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Heavy Metal Pollution Analysis and Health Risk Assessment of Two Medicinal Insects of Mylabris

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Abstract

Mylabris is the dried body of the Chinese blister beetle (Mylabris sp.), which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine and achieved significant positive effects in the treatment of cancer including liver cancer, lung cancer, and rectal cancer. However, heavy metal pollution and accumulation of Mylabris insects could pose threat to human health. This study was carried out to assess levels of different heavy metals like Cu, As, Cd, Hg, and Pb, along with soil–plant-insect system and health risks using two representative Mylabris insects from the Hasi Mountains of Gansu Province, China. The results showed that the heavy metal concentration of plants and insects followed the order Cu > Pb > As > Hg > Cd. Compared with soil and plants, the content of Cu in insects was the highest, reaching 45.65 mg/kg. Cu was the main element that caused insects to absorb and accumulate. The quantitative risk analysis implied the two Mylabris insects had carcinogenic risks, with the contribution of As providing 63% and 60.7%, respectively. This kind of carcinogenic risk that the human body could bear was not easy to cause side effects to normal people, but it was difficult and dangerous for cancer patients. Thus, the evaluation of health risk lays the foundation for pollutant risk monitoring.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Professor Zhang Ji of College of Medical Care, Chengdu University, and Doctor Guo Jingwei of Institute of Plant Protection, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, for the assistance provided during this study.

Funding

This study was funded by the Applied Basic Research Programs of Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province, grant number 2020YJ0101; Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of Southwest Minzu University, grant number 202010656042; State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, grant number no. FAMP201808K; and Science and Technology Department of Guizhou Province, grant number QKHRCPT [2017]5101.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Pharmacy, Institute of Ethnomedicine, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China

    Xi Yang, Yubo Tian, Haibo Liu, Yan Ren & Xiang Li

  2. College of Science and Engineering, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Zhuo Yang

  3. Baotou Teachers College, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou, China

    Chao Du

  4. Institute of Plant Protection, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, China

    Changhua Liu

  5. State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China

    Faming Wu

  6. Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China

    Faming Wu

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  1. Xi Yang
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  4. Yan Ren
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Contributions

XY, YBT, and YR contributed to the conception of the study; XY, YBT, HBL, and XL performed the experiment; XY and YBT contributed significantly to analysis and manuscript preparation; XY and YBT performed the data analyses and wrote the manuscript; YR, ZY, CD, CHL, and FMW helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions.

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Correspondence to Yan Ren.

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Yang, X., Tian, Y., Liu, H. et al. Heavy Metal Pollution Analysis and Health Risk Assessment of Two Medicinal Insects of Mylabris. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 1892–1901 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02775-2

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