Wang Cai-Xia, Liu Feng, Cheng Yongbing, Cao Lei, Wu Hua
Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an 710054, China.
Shaanxi Provincial Health Commission, Xi'an 710054, China.
J Food Prot. 2025 Jun 18;88(8):100563. doi: 10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100563.
Astragalus membranaceus is a widely used herbal medicine. This study was conducted to understand the heavy metal contents of A. membranaceus in Shaanxi Province of China and to evaluate the potential human health risks associated with its consumption. A total of 100 samples of A. membranaceus were collected during the harvest period in Shaanxi province. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to analyze cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), total chromium (Cr), total arsenic (As), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), selenium (Se), barium (Ba), molybdenum (Mo) in each sample, and the elements' contents were evaluated. Total mercury(Hg) was measured using a direct mercury analyzer. The mean content of these elements in A. membranaceus was significantly different. All samples contained detectable concentrations of Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, As, Cu, Co, Ba, and Mo. The concentrations of Hg and Se in certain specimens of A. membranaceus were found to be below the limits of detection. The contents of each element in all samples were lower than the legal limit published by the World Health Organization. Additionally, the contents of Cu, As, Hg, Cd, and Pb all conformed to the standards of the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China 2020. In this study, the target hazard quotient (THQ) for each metal and the hazard index (HI) through consumption of A. membranaceus were less than 1, indicating no significant noncarcinogenic risk associated with the consumption of A. membranaceus from the Shaanxi areas of China. The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) of each carcinogenic metal and the total carcinogenic risk (TCR) of all carcinogenic metals from A. membranaceus consumption for both adults and children were lower than the acceptable limit (ILCR and TCR = 10). This study used the total amount of elements for evaluation and did not consider the different forms of the elements in A. membranaceus. It also did not take into account the dissolution rate of heavy metals from A. membranaceus or the bioavailability of the elements. So this study employed a conservative evaluation method.
黄芪是一种广泛使用的草药。本研究旨在了解中国陕西省黄芪的重金属含量，并评估食用黄芪对人体健康的潜在风险。在陕西省黄芪收获期共采集了100份样品。采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）分析各样品中的镉（Cd）、铅（Pb）、镍（Ni）、总铬（Cr）、总砷（As）、铜（Cu）、钴（Co）、硒（Se）、钡（Ba）、钼（Mo），并对元素含量进行评估。使用直接测汞仪测量总汞（Hg）。黄芪中这些元素的平均含量存在显著差异。所有样品中均检测到Cd、Pb、Ni、Cr、As、Cu、Co、Ba和Mo的浓度。发现某些黄芪样品中的Hg和Se浓度低于检测限。所有样品中各元素的含量均低于世界卫生组织公布的法定限值。此外，Cu、As、Hg、Cd和Pb的含量均符合《中华人民共和国药典》2020年版标准。本研究中，每种金属的目标危害商（THQ）以及通过食用黄芪的危害指数（HI）均小于1，表明食用中国陕西地区的黄芪不会带来显著的非致癌风险。食用黄芪对成人和儿童的每种致癌金属的终生增量癌症风险（ILCR）以及所有致癌金属的总致癌风险（TCR）均低于可接受限值（ILCR和TCR = 10）。本研究采用元素总量进行评估，未考虑黄芪中元素的不同形态。也未考虑黄芪中重金属的溶出率或元素的生物有效性。因此，本研究采用了保守的评估方法。
