Development of Hazardous Materials Management Standard for Decoction Type of Personalized Herbal Medicine

Herbal Decoctions for the Levels of Sulfur Dioxide, Benzopyrene, and Mycotoxin from Traditional Korean Medicine Clinics: A Preliminary Study

In this study, we investigated whether the levels of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), benzopyrene, and mycotoxins in herbal decoctions in Korea in 2019 were within normal limits. In total, 30 decoctions composed of multi-ingredient traditional herbs were sampled from traditional Korean medicine (TKM) clinics, TKM hospitals, and external herbal dispensaries in 2019. The decoctions were analyzed for SO₂, benzopyrene, and mycotoxins using 10 samples. SO₂ and benzopyrene were not detected in any of the herbal decoctions. With regard to mycotoxins, aflatoxin B1 was not detected, but B2 was detected in 7 cases (0.00~0.04 ppb), G1 in 13 cases (0.03~0.29 ppb), and G2 in 9 cases (0.02~0.93 ppb). None of these values exceeded the restrictions in prior studies. Thus, we confirm that the amounts of SO₂, benzopyrene, and mycotoxins in herbal decoctions are at safe levels and provides the basis of establishing safety management criteria for herbal decoctions.

Monitoring of Heavy Metals and Pesticide Residues of Herbal Decoctions in Traditional Korean Medicine Clinics in Korea

In this study, we investigated whether the levels of heavy metal and pesticide residues in herbal decoctions in Korea in 2019 were within normal limits. In total, 30 decoctions composed of multi-ingredient traditional herbs were sampled from traditional Korean medicine (TKM) clinics, TKM hospitals, and external herbal dispensaries in 2019. The decoctions were analyzed for heavy metal content such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. For mercury, an automatic mercury analyzer based on the gold amalgamation process was used. For pesticide residues, gas chromatography with electron capture detection and gas chromatography with mass selective detection were used for the analyses. Based on the testing, heavy metals were identified in most of the decoctions (Cd: 0.000–0.003 ppm, Pb: 0.003–0.023 ppm, As: 0.000−0.016 ppm, Hg: 0.000–0.002 ppm). Pesticide residues (e.g., total DDT, total BHC, aldrin, endrin, dieldrin) were not detected at all. All of these were no more than the limit values in preceding studies. Therefore, this study confirms that the contents of heavy metals and pesticides in herbal decoctions are within safe levels based on a previous study and provides evidence for establishing safety management standards for herbal decoctions in Korea.

Impacts of heavy metals and medicinal crops on ecological systems, environmental pollution, cultivation, and production processes in China

Heavy metals are widely distributed in the environment due to the natural processes and anthropogenic human activities. Their migration into no contaminated areas contributing towards pollution of the ecosystems e.g. soils, plants, water and air. It is recognized that heavy metals due to their toxicity, long persistence in nature can accumulate in the trophic chain and cause organism dysfunction. Although the popularity of herbal medicine is rapidly increasing all over the world heavy metal toxicity has a great impact and importance on herbal plants and consequently affects the quality of herbal raw materials, herbal extracts, the safety and marketability of drugs. Effective control of heavy metal content in herbal plants using in pharmaceutical and food industries has become indispensable. Therefore, this review describes various important factors such as ecological and environmental pollution, cultivation and harvest of herbal plants and manufacturing processes which effects on the quality of herbal plants and then on Chinese herbal medicines which influence human health. This review also proposes possible management strategies to recover environmental sustainability and medication safety. About 276 published studies (1988-2021) are reviewed in this paper.