Determination of trace elements in some natural drugs by atomic absorptionspectrometry

Fifteen kinds of common plants, animals, and minerals used as traditional m edicines by the Chinese people have been subjected to analysis by atomic ab sorption spectrometry for its content of seven metals: lead, cadmium, arsen ic, mercury, copper, cobalt, and manganese. The concentrations of these ele ments are significantly different according to their vegetal, animal, or mi neral origin. The average values found for lead, cadmium, arsenic, cobalt, and manganese in drugs of mineral origin are higher than those derived from plants and animals, except for copper, which was higher in drugs of animal origin. Our results suggest that the user of traditional Chinese crude drugs should be warned of the potential danger of heavy-metal poisoning because their c oncentrations seem to be higher than the maximum values allowed by health a gencies in several countries.