EFSA: Extensive update of Compendium of Botanicals released
EFSA has released the fourth edition of the Scientific Committee’s Compendium of Botanicals, marking a major upgrade of the open-source database of plant species reported to contain naturally occurring substances of potential concern for human and animal health.
The number of plant species included totals 2,701. Among the new features the Compendium now boasts an extensive list of 1,538 naturally occurring substances of potential concern for human health. The database provides information on plants, their composition, as well as toxicity data when available for plants and substances, drawn from published scientific articles, case and risk assessment reports and from state-of-the-art quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) predictions (i.e. computational models).
The presence of a substance of concern in a botanical does not necessarily mean that the substance poses a risk to consumer health. The database is not intended to conclude on the safety or non-safety of the listed plant species, but to help with the safety assessment of botanicals and botanical preparations by facilitating hazard identification. As such, it is a tool for scientific assessors at EFSA and in EU Member States, for risk managers at EU and national level, and for applicants/manufacturers in areas such as food supplements, novel food and feed additives.