LONDON, ENGLAND, September 1, 2008: Herbal and Ayurvedic medicines, which are sold on the Internet, contain lead, mercury and arsenic levels beyond “acceptable standards,” according to the latest research. The highest levels of lead and mercury were found in medicines made by the ancient practice of rasa shastra, which deliberately combines herbs with metals, minerals and gems.
Two main types of Ayurvedic medicine are herbal-only remedies and rasa shastra treatments. In the Rasa Shastra system, metals like mercury, lead, iron and zinc, minerals like mica, and gems like pearls are incorporated in medicines. Several of these medicines, mostly manufactured in India and the United States, could result in people consuming doses of lead and mercury 100 to 10,000 times greater than acceptable limits, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A team of researchers, led by Dr. Robert Saper, at Boston University School of Medicine in Massachusetts bought 193 medicinal products, made by 37 different manufacturers in both India and the US. The researchers analyzed the medicines using a technique called X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, which excites atoms to produce an identifiable radiation pattern. After analysis, the researchers found that the prevalence of metal-containing products was 20.7 per cent over all – 21.7 per cent in US-manufactured products and 19.5 per cent in Indian products. Rasa Shastra medicines had a greater prevalence of metals (40.6 per cent) as compared to with nonrasa shastra medicines (17.1 per cent). All metal-containing products exceeded one or more standards for acceptable daily intake of toxic metals, the study said.