (Ly-ox), Monocrotaline (Mc), Monocrotaline-N-oxide (Mc-ox), Retrorsine (Rt), Retrorsine-N-oxide (Rt-ox), Senecionine (Sn), Senecionine-N-oxide (Sn-ox), Seneciphylline (Sp), Seneciphylline-N-oxide (Sp-ox), Senecivernine (Sv), Senecivernine-N-oxide (Sv-ox), Senkirkine (Sk) and Trichodesmine (Td).

From the 1st July 2022, EU legislation comes into force setting maximum levels for these contaminants in a range of products including herbal infusions, teas, food supplements, pollen products and herbs & and spices.