{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T15:19:11Z","timestamp":1787239151258,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":81,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773014400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>One of the most popular food supplements among the Canary population for the treatment of insomnia and mild anxiety is Valeriana officinalis L. (valerian), whose organ of use is the root. However, this plant is susceptible to the accumulation of certain metals, and a daily multi-dose treatment may be a dosage indication\/regimen as multidose therapy. Therefore, there is an interest in determining its content of metals (Cd, Pb, Al, Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Sr, Mo, Zn, Co, Fe, B, Mn, V, Ba, K, Na, Mg, Ca) to establish the possible toxicological risk of its consumption. The concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) in a total of 23 samples (8 fragmented, 7 crushed, 8 pulverized). The Cd limit set by the European Pharmacopoeia (0.1 mg\/kg) is more than doubled in six samples. The results showed that Pinisan (0.11 mg\/kg), the EnRelax\u00ae pill (0.12 mg\/kg), the EnRelax\u00ae infuser (0.13 mg\/kg), Kneipp (0.15 mg\/kg), Milvus (0.16 mg\/kg) and one of the market samples (0.23 mg\/kg) all exceed this parameter. However, the use of valerian root as a herbal plant or food supplement at therapeutic doses and in all studied dosages does not pose a toxicological risk based on the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) of metals.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15050958","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T17:16:03Z","timestamp":1773076563000},"page":"958","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Metal Content in Valeriana officinalis L. Root Commercialized in a Spanish Region (Tenerife, Canary Islands)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-0299-4194","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan R.","family":"J\u00e1udenes-Marrero","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology Area, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"},{"name":"Interuniversity Group of Environmental Toxicology, Food and Drug Safety, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1581-0850","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c1ngel","family":"Guti\u00e9rrez-Fern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology Area, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"},{"name":"Interuniversity Group of Environmental Toxicology, Food and Drug Safety, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chaxiraxi","family":"Morales-Marrero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Area of Pharmacology, Universidad de la Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8774-5870","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmen","family":"Rubio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology Area, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"},{"name":"Interuniversity Group of Environmental Toxicology, Food and Drug Safety, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0878-7138","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Soraya","family":"Paz-Montelongo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology Area, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"},{"name":"Interuniversity Group of Environmental Toxicology, Food and Drug Safety, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0775-5732","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Samuel","family":"Alejandro-Vega","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology Area, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"},{"name":"Interuniversity Group of Environmental Toxicology, Food and Drug Safety, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1652-9913","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ram\u00f3n A. Mu\u00f1oz de","family":"Bustillo-Alfaro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology Area, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arturo","family":"Hardisson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology Area, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"},{"name":"Interuniversity Group of Environmental Toxicology, Food and Drug Safety, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2802-7873","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Conrado","family":"Carrascosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Pathology and Production, Bromatology and Food Technology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arucas, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7420-7456","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susana","family":"Abdala Kuri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Area of Pharmacology, Universidad de la Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-6173-8219","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adama","family":"Pe\u00f1a-Vera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Area of Pharmacology, Universidad de la Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7490-0357","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra","family":"D\u00e9vora-Guti\u00e9rrez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Area of Pharmacology, Universidad de la Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2481-7405","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daida","family":"Alberto-Armas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology Area, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"364","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2021.10.115","article-title":"Prevalence Rates of Anxiety, Depressive, and Eating Pathology Symptoms between the Pre- and Peri-COVID-19 Eras: A Meta-Analysis","volume":"298","author":"Schafer","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. 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