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Rasa Shastra the unique branch of Ayurveda deals in detail about pharmaceutical and therapeutic uses of various metals, minerals and marine drugs. Hingula (cinnabar) is one among several important drugs in Ayurveda which is used as single remedy or as an ingredient in various herbo-mineral preparations. By most of the ayurvediya Rasa Shastra classics, it is grouped under Sadharana Rasa Varga. Hingula is the prime source of mercury. Chemically it consists of mercury (86%) and Sulphur (13.5%), with molecular formula HgS, called as red sulphide of Mercury. About 20 books of Rasa Shastra are reviewed by the author in an attempt to provide the detailed description about Hingula like its occurrence, synonyms, classification, pharmacological properties, Ashuddha Hingula Dosha, its antidote, Shodhana, Marana, therapeutic dose, therapeutic indications, Sattvapatana, artificial methods of cinnabar preparation, methods of extraction of mercury from Hingula and various specific formulations mentioned in classics. Purified Hingula is useful in the treatment of all types of eye diseases (Netra Roga), it mitigates all the three vitiated Doshas. It is best remedy for the disorders of liver, pancreas, rheumatoid arthritis (Amavata), diabetes mellitus (Prameha) fever, spermatorrhoea and leprosy, skin diseases (Kushtha). It is useful in Parada Jarana procedure (increasing therapeutic potency of mercury). The mercury extracted from cinnabar (Hingulottha Parada) is equivalent to Ashtsamskarita Parada which is used in the preparations. It also possesses all the properties of Gandhaka Jaarita Parada (digestion of sulphur in mercury). It is used in the incineration procedures of gold, silver etc metals.
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Objective: To compare the subacute liver toxicity of cinnabar and Wanshi Niuhuang Qingxin Pills, one of Chinese patent medicines containing cinnabar, in rats. Methods: Healthy SD rats were given by gavage solvent (0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose), 1.0 g/(kg·d) cinnabar, 9.83 g/(kg·d) Wanshi Niuhuang Qingxin Pills [the whole recipe containing 1.0 g/(kg·d) cinnabar], 8.83 g/(kg·d) Wanshi Niuhuang Qingxin Pills without cinnabar recipe, once daily for 28 d. The rats were sacrificed the next day after administration, and blood and liver samples were collected for the detection of mercury content, indexes of liver function and liver histopathology. Results: The contents of liver mercury, blood mercury, and serum total protein in cinnabar group were higher than those of the control group, the whole recipe group, without cinnabar recipe group (P < 0.05). Under the light microscope, mild liver pathological changes were observed in the cinnabar group, including slight hepatocyte swelling and vacuolization, occasionally infiltration of inflammatory cells. Pigmentation and slight pathological changes, such as hepatocyte swelling and vacuolization, were observed in the whole recipe group and without cinnabar recipe group. Conclusion: Short-term overdose of cinnabar could cause mercury accumulation in liver and result in slight liver damage. The accumulation of mercury and subacute injury in liver induced by Wanshi Niuhuang Qingxin Pills is slighter than by single cinnabar.
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With the increasing trade of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),the issue of excessive levels of toxic heavy metals metals in TCM has raised worldwide concerns. Some countries and re?gions have set strict limits on the heavy in TCM. There are currently no uniform limits on heavy metals, partly for lack of a good understanding of heavy metals in TCM. The toxicity of heavy metals varies with their chemical forms so that it is not rational to evaluate safety in terms of total contents. Cinnabar and realgar are widely used TCM containing heavy metals in clinical practice. Because of the potential toxicity of heavy metals such as mercury or arsenic,and the related adverse reactions reported occa?sionally,the safety of cinnabar,realgar and their preparations has also attracted public attention. In the present paper,the progress in toxicological studies on cinnabar,realgar as well as commonly used preparations was reviewed while priorities of future research were proposed.
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Baizi Yangxin tablets are common Chinese medicine used for the treatment of heart palpitations, insomnia and irritable forgetful. To evaluate the total amount of heavy metals evaluation, artificial gastric juice was used as juice samples and the extracted soluble heavy metals were extracted by microwave digestion technology. An analytical method of bionic extraction microwave digestion with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ( ICP-MS ) was established for the determination of trace metals, such as Co, Cr, Cu, Ba, Cd, Mn, Ni, Pb, Hg, Sr and Zn, in 18 batches of Baizi Yangxin tablets. The correlation coefficient of linear regression equation for different elements ranged from 0. 9989 to 1. 0000, the detection limit was 0. 19-5. 6 μg / L, and the repeatability of the method was less than 6. 2% , the precision of the RSD value was less than 5. 6% , and the recovery rate was 87. 7% -101. 9% . According to “the standard of the heavy metal in the standard of import and export of medicinal plants and preparations”, the contents of Cd, Cu and Pb in the 18 batches were not exceed the standard, but the Hg content (7. 68 mg / kg) exceeded the standard value. The bionic extraction-ICP-MS method provide a reference basis for the safety of the proprietary Chinese medicine's study.
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OBJECTIVE:To analyze the dyeing status of cinnabar and its pieces,and provide reference for its quality clinical safetey appicaton. METHODS:TLC was used for the qualitative identification of amaranth,carmine,erythrosine,acid red 73, 808 udan and indirubin. HPLC-MS was used to detect the 808 udan :HPLC conditions were as follows,column was Acquity UPLC BEH C18 with mobile phase of cetonitrile-0.1% formic acid(70∶30,V/V)at a flow rate of 0.3 ml/min,the detection wave-length was 520 nm;MS conditions were as follows,ion source was electrospray ionization source,scanning mode was positive ion scanning with full scanning tandem mass spectrometry,nebulizer pressure was 30 psi,drying gas was nitrogen,ion spray voltage was 4 000 V,collision energy was 30 V,and the injection volume was 5 μl. The volumetric method was used for content determi-nation of HgS. RESULTS:TLC spots of amaranth,carmine,erythrosine,acid red 73,808 udan and indirubin were clear and well-separated. 4 batches of 808 udan dyeing were included in the 18 batches of samples,6 batches had non-compliance contents (including 3 batches of 808 udan dyeing). CONCLUSIONS:Dyeing-doped and other quality problems exist in the cinnabaris in markets,which should be noticed.
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Cinnabars are widely used in the clinic and shows unique efficacy, and it has been used in treating diseases for thousands of years either single-use or combination with other traditional Chinese medicines. Cinnabar mainly contains mercury, which displays obvious hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. The safety of cinnabar and its rational use caused extensive attention. However, there are some misunderstanding that cinnabar shows equivalent toxicity to the toxicity of mercury compounds such as mercuric chloride and methylmercury in safety evaluation of cinnabar, which in our view exaggerates the toxicity. For traditional Chinese medicine containing cinnabar, some researchers questioned the medicinal value of cinnabar, and even proposed to remove cinnabar in order to avoid possible poisoning. This review reported adverse events, summarized its toxicity characteristics, mechanism and the medicinal value in preparations of traditional Chinese medicine. The significance of this paper is to further understand the toxicity of cinnabar and reduce its side effect in clinical application, and to provide a scientific basis for reasonable clinical application and a scientific understanding of cinnabar.
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Objective:To establish a method for the determination of cinnabar and realgar in Xiao' er Zhibao pills. Methods:Mercury in cinnabar and arsenic in realgar in Xiao'er Zhibao pills were determined respectively by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry(ICP-AES). Results: A good linear correlation of mercury and arsenic was observed within the range of 5-100 μg·ml-1(r=0. 999 9) and 2-50 μg·ml-1(r=0. 999 2), and the average recovery was 99. 3% with RSD of 3. 0% (n=6) and 104. 5% with RSD of 2. 1% (n=6) by AAS. A good linear correlation of mercury and arsenic was observed within the range of 0.1-20.0 μg·ml-1(r=0.999 97) and 0.1-20.0 μg·ml-1(r=0.999 99),respectively, and the average recovery was 96. 6% with RSD of 1. 4%(n=6) and 104. 1% with RSD of 1. 1% (n=6) by ICP-AES,respectively. Conclusion:The method is accurate and specific, and can be used for the quality control of Xiao'er Zhibao pills.
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BACKGROUND: Lead is a metal that has no biological function useful for the human body. In Korea, non-occupational exposure to lead has mostly occurred through taking oriental medicine. However, in this paper we report a case of lead poisoning caused by ingesting talisman material. CASE PRESENTATION: A 16-year-old male patient complained of severe abdominal pain after taking cinnabar, a talisman material. He was diagnosed with lead poisoning accompanied by acute hepatitis. We confirmed that the cinnabar the patient took contained about 10% elemental lead. After symptom management, the patients' symptoms, liver function test results, and blood lead concentration level improved. CONCLUSION: Lead poisoning can be accompanied by hepatitis, although rarely. As we have confirmed that cinnabar as a talisman material is harmful to the human body, measures to prevent its misuse are needed.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Humans , Male , Abdominal Pain , Hepatitis , Human Body , Korea , Lead Poisoning , Liver Function Tests , Medicine, East Asian TraditionalABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of cinnabar and realgar in Angong Niuhuang Wan (AGNH) -produced neuroprotection against lipopolysaccharide ( LPS) -mediated neuronal damage and further explore the corresponding mechanisms. METHODS Primary rat midbrain neuron-glia cultures were used as an in vitro model to investigate effects of AGNH on LPS-mediated degeneration of dopamine (DA) neurons. The experiment was divided into normal control group, LPS model group, LPS + cinnabar (4 and 40 mg·L-1) groups, LPS + realgar (4 and 40 mg·L-1 ) groups and LPS + AGNH (40 and 400 mg·L-1 ) group. Drugs were added 30 min before LPS treatment. After 7 d, dopaminergic neurotoxicity was assessed through the quantification of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons and morphological analysis of TH-positive neurons; the activation of microglia was evaluated using OX-42 antibody; the gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and induced nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA in microglia was performed by real-time RT-PCR analysis, and the release of TNF-α and nitric oxide (NO) in the supernatant of neuron-glia cultures was determined respectively by the ELISA and Griess reagent. RESULTS Compared with normal control group, DA neurons in LPS model group decreased by 40% (P <0.05) , microglial activation was induced, the expression of TNF-α mRNA and iNOS mRNA in microglia increased 9 and 2 times, respectively ( P < 0. 05 ) , and subsequent production of TNF-α and NO in the supernatant of neuron-glia cultures increased 20 and 30 times, respectively (P<0.05). Compared with LPS model group, AGNH 400 mg·L-1 and realgar 40 mg·L-1 significantly attenuated LPS-mediated DA neuronal loss by 40% and 30% , respectively (P<0.05) and inhibited activation of microglia and expression of TNF-α mRNA by 61% and 52% (P <0.05). iNOS mRNA was reduced by 58% and 51% (P <0.05 ) in microglia. The subsequent release of TNF-α was reduced by 55% and 43% (P<0.05) and NO reduced by 53% and 34% (P<0.05) in the supernatant of neuron-glia cultures. Cinnabar had no inhibitory effect on LPS-induced changes. CONCLUSION AGNH protects LPS-induced neurotoxicity through its anti-inflammatory properties and realgar might be the key contributor to the neuroprotective action of AGNH, while cinnabar fails to show any neuroprotection.
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Cinnabar is the mineral with mercury in combination with sulfur, and it has been used to make charms in China and Korea. If cinnabar is overheated, mercury vapor that is extremely hazardous or sometimes fatal can be released. We experienced 5 patients of a family who were exposed to mercury vapor when they burnt charms. One of them developed severe acute respiratory failure and the patient needed mechanical ventilation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Despite treatment with cortiocosteroid, D-penicillamine, ECMO and plasmapheresis, the radiologic findings of a patient worsened and he died.
Subject(s)
Humans , Burns , China , Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation , Inhalation , Korea , Mercury Compounds , Penicillamine , Plasmapheresis , Respiration, Artificial , Respiratory Insufficiency , SulfurABSTRACT
Objective: To study the floating and sustained release performance of Xiaojin Cinnabar Floated Sustained Release Capsules. Methods: HPMC was used to form the framwork of floated sustained release capsules containing Xiaojin Cinnabar. The content, floating time in vitro and releasing rate were studied.Results: The floating time in vitro was over 3 hours. The total released amount in 3 hours came to 60%. The conventional Xiaojin Cinnabar didn't have the floating performance. Conclusion: Xiaojin Cinnabar Floated Sustained Relegse Capsules is superior to the conventional Xiaojin cinnabar in the sustained release performance.