QUALITY ASSESSMENT FOR THE PRESENCE OF HEAVY METALS IN HERBAL MATERIALS FROM THE MARKETS OF CHENNAI, INDIA

Objective: To assess the quality of herbal materials for the presence of heavy metals. Methods: Herbal materials of around 49 samples from Chennai markets were procured and analysed for the presence of metals like Copper (Cu), Calcium (Ca), Cobalt (Co), Sodium (Na), Nickel (Ni), Magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr) and Lead (Pb) using AAS, Shimadzu, AA 7000, Japan. Results: The raw materials of the commercial herbal products were found to contain Manganese, Calcium and Magnesium at greater concentrations, when compared with the other elements analyzed. Conclusion: The presence of the metals analyzed were found to be within permissible limits in accordance to the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and WHO standards. Although the study implies consumption of herbal materials are safe, periodical monitoring of the quality of the herbal materials is recommended