Medicinal Plants: Linking Herbs Contamination with Human Health Risks

Asiminicesei, Dana Mihaela; Hlihor, Raluca Maria; Cozma, Petronela; Apostol, Maria; Simion, Isabela Maria; Roșca, Mihaela

doi:10.1109/ehb50910.2020.9280197

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Studies and research have identified some routes and mechanisms by which plants absorb and accumulate heavy metals [ 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. The primary route for heavy metal entry into medicinal plants is through the roots.…”

Section: Heavy Metal Pollution Of the Environment And Concerns For Me...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chronic exposure to heavy metals through medicinal plant consumption may lead to long-term health consequences, including the development of chronic diseases, impaired cognitive function, and compromised immune system function. Inadequate quality control measures for herbal products may result in the unintentional inclusion of contaminated plant material in the market (Hlihor et al, 2022;Asiminicesei et al, 2020) [78,81]. Without standardized testing and quality assurance protocols, consumers may unknowingly purchase and use herbal products with unsafe levels of heavy metals.…”

Section: Potential Risks For Human Consumption Of Medicinal Plants Co...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Environment on the Metabolic Profile of Medicinal Plants and Their Therapeutic Potential

Asiminicesei,

Fertu,

Gavrilescu

2024

Plants

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The paper provides a comprehensive examination of heavy metal stress on medicinal plants, focusing on its impact on antioxidant capacity and biosynthetic pathways critical to their therapeutic potential. It explores the complex relationship between heavy metals and the physiological and biochemical responses of medicinal plants, highlighting how metal stress disrupts biosynthetic pathways, altering concentrations of secondary metabolites. This disruption may compromise the overall quality and efficacy of medicinal plants, requiring a holistic understanding of its cumulative impacts. Furthermore, the study discusses the potential of targeted genetic editing to enhance plant resilience against heavy metal stress by manipulating genes associated with antioxidant defenses. This approach represents a promising frontier in safeguarding medicinal plants in metal-contaminated environments. Additionally, the research investigates the role of phytohormone signaling in plant adaptive mechanisms to heavy metal stress, revealing its influence on biochemical and physiological responses, thereby adding complexity to plant adaptation. The study underscores the importance of innovative technologies and global cooperation in protecting medicinal plants’ therapeutic potential and highlights the need for mitigation strategies to address heavy metal contamination effectively.

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Section: Heavy Metal Pollution Of the Environment And Concerns For Me...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Potential Risks For Human Consumption Of Medicinal Plants Co...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Environment on the Metabolic Profile of Medicinal Plants and Their Therapeutic Potential

Asiminicesei,

Fertu,

Gavrilescu

2024

Plants

Self Cite

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“…However, due to the continuous increase of environmental pollution caused by the demands of consumerism, researchers have come up with high concerns on safety and quality issues related to the use of herbal products [1,2]. Inorganic pollutants, such as heavy metals, represent a wide interest category of pollutants for risk studies due to their impacts on the environment and on human health [3,4]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), heavy metals are some of the most dangerous pollutants; non-degradable, they bioaccumulate in the environment, transfer through the food chain, and induce negative effects on the environment and human health [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medicinal Plant Growth in Heavy Metals Contaminated Soils: Responses to Metal Stress and Induced Risks to Human Health

Hlihor

Roșca

Hagiu-Zaleschi

et al. 2022

Toxics

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Accelerating heavy metal pollution is a hot issue due to a continuous growth in consumerism and increased activities in various global industries. Soil contamination with heavy metals has resulted in their incorporation into the human food web via plant components. Accumulation and amplification of heavy metals in human tissues through the consumption of medicinal plants can have hazardous health outcomes. Therefore, in this critical review we aim to bring together published information on this subject, with a special highlight on the knowledge gaps related to heavy metal stress in medicinal plants, their responses, and human health related risks. In this respect, this review outlines the key contamination sources of heavy metals in plants, as well as the absorption, mobilization and translocation of metal ions in plant compartments, while considering their respective mechanisms of detoxification. In addition, this literature review attempts to highlight how stress and defensive strategies operate in plants, pointing out the main stressors, either biotic or abiotic (e.g., heavy metals), and the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in stress answers. Finally, in our research, we further aim to capture the risks caused by heavy metals in medicinal plants to human health through the assessment of both a hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI).

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“…Several studies have shown that carcinogenic lead (Pb) in the human body comes mainly from food items, and approximately 50% originates from plants [21]. Pb is one of the most common heavy metal contaminants in the total food chain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead Exposure of Four Biologically Important Common Branded and Nonbranded Spices: Relative Analysis and Health Implication

Alam

Hosen

Maksud

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Bioactive compounds containing the four most common and often used powdered spices for food preparation have been studied concerning lead contamination and human health risk assessment, especially in branded and nonbranded categories. A total of 72 spice samples were analysed using Varian AA240FS flame atomic absorption spectrometry. A validated and optimized method using hot plate digestion was used for this study. Freshly prepared standards were used to construct a calibration curve. The overall range of lead levels in branded and nonbranded spice samples was found to be < 0.27–2.80, < 0.27–0.48, < 0.27–13.83, 0.28–8.19 and < 0.27–5.56, < 0.27–3.84, < 0.27–37.29, 0.29–0.65 for cumin powder, red pepper chili, turmeric powder, and coriander powder, respectively. The nonbranded item has shown slightly higher value than branded items except coriander powder. Approximately 90% of the spice samples were shown to be within the maximum allowable limit by the Bangladesh Standard. The studied Pb level was inconsistent in both categories of spices but did not have any health implications in the case of carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic studies. Overall, Pb concentrations in most common spices collected from Dhaka city were found to be slightly higher in nonbranded items. This shows us that it is of vital importance that the areas where spices are collected are clean, especially by means of Pb, because these spices can cause more benefits than harm they may provide in such a contamination.

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Medicinal Plants: Linking Herbs Contamination with Human Health Risks

Cited by 6 publications

References 32 publications

Impact of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Environment on the Metabolic Profile of Medicinal Plants and Their Therapeutic Potential

Impact of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Environment on the Metabolic Profile of Medicinal Plants and Their Therapeutic Potential

Medicinal Plant Growth in Heavy Metals Contaminated Soils: Responses to Metal Stress and Induced Risks to Human Health

Lead Exposure of Four Biologically Important Common Branded and Nonbranded Spices: Relative Analysis and Health Implication

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