Refined assessment of heavy metal-associated health risk due to the consumption of traditional animal medicines in humans.
Environ Monit Assess
; 191(3): 171, 2019 Feb 19.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30783770
ABSTRACT
Little is known about the extent of heavy metal accumulation in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). In this study, the levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg) in traditional animal medicines were monitored using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Additionally, for the first time, a heavy metal risk assessment strategy was used to evaluate the potential risks of traditional animal medicines by calculating estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and cancer risk (CR). To obtain a refined risk assessment, the frequency of exposure to traditional animal medicines was determined from questionnaire data, and the safe factor for TCM was applied. Based on the standard levels for leech, it was found that earthworm, hive, scorpion, and leech accumulated high levels of heavy metals. The combined THQ (cTHQ) values indicated that ingestion of most traditional animal medicines would not pose a risk to the health of either male or female human beings. However, it was indicated that attention should be paid to the potential risk associated with cicada slough, earthworm, scorpion, turtle shells, and hive. Among heavy metals, As and Hg contributed to a major extent to the risk to human health. The CR assessment for Pb and As indicated that, with the exception of earthworm, the cancer risk was less than the acceptable lifetime risk for both males and females. Owing to the higher body weight, both THQ and CR were generally lower for males than for females.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Arsênio
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Materia Medica
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Monitoramento Ambiental
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Metais Pesados
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Medicina Tradicional Chinesa
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
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Etiology_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
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Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Monit Assess
Assunto da revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
China