Natural occurrence of genotoxic and carcinogenic alkenylbenzenes in Indonesian jamu and evaluation of consumer risks

The consumer risks of jamu, Indonesian traditional herbal medicines, was assessed focussing on the presence of alkenylbenzene containing botanical ingredients. Twenty-three out of 25 samples contained alkenylbenzenes at levels ranging from 3.8 to 440 μg/kg, with methyleugenol being the most frequently encountered alkenylbenzene. The estimated daily intake (EDI) resulting from jamu consumption was estimated to amount to 0.2–171 μg/kg bw/day for individual alkenylbenzenes, to 0.9–203 μg/kg bw/day when adding up all alkenylbenzenes detected, and to 0.9–551 μg/kg bw/day when expressed in methyleugenol equivalents using interim relative potency (REP) factors. The margin of exposure (MOE) values obtained were generally 10,000). However, when considering use for two weeks every year during a lifetime, 5 samples still raise a concern. It is concluded that the consumption of alkenylbenzene containing jamu can be of concern especially when consumed on a daily basis for longer periods of time on a regular basis