Health risks from consumption of medicinal plant dietary supplements.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Laboratory analytical chemistry and toxicological risk modeling study without human participants.
PubMed 32724616 · doi:10.1002/fsn3.1636
What was done
Researchers measured cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) concentrations in 41 commercially available dietary supplements derived from terrestrial plants or microalgae. Flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) was used to quantify Cd and Pb, while cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS) was used for Hg. Noncarcinogenic human health risks were estimated using the hazard quotient calculation based on potential daily consumer intake.
What was found
At least one heavy metal was detected in 79.2% of terrestrial plant supplements and 88.2% of microalgae supplements. Across all 41 samples, 68.3% were contaminated with Cd and Pb (not necessarily concurrently in the same sample) and 29.3% contained Hg. In an extreme case, modeled exposure indicated that consuming a specific supplement for one week posed a health risk due to Pb exposure.
Why it matters
Medicinal plant and microalgae supplements can accumulate toxic heavy metals, demonstrating the need for stricter quality control and toxicological screening prior to market release.
Limits
The sample size was limited to 41 products, and specific product origins or manufacturing batches were not detailed in the abstract. Health risks were modeled mathematically via hazard quotients rather than evaluated through biomonitoring or clinical health outcomes in actual consumers.
Cited by
- supports Food products purchased from health food stores often contain heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury.