Abstract
Herbal medicines have been reported to contain many contaminants that are potential harmful to health. These include heavy metals, such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg). Therefore, this study aimed to measure the levels of Pb, Cd, As, and Hg in several orally administered herbal products available in the Iranian market. Fifteen products labeled (A-O) of different brands from three different production batches (n = 45) were purchased from traditional herbal medicine factories in Iran. Each sample was digested with nitric acid by the wet digestion method, and the resultant solutions were used to determine the concentrations of Pb, Cd, As, and Hg. These measurements were performed using flame atomic absorption spectrometry, graphite furnace atomic absorption, or cold vapor atomic absorption. The lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury contents in the investigated samples did not show significant levels that may be associated with toxicity. All four metals were present at concentrations below the limits recommended by the WHO (World Health Organization), American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), and Canadian standard, but in several herbal products, the concentrations of these trace elements exceeded the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The concentrations of Pb, Cd, As, and Hg in commercially available herbal remedies were well below the acceptable intake recommended by global recommendations. Our findings revealed that at present, the amount of heavy metals in medicinal herbs processed at the level of supply by pharmacies licensed is favorable.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
Abbreviations
- Pb:
-
lead
- Cd:
-
cadmium
- As:
-
arsenic
- Hg:
-
mercury
- WHO:
-
World Health Organization
- AHPA:
-
American Herbal Products Association
- ATSDR:
-
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- FAO/WHO:
-
Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization
- MRL:
-
Minimum risk level
- PTFE:
-
Polytetrafluoroethylene
- UEPA:
-
US Environmental Protection Agency
- HQ:
-
Hazard quotient
- HI:
-
Hazard index
- ADD:
-
Daily intake reference dose
- BDNF:
-
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
References
Akerele O (1993) Nature’s medicinal bounty: don’t throw it away. World Health Forum 14:390–395
Alaqouri HAA, Genc CO, Aricak B, Kuzmina N, Menshikov S, Cetin M (2020) The possibility of using Scots pine needles as biomonitor in determination of heavy metal accumulation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:20273–20280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08449-1
Alloway BJ (ed) (2013) Heavy metals in soils. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht
American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) (2012) > About Us > AHPA’s Policies > Guidance Policies. In: AHPA
Annan K, Dickson RA, Amponsah IK, Nooni IK (2013) The heavy metal contents of some selected medicinal plants sampled from different geographical locations. Pharm Res 5:103–108. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8490.110539
Artz MB, Harnack LJ, Duval SJ, Armstrong C, Arnett DK, Luepker RV (2006) Use of nonprescription medications for perceived cardiovascular health. Am J Prev Med 30:78–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2005.08.038
Cao H, Qiao L, Zhang H, Chen J (2010) Exposure and risk assessment for aluminium and heavy metals in Puerh tea. Sci Total Environ 408:2777–2784. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2010.03.019
Cetin M, Sevik H, Cobanoglu O (2020) Ca, Cu, and Li in washed and unwashed specimens of needles, bark, and branches of the blue spruce (Picea pungens) in the city of Ankara. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:21816–21825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08687-3
Chanda S, Dasgupta UB, GuhaMazumder D, Gupta M, Chaudhuri U, Lahiri S, Das S, Ghosh N, Chatterjee D (2006) DNA hypermethylation of promoter of gene p53 and p16 in arsenic-exposed people with and without malignancy. Toxicol Sci 89:431–437. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfj030
Denholm J (2010) Complementary medicine and heavy metal toxicity in Australia. Webmed Central Toxicology 1(9):WMC00535
Dghaim R, Al Khatib S, Rasool H, Khan MA (2015) Determination of heavy metals concentration in traditional herbs commonly consumed in the United Arab Emirates. J Environ Public Health 2015:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/973878
Eghbal N, Nasrabadi T, Karbassi AR, Taghavi L (2019) Evaluating the potential of plants (leaves) in removal of toxic metals from urban soils (case study of a District in Tehran City). Pollution 5:387–394. https://doi.org/10.22059/POLL.2019.272090.555
Ernst E (1998) Harmless herbs? A review of the recent literature. Am J Med 104:170–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9343(97)00397-5
Flora SJS (2020) Preventive and therapeutic strategies for acute and chronic human arsenic exposure. In: Srivastava S. (eds) Arsenic in drinking water and food. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8587-2_13
Garvey GJ, Hahn G, Lee RV, Harbison RD (2001) Heavy metal hazards of Asian traditional remedies. Int J Environ Health Res 11:63–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603120020019656
Ghana Medical Journal (2013) Herbal medicine research. Ghana Med J 47:100
Guedon D, Brum M, Seigneuret JM et al (2008) Impurities in herbal substances, herbal preparations and herbal medicinal products, IV. Heavy (toxic) Metals. Nat Prod Commun 3:2107–2122
Gupta SK, Roy S, Chabukdhara M, Hussain J, Kumar M (2019) Risk of metal contamination in agriculture crops by reuse of wastewater: an ecological and human health risk perspective. In: Singh RP, Kolok AS, Bartelt-Hunt SL (eds) Water conservation, recycling and reuse: issues and challenges. Springer Singapore, Singapore, pp 55–79
Järup L (2003) Hazards of heavy metal contamination. Br Med Bull 68:167–182. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldg032
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (2003 : Rome, Italy) , World Health Organization & Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2004) . Evaluation of certain food additives and contaminants : sixty-first report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/42849
Kohzadi S, Shahmoradi B, Ghaderi E, Loqmani H, Maleki A (2019) Concentration, source, and potential human health risk of heavy metals in the commonly consumed medicinal plants. Biol Trace Elem Res 187:41–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-018-1357-3
Mandalia HC, Jain VK (2012) Prodigious azocalix[4] pyrrole super-molecule: effective reagent for liquid-liquid extraction, preconcentration and transport of Cu(II) ions. Adv Anal Chem Sci Acad Publ 1:1–7. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.aac.20110101.01
Mishra S, Bharagava RN, More N, Yadav A, Zainith S, Mani S, Chowdhary P (2019) Heavy metal contamination: an alarming threat to environment and human health. In: Sobti RC, Arora NK, Kothari R (eds) Environmental biotechnology: for sustainable future. Springer, Singapore, pp 103–125
Mohammadi M, Riyahi Bakhtiari A, Khodabandeh S (2014) Concentration of Cd, Pb, Hg, and Se in different parts of human breast cancer tissues. J Toxicol 2014:1–5. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/413870
Nourmohammadi E, Hosseinkhani S, Nedaeinia R, et al. (2020) Construction of a sensitive and specific lead biosensor using a genetically engineered bacterial system with a luciferase gene reporter. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-18087/v1
Onishchenko N, Karpova N, Sabri F, Castrn E, Ceccatelli S (2008) Long-lasting depression-like behavior and epigenetic changes of BDNF gene expression induced by perinatal exposure to methylmercury. J Neurochem 106:1378–1387. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-4159.2008.05484.x
Pejin B, Bianco A, Newmaster S, Sabovljevic M, Vujisic L, Tesevic V, Vajs V, de Rosa S (2012a) Fatty acids of Rhodobryum ontariense (Bryaceae). Nat Prod Res 26:696–702. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2010.550580
Pejin B, Kien-Thai Y, Stanimirovic B, Vuckovic G, Belic D, Sabovljevic M (2012b) Heavy metal content of a medicinal moss tea for hypertension. Nat Prod Res 26:2239–2242. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2011.648190
Pilsner JR, Liu X, Ahsan H, Ilievski V, Slavkovich V, Levy D, Factor-Litvak P, Graziano JH, Gamble MV (2009) Folate deficiency, hyperhomocysteinemia, low urinary creatinine, and hypomethylation of leukocyte DNA are risk factors for arsenic-induced skin lesions. Environ Health Perspect 117:254–260. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.11872
Qato DM, Alexander GC, Conti RM, Johnson M, Schumm P, Lindau ST (2008) Use of prescription and over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements among older adults in the United States. JAMA 300:2867–2878. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2008.892
Rahman Z, Singh VP (2019) The relative impact of toxic heavy metals (THMs) (arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr)(VI), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb)) on the total environment: an overview. Environ Monit Assess 191:419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7528-7
Rubio C, Lucas JRD, Gutiérrez AJ, Glez-Weller D, Pérez Marrero B, Caballero JM, Revert C, Hardisson A (2012) Evaluation of metal concentrations in mentha herbal teas (Mentha piperita, Mentha pulegium and Mentha species) by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. J Pharm Biomed Anal 71:11–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2012.07.015
Saraymen R, Soylak M, I. Narin (1998) Serum cadmium levels of people living in Kayseri-Belsin region, Turkey. Fresenius Environ Bull 7:403–405
Sevik H, Ozel HB, Cetin M, Özel HU, Erdem T (2019) Determination of changes in heavy metal accumulation depending on plant species, plant organism, and traffic density in some landscape plants. Air Qual Atmos Health 12:189–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-018-0641-x
Sevik H, Cetin M, Ozel HB, Akarsu H, Zeren Cetin I (2020a) Analyzing of usability of tree-rings as biomonitors for monitoring heavy metal accumulation in the atmosphere in urban area: a case study of cedar tree (Cedrus sp.). Environ Monit Assess 192:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-8010-2
Sevik H, Cetin M, Ozel HB, Ozel S, Zeren Cetin I (2020b) Changes in heavy metal accumulation in some edible landscape plants depending on traffic density. Environ Monit Assess 192:192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-8041-8
Sevik H, Cetin M, Ucun Ozel H, Ozel HB, Mossi MMM, Zeren Cetin I (2020c) Determination of Pb and Mg accumulation in some of the landscape plants in shrub forms. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:2423–2431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06895-0
Street RA (2012) Heavy metals in medicinal plant products - an African perspective. South African J Bot 82:67–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2012.07.013
Suchacz B, Wesolowski M (2012) The analysis of heavy metals content in herbal infusions. Open Med 7:457–464. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11536-012-0007-y
Takiguchi M, Achanzar WE, Qu W, Li G, Waalkes MP (2003) Effects of cadmium on DNA-(cytosine-5) methyltransferase activity and DNA methylation status during cadmium-induced cellular transformation. Exp Cell Res 286:355–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0014-4827(03)00062-4
Wang Y, Zhao H, Zhang T, Tan M, Zhuang G, Chen B, Huang Z, Tian H, Sun Q (1999) Determination of zinc contents in rabbits with cerebral ischemia by NAA and ICP-AES. Biol Trace Elem Res 71–72:617–621. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02784251
Wong MK, Tan P, Wee YC (1993) Heavy metals in some Chinese herbal plants. Biol Trace Elem Res 36:135–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02783172
Zhang J, Wider B, Shang H, Li X, Ernst E (2012) Quality of herbal medicines: challenges and solutions. Complement Ther Med 20:100–106
Zhu F, Wang X, Fan W, Qu L, Qiao M, Yao S (2013) Assessment of potential health risk for arsenic and heavy metals in some herbal flowers and their infusions consumed in China. Environ Monit Assess 185:3909–3916. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2839-y
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Abbas Jafarian- Dehkordi at Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, for technical assistance.
Funding
This study was supported by Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
MK, RN, MN and SNN wrote the manuscript. MK prepared and analyzed all biological samples. SA designed research. MK and RN interpreted all obtained data and were major contributors in writing the manuscript. GAF revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants in the study.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Elena Maestri
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Keshvari, M., Nedaeinia, R., Nedaeinia, M. et al. Assessment of heavy metal contamination in herbal medicinal products consumed in the Iranian market. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 33208–33218 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13020-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13020-7