Tropanalkaloids (TA) occur in certain plants by nature, such as henbane, datura, and belladonna. Several of these alkaloids are used as pharmaceutical substances, for example atropine. They are known for being capable of influencing the heart rate and the central nervous system, even at a low dose. Dizziness, headaches, and nausea are common symptoms.

Because of the contamination of cereal crops with henbane seeds or datura, tropanalkaloids can be found in cereal based foods. High tropanalkaloid content in cereal products can lead to lead to health impairments in people with heart problems. The Federal Office for Risk Assessment (BfR) came to this conclusion in its official statement no. 035/2014 of 13. November 2013. This has led to one of our clients asking: “Does BERTRAND contain any tropanalkaloides?“

Our answer is: We don’t always know

Unfortunately the analysis for tropanalkaloids isn’t a study which can be conducted as standard by raw material suppliers. However, the risk of health impairment is very slight, which the BfR also concludes. We, however, have used this inquiry as an opportunity to have our base lab analyze a product sample, and this sample did not contain any verifiable tropanalkaloids.

Analyse INTERTEK Tropanalkaloide (TA) – PDF

In the blog series RAQ (Rarely-Asked-Questions)we publish questions, which are in fact interesting, but have only been posed 1-2 times.