Progress in toxicology of heavy metals in traditional Chinese medicine / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

ABSTRACT

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.