Open AccessDetermination of the heavy metal contents of frequently used herbal products in Pakistan
Author(s) -
Tehseen Quds,
M. Abd El Sattar Ahmed,
Sadia Shakeel,
Nusrat Jalbani,
Farah Mazhar,
Azhar Iqbal
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
tropical journal of pharmaceutical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.209
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1596-5996
pISSN - 1596-9827
DOI - 10.4314/tjpr.v20i2.23
Subject(s) - cadmium , arsenic , mercury (programming language) , atomic absorption spectroscopy , chemistry , nitric acid , herbal tea , traditional medicine , heavy metals , environmental chemistry , medicine , inorganic chemistry , biochemistry , physics , antioxidant , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , computer science , programming language
Purpose: To determine the heavy metal content of selected local and international herbal medicines sold for the treatment of various diseases in Pakistan.
Methods: The different dosage forms of herbal medicines assessed were crude forms of syrups, gel, capsule, powder and tonic. Wet digestion method was used to prepare the herbal samples using nitric acid, and then analyzed for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg), using MHS-15 mercury/hydride system and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS).
Results: The investigated results displayed the Arsenic level (0.00 ppm to 0.580 ppm); Cadmium (0.001 ppm to 0.006 ppm); Lead (0.00 ppm to 1.078 ppm) and Mercury (0.001 ppm to 0.012 ppm). All results were found below the permissible limit of acceptability intake of the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). The pH of the samples were in the range of 1.52 to 6.99.
Conclusion: The findings reveal that the investigated herbal products available in Pakistan are safe with reference to heavy metals, and considered non-toxic for human consumption.