[Testing and analysis of inorganic elements in 466 traditional Chinese medicines materials].
OBJECTIVE
This study attempts to test the total amount of 41 inorganic elements in traditional Chinese medicine materials (TCMM), to analyze to surpass the set standard of 5 toxic heavy metal elements and to explore possible method of modification.


METHODS
By using microwave as digestion tool, ICP-MS and ICP-AES as detective instrument, 41 elements in 466 samples are tested. While the amount of elements Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, S, Sr are determined by ICP-AES, the amount of the rest 32 elements are determined by ICP-MS. SPSS 16.0 is used as the statistical tool for data analysis.


RESULTS
Testing of reference material Astragalus showed that the measurements of each element are within the reference range, and except for element I, RSD of determination for each element is less than 10%, thus the accuracy and precision of the study method is confirmed. Using above mentioned instruments and methods, general information of elements in 466 TCMM are obtained.


CONCLUSIONS
The concentrations of each elements in TCMM varied a lot and are different among each TCMM. The over standard rate of 5 heavy metal elements are lower than previous results, however, the over standard rate is still descending in the order of Cd > Cu > Pb > As > Hg. The content of heavy metal elements in TCMM varies among different areas, especially, over standard of heavy metals are not detected in locality as Gansu, Qinghai, Shanxi, Xinjiang and Hainan provinces.
School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China.
Fengxia
F
Li
Li
L
Ouyang
Yaqiong
Y
Liu
Jing
J
Zeng
Lailai
L
Yan
Jingyu
J
Wang
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000032:analysis*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D019216:Metals, Heavy