Heavy Metal Contaminations in Herbal Medicines: Determination, Comprehensive Risk Assessments, and Solutions

Luo, Lu; Wang, Bo; Jiang, Jingwen; Fitzgerald, Martin; Qin, Huang; Zheng, Yu; Li, Hui; Zhang, Jiqing; Wei, Jianhe; Yang, Chenyuyan; Zhang, Hui; Dong, Lixin; Chen, Shilin

doi:10.3389/fphar.2020.595335

Cited by 131 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Food contamination with heavy metals is another concern for human and animal health. Concentration of heavy metals in water resources, air, and food is assessed with this regard (Mousavi et al, 2013;Ghorani-Azam et al, 2016;Luo et al, 2020). Metals among the other environmental pollutants may also occur naturally and remain in the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxic Mechanisms of Five Heavy Metals: Mercury, Lead, Chromium, Cadmium, and Arsenic

et al. 2021

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The industrial activities of the last century have caused massive increases in human exposure to heavy metals. Mercury, lead, chromium, cadmium, and arsenic have been the most common heavy metals that induced human poisonings. Here, we reviewed the mechanistic action of these heavy metals according to the available animal and human studies. Acute or chronic poisonings may occur following exposure through water, air, and food. Bioaccumulation of these heavy metals leads to a diversity of toxic effects on a variety of body tissues and organs. Heavy metals disrupt cellular events including growth, proliferation, differentiation, damage-repairing processes, and apoptosis. Comparison of the mechanisms of action reveals similar pathways for these metals to induce toxicity including ROS generation, weakening of the antioxidant defense, enzyme inactivation, and oxidative stress. On the other hand, some of them have selective binding to specific macromolecules. The interaction of lead with aminolevulinic acid dehydratase and ferrochelatase is within this context. Reactions of other heavy metals with certain proteins were discussed as well. Some toxic metals including chromium, cadmium, and arsenic cause genomic instability. Defects in DNA repair following the induction of oxidative stress and DNA damage by the three metals have been considered as the cause of their carcinogenicity. Even with the current knowledge of hazards of heavy metals, the incidence of poisoning remains considerable and requires preventive and effective treatment. The application of chelation therapy for the management of metal poisoning could be another aspect of heavy metals to be reviewed in the future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxic Mechanisms of Five Heavy Metals: Mercury, Lead, Chromium, Cadmium, and Arsenic

et al. 2021

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“…Toxic element levels in prepared extracts/infusions are under regulation at the national or regional level. Permissible limits for toxic elements in extracts have been compared by several authors [28]. According to the World Health Organization, the permissible limit for cadmium concentrations in herbal products is 0.3 mg kg −1 Cd and for lead it is 10.0 mg kg −1 Pb [29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical Properties and Antioxidant Activity of Water-Ethanolic Extracts from Sempervivum tectorum L. from Bulgaria

et al. 2021

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Sempervivum tectorum L. is an evergreen plant belonging to a large family of the Crassulaceae. The fresh juice of the plant is used as a folk remedy almost exclusively for external purposes. The combination of several instrumental methods—transmission and fluorescence spectroscopy, ICP-MS spectrometry, and assays for the assessment of antioxidant activities were used for the characterization of water-ethanolic extracts from the leaves of Sempervivum tectorum L. with different polarities (ethanol content in the extracts varied between 10% and 95%). The highest total phenolic content was found in the 50% ethanol extract—0.84 ± 0.08 mg GAE/mL. Furthermore, this extract also possessed the highest antioxidant potential evaluated by DPPH and FRAP assays—7.02 ± 0.71 mM TE/mL and 6.15 ± 0.25 mM TE/mL, respectively. High correlation coefficients were found between the total phenolic contents and the antioxidant activities of water-ethanolic extracts from Sempervivum tectorum L. The same is true for the strong relationship between the phenolic contents and the concentrations of Na and K. Most likely, the bioavailable species of elements such as Fe, Zn, Ca, and Mg are mostly aqueous soluble. For all the studied extracts, the toxic element (As, Cd, Pb, Tl, Hg) contents are very much below the permissible limits for pharmaceutical products. On the contrary, the concentrations of compounds such as β-carotene and chlorophyll increase with the increase in ethanol in the extract. Results from this study may be used for the preliminary prognosis of pharmaceutical applications of extracts from Sempervivum tectorum L.

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“…Heavy metals' contamination of water and air is an environmental threat, and hundreds of millions of people are being exposed worldwide. The concentration of heavy metals in water supplies, air, and food is evaluated in this respect [7,8].…”

Section: Heavy Metalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurotoxic Agents and Peripheral Neuropathy

Eşkut¹,

Köşkderelioğlu²

2022

Neurotoxicity - New Advances

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Neurotoxicity may develop with exposure to various substances such as antibiotics, chemotherapeutics, heavy metals, and solvents. Some plants and fungi are also known to be neurotoxic. Neurotoxicity can develop acutely within hours, or it can develop as a result of exposure for years. Neurotoxicity can be presented with central or peripheral nervous system findings such as neurobehavioral symptoms, extrapyramidal signs, peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral nerve fibers are affected in different ways by neurotoxicant injury. The pattern of injury depends on the target structure involved. The focus of this chapter includes signs, symptoms, pathophysiology, and treatment options of neurotoxicity.

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Heavy Metal Contaminations in Herbal Medicines: Determination, Comprehensive Risk Assessments, and Solutions

Cited by 131 publications

References 62 publications

Toxic Mechanisms of Five Heavy Metals: Mercury, Lead, Chromium, Cadmium, and Arsenic

Toxic Mechanisms of Five Heavy Metals: Mercury, Lead, Chromium, Cadmium, and Arsenic

Optical Properties and Antioxidant Activity of Water-Ethanolic Extracts from Sempervivum tectorum L. from Bulgaria

Neurotoxic Agents and Peripheral Neuropathy

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