Abstract
Earthworms are known to accumulate inorganic contaminants from the soil; they are also used as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) called Pheretima, which might cause safety problems with long-term exposure. Here, this study was conducted to determine and analyze the level of heavy metal contamination such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) in Pheretima and then explore the probabilistic health risks caused by 8 heavy metals in 98 batches of Pheretima using Monte Carlo simulation. A risk assessment strategy was conducted to assess heavy metal–associated health risk of Pheretima based on consumption data. For random consumption sampling, the results found that the non-carcinogenic risk of As is higher than the acceptable level, and the carcinogenic risk levels of As and Cr exceeded the acceptable risk recommended by the USEPA. Cr and As were regarded as the priority metals for risk control in the present study. Finally, it was recommended that the dosing frequency should be less than 24 d/y. In general, this study conducted a probabilistic risk assessment of heavy metals in Pheretima, which would be of significance for policy makers to take effective strategies to improve the quality and safety of Pheretima.
Highlights
Heavy metals have attracted much attention because of their undesirable effects and toxicological manifestations (Si et al, 2015; Islam et al, 2020)
Heavy metals were analyzed in 98 batches of Pheretima samples collected from Chinese markets, and the probabilistic health risks of heavy metals in Pheretima were evaluated based on the consumption data of Shanghai
The findings clearly found that the mean concentrations of heavy metals in Pheretima were observed in the descending order of Mn > Cr > Cu > As > Pb > Ni > Cd > Hg
Summary
Heavy metals have attracted much attention because of their undesirable effects and toxicological manifestations (Si et al, 2015; Islam et al, 2020). Numerous case reports and case series related to heavy metal poisoning attributable to the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have been published (Ernst and Coon, 2001). Some heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, and Mn) are essential micronutrients for plants and animals. They become toxic at higher concentrations (Filipiak-Szok et al, 2015). Few studies have been conducted on a wide range of TCMs, the quality of which is closely related to the patient’s health as patients may be more vulnerable to the intake of heavy metals.
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