ABSTRACT
The element speciation analysis for heavy metals in herbal medicines is still in the beginning stage. In this study,the total amount of arsenic( As) in 103 batches of 17 commonly used Chinese medicines( including 16 plant medicines and 1 medicinal fungus) was detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS). Furthermore,based on HPLC-ICP-MS,the simultaneous detection methods of six As speciation kinds in traditional Chinese medicines were established. An AS7 anion exchange column was selected and the As forms in 17 traditional Chinese medicines was systematically analyzed. The results showed that the method of pretreatment of medicinal materials by microwave digestion and the detection of total amount of As by ICP-MS was stable and reliable. As for the speciation analysis of As,the high-speed ultrasonic extraction method was adopted,and it showed that the linear relationship of the six As speciation was satisfied with the correlation coefficient R2>0. 999 9. The LOQ of six kinds of As speciation were 0. 20,0. 10,0. 15,0. 10,0. 25,0. 10 μg·L~(-1) for arsenic betaine( As B),arsenious acid [As( Ⅲ) ],dimethyl arsenic( DMA),arsenic choline( As C),monomethyl arsenic( MMA),arsenic acid[As( Ⅴ) ],respectively. The recoveries were between 84. 24% and 121. 5%,and the relative standard deviations were 2. 7% to 11%. Among the 103 batches of medicinal materials,only one batch of sample As exceeded the Chinese Pharmacopoeia limit standard; As( Ⅲ) and As( Ⅴ) had high detection rate in 103 batches of Chinese herbal medicines,within which As( Ⅴ) was the main detected form,and inorganic As accounted for the ratio reached 80. 90%-98. 73%; some samples detected DMA,MMA and As B,As C was not detected in any batch. This study established an analytical method suitable for the speciation of As in Chinese herbal medicines,and provided basic data for As residual residue in Chinese herbal medicines,which can provide important reference for the risk assessment and quality standards.
Subject(s)
Arsenic , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Reference Standards , Mass SpectrometryABSTRACT
This project was launched to study on the overall residual status of heavy metals of comprehensive understanding in decoction pieces of Bupleuri Radix (DPBR) from different habitats and risk assessment. In this study, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine the heavy metals of 30 batches of Bupleuri Radix in different producing areas. Simulated gastrointestinal fluid method was used to determine the dissolution rate of heavy metals in the simulated gastrointestinal fluid and the average daily intake Average Daily Dose (ADD) and Hazard Quotient (HQ) index were used to assess the risk of heavy metals in DPBR. The results showed that the contents of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) in the 30 batches of DPBR didn't exceed the limit of Chinese Pharmacopeia, however, the chromium (Cr) in DPBR exeeded the limit set by NSF in USA and the limit for herbal ingredients in Canada. The mean bioaccessible heavy metal concentrations decreased from Cu (5.27 mg·kg⁻¹)>Cr (4.67 mg·kg⁻¹)>As (0.18 mg·kg⁻¹)>Pb (0.12 mg·kg⁻¹)>Cd (0.06 mg·kg⁻¹), and Hg was not detected in this test. In addition, cumulative non-carcinogenic health risks (HI) for adults and children were 0.799 and 0.714, respectively. Both HI values in adults and children for combined trace element and heavy metal element exposures were below the value of 1 (HI<1), indicating very low carcinogenic health risk. Heavy metals toxicity in herbal medicines and its health risk to humans would be overestimated when assessed only by the total concentrations without considering the bioaccessibility. Therefore, bioaccessibility has great significance for evaluating the human health risks induced by heavy metals.
Subject(s)
Humans , Metals, Heavy , Risk AssessmentABSTRACT
The toxicity of heavy metals and harmful elements is close related to their speciation. In the present study, the methods for mercury and arsenic speciation analysis based on high-performance liquid chromatography conjunction with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) were established and applied to the determination of 31 kinds of animal drugs, 29 of which were included in the Chinese Pharmacopeia (2015 edition). The results showed that the LODs for all the speciation were within 0.1-0.65 μg·kg-1, and the recoveries were within 86.9%-116.6% with the RSD of 1.49%-4.23%. Inorganic mercury (Hg2+) was detected in all the 87 batches of samples that came from 31 kinds of animal drugs, and the contents were 2.39-6567 μg·kg-1. Methylmercury (MeHg) was detected in 33 batches of samples that came from 12 kinds of animal drugs, and the contents were 2.83-319.7 μg·kg-1. Ethylmercury (EtHg) were detected in none of the samples. The detection rates of As(Ⅲ), As(V), monomethylarsononous acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), arsenobetaine (AsB) and arsenocholine (AsC) in the 31 batches of animal drugs was 96.77%, 100%, 45.16%, 90.32%, 93.55% and 22.58%, respectively. According to the toxic level of different speciation, the animal drugs with high risks of mercury were Agkistrodon, Bungarus Parvus, Zaocys, and Scolopendra; the animal drugs with high risks were Pheretima, Agkistrodon, Zaocys, and Aspongopus. This study can provide important evidence for the risk assessment, setting and revision of the limit standards of heavy metals and harmful elements.
ABSTRACT
Chromium has been discovered for more than two hundred years, and it has advantages of wear-resisting, high temperature, corrosion resistance and so on. Chromium has been widely used in industrial production and received extensive attention in China and abroad. Detailed limit standards have been set for chromium in food and fishery product, and chromium can also be enriched in many traditional Chinese medicines. Besides, the toxicities of different chromium speciation are quite different, and thus morphological analysis is necessary. However, the transformation or migration is easily happened among different speciation which brings difficulties to research and analysis. This article summarizes the research status of chromium and its aims to provide reference for scientific research and pollution prevention of chromium.