AW: SPAM-LOW: Contaminated herbs

[Guest guest]

Alon

 

 

 

Some herbs, like E Jiao for example, are almost always contaminated. There

are others, often but not exclusively mineral material. But otherwise, it is

quite surprising how something suddenly is high and then low again. We are

collecting this data and in ten years will most likely be able to make some

pretty clear statements. But my opinion at this point is that it is truly

best to check everything for at least the four metals As, Pb, Hg and Cd. It

is expensive. In Switzerland, the cost of testing is passed on to the

practitioners which pass it on to the patients. However, insurance pays for

the herbs (not basic insurance but an addition which most people have) and

so it is not a problem. In the US, that will be more difficult. However,

since the market is bigger, the industry could, if forced by the government

or by the practitioners, do the testing. I am certain that this would not

break the industry but make Chinese medicine safer. Plus, more pressure can

be passed back to Taiwan and China to control for these issues more

rigorously. For example, recently, I was tipped by a colleague from Austria

(Mag. Stöger, co-author of the new Bensky), that Hong Hua contains high

Barium. Low and behold, Barium content was over 800ppm!!!! In addition, lead

was about 50ppm. That was the case in granules. In the raw herbs, levels

were even higher; even in different batches. So go figure…where does this

come from? And the new batch we checked was all ok again. The problem seems

the raw material. I find production in Taiwan very satisfactory. But they

can only be as good as the raw material.

 

 

 

Besides heavy metals, testing for aristolochic acid (which is being done in

the US, I believe) and aflatoxins seems to me also very important.

Alfatoxins are very toxic and herbs like bai zi ren and sometimes suan zao

ren, xing ren but even yan hu suo are often extremely elevated in their

aflatoxin count.

 

 

 

If you have other specific questions, you can also e-mail me off-list.

 

 

 

Simon Becker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Von: alon marcus [alonmarcus]

Gesendet: Montag, 27. September 2004 18:52

An:

Betreff: Re: SPAM-LOW: Re: Contaminated herbs

 

 

 

Simon

Do you find these herbs to be fairly consistent in contamination? can you

PLEASE share with us as much info as you can.

We do not have this information in the US at all.

Thanks Alon