Microbial and heavy metal contamination in commonly consumed traditional Chinese herbal medicines

Abstract

Herbal medicines generally have microbial and heavy metal contaminants. However, the boiling process to generate decoctions was able to successfully reduce the number of microbes and Cu, ensuring safety of herbal medicines for consumption.

Estimation of bioaccessibility and potential human health risk of mercury in Chinese patent medicines

“…For the other 14 CPMs, it is very difficult to distinguish the source of Hg in the CPMs due to their complex composition and complicated preparation processes. As a ubiquitous pollutant in the environment, Hg in those CPMs might come from any of the ingredients or be introduced during the preparation process (Ting et al, 2013).…”

“…Along with the popularity of TCM, more and more concerns about the quality and safety of the medicines have been raised nowadays (Ernst, 1998(Ernst, , 2002Kim et al, 2013). For instance, heavy metals, such as mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium, have been previously reported to be present in TCMs (Ting et al, 2013). In the 251 CPMs obtained from California herbal retail stores, 35 contained an average of 1046 μg/g mercury, 36 contained an average of 14.6 μg/g arsenic, and 24 contained at least 10 μg/g lead (Ko, 1998).…”

Detection of microbes, aflatoxin and toxic heavy metals in Chinese medicinal herbs commonly consumed in Thailand

“…In addition, investigations tend to take place only when cases of toxic results are reported 5 . There is a widespread misconception that consuming herbs and plants is naturally and inherently safe.…”

Extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing enterobacteriaceae (ESBL) isolated from herbal preparations

“…Despite the unexpected outcome with most herbal preparations, there exist controversies with the regulation, safety, and standardization of the products in different countries but in most cases, regulatory agencies are lenient regarding proof of efficacy as well as hygiene, but instead, consider long standing folk use as evidence of safety and a waiver of a thorough toxicological and microbiological evaluation (Nworu et al, 2014). In addition to the potential toxicity of herbal preparations, they are reported to inadvertently contain different types of heavy metals in varying concentrations (Ting et al, 2013;Shaban et al, 2016). Pathogenic microorganisms, particularly the Enterobacteriaceae and multidrug resistant bacteria are also common contaminants of herbal preparations (Ting et al, 2013;Abba et al, 2009;Esimone et al, 2007).…”

“…In addition to the potential toxicity of herbal preparations, they are reported to inadvertently contain different types of heavy metals in varying concentrations (Ting et al, 2013;Shaban et al, 2016). Pathogenic microorganisms, particularly the Enterobacteriaceae and multidrug resistant bacteria are also common contaminants of herbal preparations (Ting et al, 2013;Abba et al, 2009;Esimone et al, 2007). The occurrence of these organisms in herbal preparations further makes them a suitable medium and possible source of human infection.…”