Eleven heavy metals in various products of Moringa oleifera were analyzed to determine eleven heavy metals (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, and Zn) using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. The products of M. oleifera were purchased in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. All products were digested with nitric acid solution before determining the concentrations of heavy metals. The recoveries of all heavy metals were found to be in the range of 99.89-103.05%. Several criteria such as linearity, limits of detection, limits of quantification, specificity, precision under repeatability conditions and intermediate precision reproducibility were evaluated. Results indicate that this method could be used in the laboratory for determination of eleven heavy metals in M. oleifera products with acceptable analytical performance. The results of analysis showed that the highest concentrations of As, Cr, Hg, and Mn were found in tea leaves while the highest concentrations of Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn were found in leaf capsules. Continuous monitoring of heavy metals in M. oleifera products is crucial for consumer health.

No abstract

Binding of bile salts by dietary fiber is believed to promote their excretion and hence to reduce the serum cholesterol level in man and experimental animals. In this study, the binding efficiency of soluble pectin from various sources, i.e., apple, citrus and pomelo, was examined. Sodium deoxycholate and sodium cholate hydrate were used as a model to represent bile salt in human body. The binding efficiency was assayed by acid reaction, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and enzyme cycling method. The results demonstrated that enzyme cycling method was the most suitable for assaying the in-vitro binding of bile salts while the TLC was not very sensitive, i.e., low amount of bile salts cannot be detected by TLC. Excess pectin from binding test could also interfere the acid reaction method even though the centrifugation was used to remove the excess pectin. When the concentration of pectin was increased, the binding efficiency with sodium deoxycholate increased. However, at 1% w/w of pectin, the binding efficiency decreased. The exception is for pomelo pectin in which the binding efficiency increased when the pectin concentration increased. With sodium cholate hydrate, only slight difference in binding efficiency was observed for all types and concentrations of pectin. The results indicate that the ability to bind bile salts of pectin might be responsible for its hypocholesterolemic action observed in experimental animals and humans.

Seven groups of herbal drinks including gum karaya, Indian gooseberry, Noni Indian mulberry, cat's whiskers, prickly-leaved elephant's foot, black galingale, and Ling zhi mushroom contain a variety of bioactive compounds such as polysaccharides, terpenes, saponins, and flavonoids. The extracts of these plants have several biological activities such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant and chemoprotective activities that can promote health. The popular uses of herbal drinks in Thailand raise the question about safety of their products, especially for heavy metal contamination. The concentrations of heavy metals such as As, Pb, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Cd in twenty one samples from seven groups of herbal drinks were determined by ICP-MS. None of herbal drinks passed the permissible limits under the Notification of Ministry of Public Health (No. 214) B.E. 2543 (2000) Re: Beverages in Sealed Container by the virtue of the Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979), Thailand. Moreover, the concentrations of Pb and Zn in all analyzed samples were higher than the permissible limits. The concentrations of Fe in almost all analyzed samples as well as the concentrations of As, Cd, and Cu in some analyzed samples were higher than the permissible limits. The levels of heavy metals found in this study raise concerns, not only for the safety of Thai consumers, but also the quality of herbal drinks available in Thailand.