Toxic metal contamination in Artemisia annua L. herbal preparations from different commercial sources in China

Toxic metal contamination was investigated in Artemisia annua L. herbal preparations from different commercial sources in China. Measurable amounts of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni) and aluminium (Al) were detected in commercial dried Artemisia annua L., Massa Medicata Fermentata (Shenqu), Semen Sojae Praeparatum, medicated leaven (Jianqu) and an oral dose of Zhongganling-pian by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). A total of 69 samples were collected from different sources in the Chinese market. Toxic metals contents in the investigated samples were found at different levels. Results showed that 94.20, 100, 97.10, 91.30 and 94.20% of the products fully complied with the quality requirement for traditional medicines in China pertaining to Cu, Pb, As, Hg and Cd, respectively. Although toxic metal concentrations measured in this study do not pose a serious health risk, they do affect the quality of herbal preparations. Moreover, on the basis of the results obtained in the present work, it is concluded that the present techniques are suitable for the routine determination of toxic metals concentration in various pharmaceutical dosage forms.