Monitoring of arsenic levels in some ready-to-use anti-malaria herbal products from drug sales outlets in the Madina area of Accra, Ghana A.O. Affum ⇑ , D.O. Shiloh, D. Adomako Nuclear Chemistry and Environmental Research Center, National Nuclear Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box LG 80, Legon, Accra, Ghana article info Article history: Received 8 August 2012 Accepted 25 January 2013 Available online 8 February 2013 Keywords: Lead Arsenic Cadmium Anti-malaria herbal product Plasmodium falciparum Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer abstract In Ghana anti-malaria herbal medicines or products are used to compliment commercial drugs in treat- ment and prevention of Plasmodium falciparum infections. In this study, four common aqueous based anti-malaria herbal products (coded HEB, KFE, MDM and NIB) which are used by Ghanaian population from pharmacy/herbal stores in the Madina area, Accra were blindly and randomly sampled for cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and Lead (Pb) analysis using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry technique. Arsenic concentrations were 1.087 lg/mL (108.7%), 1.027 lg/mL (102.7%), 0.330 lg/mL (33.0%) and 0.274 lg/mL (27.4%) in MDM, KFE, NIB and HEB respectively. Arsenic concentration determined in MDM and KFE were above the maximum permissible limit of 1.0 ppm determined by WHO/FAO. Cadmium concentration in each of the four products as well as lead concentration in KFE, NIB and HEB were below the detection limit of <0.002 mg/mL (Cd) and <0.005 mg/mL (Pb) respectively. The maximum permissible limits for Pb and Cd determined by WHO/FAO are 10.0 ppm and 0.3 ppm respectively. Thus, random assessment on the safety of some ready-to-use aqueous based anti-malaria herbal products on the market is neces- sary to prevent public health hazards associated with consuming these plant extracts. Although lead and cadmium concentration in the anti-malaria herbal products were below the maximum permissible limits, their cumulative effect on the health of an individual which consume recommended volume of not less than 1000 mL for effective malaria parasite clearance cannot be ignored. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Although various synthetic drugs have been recommended for treatment and prevention of Plasmodium falciparum infections, a few have shown resistance over a period. In Ghana, chloroquine has been banned as the first-line anti-malaria drug (Neequaye et al., 1988; Ofori-Adjei et al., 1988; Osei, 1997). Besides their expensiveness, most of these synthetic anti-malaria drugs have side effects (Ankrah et al., 2003; Osei, 1997; Tang et al., 2007). Thus, anti-malaria herbal products (AHPs) or medicines remain alternative choice for the treatment of P. falciparum infections (Khan et al., 2001; WHO, 2002). It is estimated that 65–85% of the world’s population uses herbal medicines as their primary healthcare (WHO, 2000; Barnes, 2003). Although herbal medicines are reported as safe, it is sometimes a hazard to human health (Mukherjee and Wahile, 2006). Cd, As and Pd are generally present in the soil at certain levels, however, accumulation and toxicity of these metals even at low levels makes them potentially hazardous to the plant and animals that consume it in raw or processed form (An, 2004; Rao and KumarMeena, 2011). Agricultural practices and industrial emissions are known to contribute indirectly to herbal product contamination (Adams et al., 2004; Garret, 2000; Pip, 1991; Street, 2012; Yusuf et al., 2003). The WHO regulation on the maximum permissible limits of As, Cd, and Pb are 1.0, 0.3, and 10 ppm, respectively (WHO, 1989, 1998). Although malaria pa- tients in Ghana claim to be cured after consuming dosage forms of AHP (coded as NIB, MDM, HEB and KFE) accumulation of these toxic elements may affect normal functions of organs and central nervous systems (ATSDR, 1999; Iwu et al., 1999). Interestingly, information on these elements in ready-to-use aqueous based AHP in Ghana remains unavailable, despite an interest by WHO to monitor levels of such toxic elements in herbal products. Recent report by Annan et al. (2010) and Serfor-Armah et al. (2002) in Ghana focused on toxic elements in raw plants and not finished herbal products. Therefore in this work, the present level of Cd, As and Pb in ready-to-use aqueous based AHP is determined. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Reagents and chemicals All chemicals used were of analytical and ACS grade. Nitric acid and sodium hydroxide were purchased from Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO USA. 0278-6915/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2013.01.049 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +233 546787655. E-mail addresses: aaffum1@hotmail.com (A.O. Affum), dedehosae@fastmail.fm (D.O. Shiloh), d.adomako@gaecgh.org (D. Adomako). Food and Chemical Toxicology 56 (2013) 131–135 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food and Chemical Toxicology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchemtox