A report on the composition of mercurials used in traditional medicines in Oman

Hardy, Andrew; Sutherland, H. H.; Vaishnav, Ragini; Worthing, M. A.

doi:10.1016/0378-8741(95)01296-6

Cited by 38 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The abuse of cinnabar as a sedative for infants has caused intoxication cases in Taiwan (Hardy et al 1995) and thus it has been banned in the 1980s. However, it is still a legal prescription in Chinese medicines in Asia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurotoxicity of mercury sulfide in the vestibular ocular reflex system of guinea pigs

Chuu

Young

Liu

et al. 2001

Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology

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A traditional Chinese mineral medicine, cinnabar, naturally occurring mercuric sulfide (HgS), is still occasionally prescribed, but the neurotoxic effects of HgS have not been elucidated. In this paper, an animal model of the purified HgS intoxication was established in guinea pigs in order to study neurotoxicity and pathophysiology of the vestibular ocular reflex system (VOR). Guinea pigs were dosed with HgS by gastric gavage (0.01, 0.1 and 1.0 g/kg per day) for 7 consecutive days. By means of caloric testing coupled with the electronystagmographic (ENG) recording in guinea pigs, we have found that HgS at a dose of 0.1 g/kg induced reversible caloric hypofunction pattern and at a higher dose of 1.0 g/kg induced irreversible hypofunction of caloric test. Monitoring the mercury contents of various tissues (blood, kidney, liver and cerebellum) by continuous flow and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) revealed that a certain amount of HgS could be absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and was detectable in these tissues. In addition to the induced dysfunction of VOR system, HgS also caused disturbance of motor performance in guinea pigs. In enzyme assay, Na+/K+-ATPase activity of cerebellum was also significantly inhibited by HgS. Morphological studies showed partial cell loss only in the cerebellar Purkinje cell layer, but not in the granule cell layer, nor in the vestibular labyrinth. All of these findings suggest that cerebellar Purkinje cells are the sensitive target site responsible for HgS-inducing dysfunctions of both VOR system and the motor performance in guinea pigs. Thus, it is concluded that caloric test coupled with ENG recording in VOR system is certainly a sensitive biomarker for monitoring the neurotoxicity of HgS.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurotoxicity of mercury sulfide in the vestibular ocular reflex system of guinea pigs

Chuu

Young

Liu

et al. 2001

Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology

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“…These subjects are photophobic and suffer from joint pains (11)(12)(13). The long-term use of cinnabar-containing traditional medicines could result in accumulation of mercury in the kidney and renal dysfunction similar to mercuric mercury exposure may occur (8,31,35).…”

Section: Toxicological Profiles Of Cinnabar Mercury Vapor Mercuric mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury in Traditional Medicines: Is Cinnabar Toxicologically Similar to Common Mercurials?

Liu

Shi²,

Yu³

et al. 2008

Exp Biol Med (Maywood)

194

153

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Mercury is a major toxic metal ranking top in the Toxic Substances List. Cinnabar (contains mercury sulfide) has been used in traditional medicines for thousands years as an ingredient in various remedies, and 40 cinnabar-containing traditional medicines are still used today. Little is known about toxicology profiles or toxicokinetics of cinnabar and cinnabar-containing traditional medicines, and the high mercury content in these Chinese medicines raises justifiably escalations of public concern. This minireview searched the available database of cinnabar, compared cinnabar with common mercurials, such as mercury vapor, inorganic mercury, and organic mercury, and discusses differences in their bioavailability, disposition, and toxicity. The analysis showed that cinnabar is insoluble and poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Absorbed mercury from cinnabar is mainly accumulated in kidney, resembling the disposition pattern of inorganic mercury. Heating cinnabar results in release of mercury vapor, which in turn can produce toxicity similar to inhalation of these vapors. The doses of cinnabar required to produce neurotoxicity are thousands 1000 times higher than methyl mercury. Following long-term use of cinnabar, renal dysfunction may occur. Dimercaprol and succimer are effective chelation therapies for general mercury intoxication including cinnabar. Pharmacology studies of cinnabar suggest sedative and hypnotic effects, but the therapeutic basis of cinnabar is still not clear. In summary, cinnabar is chemically inert with a relatively low toxic potential when taken orally. In risk assessment, cinnabar is less toxic than many other forms of mercury, but the rationale for its inclusion in traditional Chinese medicines remains to be fully justified.

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“…This analytical tool has been applied successfully to determine mercury levels in mosses, lichens, and aquatic plants [16,17,18], rice grain samples [19], mushrooms [20,21,22], and food samples of a botanical origin [23,24]. Other techniques include inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) [25], electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) [26], cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CVAFS) [27], instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) [28], X-ray diffraction (XRD) [29], and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of Mercury in an Assortment of Dietary Supplements Using an Inexpensive Combustion Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Technique

Levine

Weber

et al. 2005

Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry

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The concentrations of mercury in forty, commercially available dietary supplements, were determined using a new, inexpensive analysis technique. The method involves thermal decomposition, amalgamation, and detection of mercury by atomic absorption spectrometry with an analysis time of approximately six minutes per sample. The primary cost savings from this approach is that labor-intensive sample digestion is not required prior to analysis, further automating the analytical procedure. As a result, manufacturers and regulatory agencies concerned with monitoring lot-to-lot product quality may find this approach an attractive alternative to the more classical acid-decomposition, cold vapor atomic absorption methodology. Dietary supplement samples analyzed included astragalus, calcium, chromium picolinate, echinacea, ephedra, fish oil, ginger, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, goldenseal, guggul, senna, St John's wort, and yohimbe products. Quality control samples analyzed with the dietary supplements indicated a high level of method accuracy and precision. Ten replicate preparations of a standard reference material (NIST 1573a, tomato leaves) were analyzed, and the average mercury recovery was 109% (2.0% RSD). The method quantitation limit was 0.3 ng, which corresponded to 1.5 ng/g sample. The highest found mercury concentration (123 ng/g) was measured in a concentrated salmon oil sample. When taken as directed by an adult, this product would result in an approximate mercury ingestion of 7 µg per week.

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A report on the composition of mercurials used in traditional medicines in Oman

Cited by 38 publications

References 4 publications

Neurotoxicity of mercury sulfide in the vestibular ocular reflex system of guinea pigs

Neurotoxicity of mercury sulfide in the vestibular ocular reflex system of guinea pigs

Mercury in Traditional Medicines: Is Cinnabar Toxicologically Similar to Common Mercurials?

Determination of Mercury in an Assortment of Dietary Supplements Using an Inexpensive Combustion Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Technique

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