Keshvari Mahtab, Nedaeinia Reza, Nedaeinia Mozhdeh, Ferns Gordon A, Nia Sasan Nedaee, Asgary Sedigheh
Département de Pharmacologie et Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Sherbrooke, Canada.
Pediatric Inherited Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Feb 26. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-13020-7.
Herbal medicines have been reported to contain many contaminants that are potential harmful to health. These include heavy metals, such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg). Therefore, this study aimed to measure the levels of Pb, Cd, As, and Hg in several orally administered herbal products available in the Iranian market. Fifteen products labeled (A-O) of different brands from three different production batches (n = 45) were purchased from traditional herbal medicine factories in Iran. Each sample was digested with nitric acid by the wet digestion method, and the resultant solutions were used to determine the concentrations of Pb, Cd, As, and Hg. These measurements were performed using flame atomic absorption spectrometry, graphite furnace atomic absorption, or cold vapor atomic absorption. The lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury contents in the investigated samples did not show significant levels that may be associated with toxicity. All four metals were present at concentrations below the limits recommended by the WHO (World Health Organization), American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), and Canadian standard, but in several herbal products, the concentrations of these trace elements exceeded the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The concentrations of Pb, Cd, As, and Hg in commercially available herbal remedies were well below the acceptable intake recommended by global recommendations. Our findings revealed that at present, the amount of heavy metals in medicinal herbs processed at the level of supply by pharmacies licensed is favorable.
据报道，草药含有许多可能对健康有害的污染物。这些污染物包括重金属，如铅（Pb）、镉（Cd）、砷（As）和汞（Hg）。因此，本研究旨在测定伊朗市场上几种口服草药产品中的铅、镉、砷和汞含量。从伊朗的传统草药工厂购买了来自三个不同生产批次（n = 45）、标签为（A - O）的15种不同品牌的产品。每个样品采用湿式消解法用硝酸消解，所得溶液用于测定铅、镉、砷和汞的浓度。这些测定使用火焰原子吸收光谱法、石墨炉原子吸收法或冷蒸气原子吸收法进行。所调查样品中的铅、镉、砷和汞含量未显示出可能与毒性相关的显著水平。所有四种金属的浓度均低于世界卫生组织（WHO）、美国草药产品协会（AHPA）和加拿大标准推荐的限值，但在几种草药产品中，这些微量元素的浓度超过了美国有毒物质和疾病登记署（ATSDR）的标准。市售草药制剂中铅、镉、砷和汞的浓度远低于全球建议的可接受摄入量。我们的研究结果表明，目前，经许可的药店供应环节所加工草药中的重金属含量是良好的。
