Domestic and international research progress of edible and medicinal Arecae Semen / 中国中药杂志

Arecae Semen, as the first place among "Four South Medicines" in China, has great dual-use value of medicine and food. The research of Arecae Semen was mainly focused on the active ingredients and efficacy value, and its potential safety hazards were also concerned. Until now, there is still a lack of clear boundaries between medicine and food, resulting in its safety cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, it is of great significance to establish clear boundaries of medicine and food use and health risk assessment. In this paper, the differences of pretreatment and application methods of Arecae Semen were analyzed, and the research progress of Arecae Semen in chemical composition identification and toxicology research and safety evaluation were reviewed emphatically. Finally, the differences of quality control and safety evaluation of Arecae Semen in pharmacopoeias or standards were analyzed at home and abroad. It was expected to provide reference value for quality control, safety evaluation and international standardization research of Arecae Semen.

Health risk assessment of exogenous harmful pollutants in Chinese medicine: a review / 中国中药杂志

In recent years, the quality and safety problems have been limiting the internationalization of Chinese medicine. The pollutants in Chinese medicine, particularly the exogenous harmful pollutants mainly including mycotoxins, pesticide residues, heavy metals, harmful elements, and sulfur dioxide, are of high risks for people. Therefore, the World Health Organization(WHO) and relevant national organizations have clearly defined the maximum residue limits(MRLs) of such pollutants. Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition, volume Ⅳ) also demonstrates the detection methods, MRLs and preliminary risk assessment methods for four typical exogenous harmful pollutants in Chinese medicine. Therefore, continuous optimization of the health risk assessment system can further help further raise the quality and safety of Chinese medicine. This paper reviews the research on the health risk assessment of four typical exogenous harmful pollutants in Chinese medicine and discusses the problems of and challenges for the assessment system, which is expected to lay a scientific basis for the establishment of the risk warning mode and response measures suitable for specific types of Chinese medicine.

Rapid detection of trace Hg~(2+) in animal matrix by specific DNA electrochemical sensor / 中国中药杂志

A highly specific electrochemical biosensor based on T-Hg~(2+)-T structure for fast screening trace Hg~(2+) in complex animal drug matrix was constructed by cyclic voltammetry(CV) and differential pulse voltammetry(DPV). In the presence of Hg~(2+), it can be specifically binded to the T base of DNA sequence on the surface of modified gold electrode, which changes the conformation of DNA molecule and the electrochemical signal. The concentration ratio of EDC/NHS, the concentration ratio of FC-DNA and the reaction time of the biosensor were optimized by the index of sensitivity and reproducibility in CV. The results showed that the stability of the biosensor was good within 3 days(RSD≤1.3%), the difference between batches was low(RSD=4.7%), and the specificity of the biosensor was high in the presence of interfering ions(As~(3+), Cd~(2+), Cu~(2+), Pb~(2+), Zn~(2+) and Fe~(3+)). DPV results showed that the peak current signal value has a linear relationship with the lgC_((Hg)) over a concentration range from 0.1 nmol·L~(-1) to 1.0 μmol·L~(-1) with a detection limit of 0.066 nmol·L~(-1). Finally, the recovery rate tested in the matrix of animal medicine was satisfactory as 99.17%-101.3%, which can meet the needs of the determination of trace Hg~(2+) in the matrix of Bombyx Batryticatus, and provide a new idea for the rapid screening of trace heavy metals in the matrix of other types of complex traditional Chinese medicine.

Safety evaluation of heavy metals contaminated Astragalus membranaceus using health risk assessment model / 中国中药杂志

To evaluate the safety of heavy metals contaminated Astragalus membranaceus,an appropriate protocol was established to study the heavy metals pollution level by health risk assessment. This study provided a detailed procedure to assess the medicinal herbs in quality control and safety evaluation,and expected to create awareness among the public on the safety of consuming of A. membranaceus or any other kinds of medicinal herbs. The heavy metals content of Cu,As,Cd,Pb and Hg in a total of 45 batches of A. membranaceus were carefully analyzed with a developed inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS). Besides,the heavy metal contamination level was further evaluated through 4 main assessment parameters,including maximum residue limit( MRL) set by International Standard Organization,estimated daily intake( EDI) set by IUPAC,target hazard quotients( THQ) and Total THQ set by USEPA and total THQs in raw herbs of A. membranaceus. In addition,the recommended MRLs of 5 main heavy metals aimed to A. membranaceus were calculated based on the regulated consumption quantity. The result showed that,under the ISO international standard of Chinese medicine-Chinese herbal medicine heavy metals,the unqualified rate was 8. 89% for A. membranaceus,which including 4 batches of A. membranaceus exceeded the MRL of As. Here,the standard THQ value of A. membranaceus was firstly proposed as 0. 02 and 0. 011 25 for adults and children,respectively,which were calculated with the recommended consumption quantity of 30 g and 9 g for adults and children. Furthermore,the values of THQ for As and total THQs in adults and children were exceeded the standard THQ in A. membranaceus,and the recommended MRLs of Pb,Cd,Hg and Cu in above medicinal materials that calculated based on health risk assessment model were higher than the regulated MRLs that set by ISO and Chinese Pharmacopeia. The research showed that the contents of heavy metals in A. membranaceus were not in the safe range and the certain non-carcinogenic risks to human body cannot be neglected. Based on above investigation result,it is easily known that the common evaluation method for raw herbs based on the comparison of MRL of heavy metals was not precise enough,and the international model of health risk assessment should be built for each medicinal herb. Above all,this study provided a more realistic research approach for safety evaluation of any other kinds of heavy metals contaminated medicinal herbs,including the establishment of heavy metals standard limit in a specified medicinal herb under recommended consumption quantity,and it is expected to create awareness among the public on the safety of consuming any other medicinal herbs.