Toxic metals found in herbal medicines
WASHINGTON: Ayurvedic medicines - herbal mixtures dating back thousands of years in India and increasingly popular in the West - are frequently contaminated with lead, mercury or arsenic, according to a study published yesterday.
A fifth of the nearly 200 concoctions tested contained levels of the toxic metals.
Dr Robert Saper, a Boston University professor of family medicine who led the study, said the findings should spur the United States Food and Drug Administration to start clamping down on the largely unregulated world of pills, herbs and powders classified as dietary supplements.
'In ayurveda and all those traditional systems, there certainly is some promising wisdom and heritage that we need to harvest. But the key thing is we need to separate what's helpful and...what needs to be looked at and perhaps set aside.'
In the study, Dr Saper and his team analysed 193 medicines bought from 25 websites for Indian and US manufacturers.
Of the US products, 21 per cent had lead, 3 per cent contained mercury and 3 per cent had arsenic. Among the Indian-made medicines, 17 per cent had lead, 7 per cent had mercury and none contained arsenic.
How the metals get into the medicines is unclear, Dr Saper said. Some metals occur naturally in soil, and plants and herbs used to make ayurvedic medicines may concentrate the contaminants. The metals may come from human-made pollutants and industrial sources, particularly in India where lead pollution is widespread.
The metals may also be introduced during the manufacturing process, accidentally or intentionally.
Ayurvedic practitioners called the research alarmist.
They pointed out that in one class of ayurvedic medicines, called rasa shastra, many of these metals are purposely blended with herbs as part of the medicinal recipe. Those metallic mixtures are rarely used in the US, they said.
LOS ANGELES TIMES, REUTERS
WASHINGTON: Ayurvedic medicines - herbal mixtures dating back thousands of years in India and increasingly popular in the West - are frequently contaminated with lead, mercury or arsenic, according to a study published yesterday.
A fifth of the nearly 200 concoctions tested contained levels of the toxic metals.
Dr Robert Saper, a Boston University professor of family medicine who led the study, said the findings should spur the United States Food and Drug Administration to start clamping down on the largely unregulated world of pills, herbs and powders classified as dietary supplements.
'In ayurveda and all those traditional systems, there certainly is some promising wisdom and heritage that we need to harvest. But the key thing is we need to separate what's helpful and...what needs to be looked at and perhaps set aside.'
In the study, Dr Saper and his team analysed 193 medicines bought from 25 websites for Indian and US manufacturers.
Of the US products, 21 per cent had lead, 3 per cent contained mercury and 3 per cent had arsenic. Among the Indian-made medicines, 17 per cent had lead, 7 per cent had mercury and none contained arsenic.
How the metals get into the medicines is unclear, Dr Saper said. Some metals occur naturally in soil, and plants and herbs used to make ayurvedic medicines may concentrate the contaminants. The metals may come from human-made pollutants and industrial sources, particularly in India where lead pollution is widespread.
The metals may also be introduced during the manufacturing process, accidentally or intentionally.
Ayurvedic practitioners called the research alarmist.
They pointed out that in one class of ayurvedic medicines, called rasa shastra, many of these metals are purposely blended with herbs as part of the medicinal recipe. Those metallic mixtures are rarely used in the US, they said.
LOS ANGELES TIMES, REUTERS
