A Comparative Study of Selected Trace Element Content in Malay and Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine (THM) Using an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS)

Abstract

A total of 60 products of traditional herbal medicine (THM) in various dosage forms of herbal preparation were analyzed to determine selected trace elements (i.e., Zn, Mn, Cu, Cd, and Se) using ICP-MS. Thirty types of both Chinese and Malay THMs were chosen to represent each population. The closed vessel acid microwave digestion method, using CEM MARS 5, was employed for the extraction of the selected trace elements. The digestion method applied was validated by using certified reference material from the Trace Element in Spinach Leaves (SRM1570a). The recoveries of all elements were found to be in the range of 85.3%–98.9%. The results indicated that Zn, Mn, Cu, Cd and Se have their own trends of concentrations in all samples studied. The daily intake concentrations of the elements were in the following order: Mn > Zn > Cu > Se > Cd. Concentrations of all five elements were found to be dominant in Chinese THMs. The essentiality of the selected trace elements was also assessed, based on the recommended daily allowance (RDA), adequate intake (AI) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) for trace elements as reference. The concentrations of all elements studied were below the RDA, AI and USP values, which fall within the essential concentration range, except for cadmium.

Rapid and Sensitive Analysis of Trace Leads in Medicinal Herbs Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy–Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIBS-LIF)

“…The concentrations of toxic metals in medicinal herbs or herbal medicines are usually determined with conventional analytical methods, such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), 7–11 inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), 10,12–14 and inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). 11,15–17 Although their analytical sensitivities are high enough to satisfy the analytical requirement on the trace toxic metal analysis of medicinal herbs or herbal medicines, the analysis requires sample preparation processes and the use of aggressive chemicals. Thus, the analysis can only be carried out in the laboratory and the analytical speed is usually low.…”

Comparative Investigation of Total, Recoverable and Bioavailable Fractions of Sediment Metals and Metalloids in the Lagos Harbour and Lagoon System

“…While AR extraction followed by ICP-OES was employed in analysing recoverable concentrations of the metals investigated in this study, 1 M HCl ICP-MS was used to detect the bioavailable forms. ICP-MS is particularly useful in analysis of levels of trace elements in various media [40]. Ideally, recoverable concentrations should be higher than bioavailable concentrations but that was not always the case in this study.…”

Discrimination of geographical origin of cultivated Polygala tenuifolia based on multi-element fingerprinting by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

“…Moreover, trace elements in other TCM and their active ingredients have different degrees of relationship 30 , 31 . Based on the results of the multi-element analysis, the absorption of trace elements in TCM is affected by their chemical compositions 32 , 33 . Moreover, these elements exhibit complex interactions 34 .…”