Heavy Metals in Chinese Herbs
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP/OES) were employed to determine the total extractable content and bioavailability of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) in various raw Chinese herb materials commonly prescribed by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. It was found that As, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni and Cr were present in all tested herb samples. The total extractable content for these elements varied with herb sample and ranged from around 0.002 mg/kg to 134 mg/kg on a dry weight basis. Most samples contained less than 2 mg/kg As, less than 0.3 mg/kg Cd and less than 5 mg/kg Pb. Hg was not detected in approximately half of the herb samples tested. Among the determined elements, Cd and Zn achieved the highest bioavailability (more than 80 %) across all herb samples tested. A bioavailability of more than 80% for the elements As, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb was also found in some herb samples. The enrichment factor (EF) analysis results showed that some herbs exhibited significant enrichment capabilities for the elements Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn and Hg. Higher content for certain toxic heavy metals in several herbs could be attributed to the uptake of these elements from polluted soil; perhaps due to industrial/anthropogenic activities.
Heavy metals Chinese herbs Total eztractable content Bioavailability ICP/MS ICP/OES
WU Hongli Lawrence N NGEH XU Hong John D ORBELL Paul ADORNO Stavros TZARDIS Saman BUDDHADASA
School of Engineering & Science,Victoria University,PO Box 14428,Melbourne,Vic. 8001,Australia The National Measurement Institute (NMI),Port Melbourne,Vic 3207,Australia
国际会议
2009 International Symposium on Environmental Science and Technology(2009环境科学与技术国际会议)
上海
英文
203-209
2009-06-02（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）