A Health Risk Assessment of Lead and Other Metals in Pharmaceutical Herbal Products and Dietary Supplements Containing Ginkgo biloba in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area

Patricia Rojas, Elizabeth Ruiz-Sánchez, Camilo Ríos, Ángel Ruiz-Chow and Aldo A. Reséndiz-Albor
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Patricia Rojas: Laboratory of Neurotoxicology, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, SS, Av. Insurgentes sur No. 3877, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
Elizabeth Ruiz-Sánchez: Laboratory of Neurotoxicology, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, SS, Av. Insurgentes sur No. 3877, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
Camilo Ríos: Department of Neurochemistry, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, SS, Av. Insurgentes sur No. 3877, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
Ángel Ruiz-Chow: Neuropsychiatry Unit, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, SS, Av. Insurgentes sur No. 3877, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
Aldo A. Reséndiz-Albor: Mucosal Immunity Laboratory, Research and Graduate Section, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Superior School of Medicine, Plan de San Luis Esq. Salvador Díaz Mirón s/n, C.P., Mexico City 11340, Mexico

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-19

Abstract: The use of the medicinal plant Ginkgo biloba has increased worldwide. However, G. biloba is capable of assimilating both essential and toxic metals, and the ingestion of contaminated products can cause damage to health. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety of manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) in 26 items containing Ginkgo biloba (pharmaceutical herbal products, dietary supplements, and traditional herbal remedies) purchased in the metropolitan area of Mexico City. Metal analysis was performed using a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer. All of the products were contaminated with Pb, 54% of them with As, and 81% with Cd. The lowest values of Pb, As, and Cd were detected in pharmaceutical herbal products > dietary supplements > traditional herbal remedies. The daily intake dose (DID) of pharmaceutical herbal products was within the established limits for the five metals. Dietary supplements and traditional herbal remedies exceeded the DID limits for Pb. The hazard quotients estimation and non-carcinogenic cumulative hazard estimation index for Mn, As, and Cd indicated no human health risk. Our results suggest that products containing G. biloba for sale in Mexico are not a health risk.

Keywords: Ginkgo biloba; heavy metal content; pharmaceutical herbal products; dietary supplements (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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