Abstract
Seven groups of herbal drinks including gum karaya, Indian gooseberry, Noni Indian mulberry, cat's whiskers, prickly-leaved elephant's foot, black galingale, and Ling zhi mushroom contain a variety of bioactive compounds such as polysaccharides, terpenes, saponins, and flavonoids. The extracts of these plants have several biological activities such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant and chemoprotective activities that can promote health. The popular uses of herbal drinks in Thailand raise the question about safety of their products, especially for heavy metal contamination. The concentrations of heavy metals such as As, Pb, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Cd in twenty one samples from seven groups of herbal drinks were determined by ICP-MS. None of herbal drinks passed the permissible limits under the Notification of Ministry of Public Health (No. 214) B.E. 2543 (2000) Re: Beverages in Sealed Container by the virtue of the Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979), Thailand. Moreover, the concentrations of Pb and Zn in all analyzed samples were higher than the permissible limits. The concentrations of Fe in almost all analyzed samples as well as the concentrations of As, Cd, and Cu in some analyzed samples were higher than the permissible limits. The levels of heavy metals found in this study raise concerns, not only for the safety of Thai consumers, but also the quality of herbal drinks available in Thailand.
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