• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.253-260
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• 2008

Comparative study was performed on heavy metal contents among domestic herbal medicines and imported one. The heavy metal contents in 89 samples of 65 types of herbal medicines were measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and mercury analyzer. The mean values of heavy metal contents (mg/kg) for herbal medicines were as follows: Hg, 0.010 (domestic: 0.010, imported: 0.010); Pb, 0.380 (domestic: 0.311, imported: 0.449); Cd, 0.080 (domestic: 0.101, imported: 0.059); As, 2.085 (domestic: 1.845, imported: 2.324); Mn, 31.564 (domestic: 33.844, imported: 29.283); Zn, 15.436 (domestic: 18.703, imported: 12.168); Cu, 3.406 (domestic: 3.374, imported: 3.437); Fe, 134.944 (domestic: 108.327, imported: 161.561). The measured values of Hg, Pb and Cd of domestic and imported herbal medicines showed lower levels than the recommended levels of those in herbal medicines by WHO/PHARM (Pb : not more than 5 mg/kg, Cd : not more than 0.3 mg/kg). This results will he used as a basic data for the future legislation on the regulation and control of heavy metal contents of herbal medicines.