title: Systematic evaluation of organochlorine pesticide residues in Chinese materia medica.
abstract: A systematic evaluation on the levels of organochlorine pesticide residues (OCP) was conducted on four selected, authentic Chinese materia medica, namely: Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Radix Notoginseng, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae and Radix Ginseng. Altogether ten representative batches of samples were analysed for each herb. Six batches were collected in the major cultivation areas of the Mainland whilst the remaining four batches were procured in the Hong Kong herbal market. All except Radix Angelicae Sinensis have been identified as containing quintozene and hexachlorocyclohexane in various levels. Hexachlorobenzene and lindane were also reported in samples of Radix Ginseng. The banned pesticide, DDT and its derivatives, was also observed in one of the Radix Notoginseng samples. The investigation will be continued for a target list of common used herbs in Hong Kong. All the results will be gathered and analysed for setting up regulatory permissible limits of OCP residues in Chinese materia medica used in Hong Kong.
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Division, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, P. R. China. S9362284@hkbu.edu.hk
authors.forename: Kelvin Sze-Yin
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Kelvin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Chi-Leung
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Guang-Hua
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D029971:Angelica sinensis / Q000737:chemistry; D003634:DDT / Q000737:chemistry*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000737:chemistry; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D008419:Materia Medica / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000592:standards; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000737:chemistry*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D027561:Salvia miltiorrhiza
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D008419:Materia Medica; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D010936:Plant Extracts; D003634:DDT