Background: Asian traditional herbal preparations are frequently considered for the contamination with undeclared\ntoxic or hazardous substances. The aim of this study was to determine the toxic heavy metals, pesticides and sulfur\ndioxide in decoctions that is a common form of final utilization in Korea.\nMethods: A total of 155 decoctions composed of multi-ingredient traditional herbs were randomly sampled from\nSeoul in Korea between 2013 and 2014. For each decoction, the concentrations of four heavy metals (arsenic,\ncadmium, lead and mercury), 33 pesticides and sulfur dioxide were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma\nmass spectrometry (ICP-MS), mercury analyzer, gas chromatography/nitrogen phosphorous detector (GC/NPD),\ngas chromatography/micro electron capture detector (GC/�¼ECD), and Monier-Williams method respectively.\nResults: One hundred fifty-two of One hundred fifty-five decoctions (98.1%) contained one of three heavy metals\n(96.1% for As, 97.4% for Cd, and 90.3% for Pb, 0.0% for Hg). Their average concentrations (77.0 �± 79.7 ug/kg for As,\n20.4 �± 23.7 ug/kg for Cd, and 68.8 �± 76.5 ug/kg for Pb) were approximately 20% of the maximum allowable limits\nof vegetable or ginseng beverage described in the Korean Food Standard Codex while their 95th percentile\nconcentrations were below than the guideline for them. None of 33 pesticides was detected in 155 decoction\nsamples, and only one sample showed over limit of detection for residual sulfites.\nConclusions: This study support that the contained status of toxic heavy metals, pesticides and sulfur dioxide in\nherbal decoctions are currently within safe level in Korea, and provide a reference data for the further studies\nfocused on the safety herbal preparations.
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