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. 2023 Mar 16;11(3):272.
doi: 10.3390/toxics11030272.

Toxic Elemental Impurities in Herbal Weight Loss Supplements; A Study Using ICP-OES Microwave-Assisted Digestion

Ghanim Al-Thani  1 , Adel Ehab Ibrahim  1   2 , Mohammed Alomairi  1 , Baher I Salman  3 , Mostafa M Hegazy  4 , Ahmed Al-Harrasi  1 , Sami El Deeb  1   5
Affiliations

Toxic Elemental Impurities in Herbal Weight Loss Supplements; A Study Using ICP-OES Microwave-Assisted Digestion

Ghanim Al-Thani et al. Toxics. .

Abstract

The tendency of using weight loss herbal preparations is continuously increasing, especially for the widespread consumption of junk food that is characterized by high calories. Weight loss herbal preparations are considered a type of food supplement product, and, as such, the regulations governing their quality control might be minimal. These products could be locally formulated in any country or internationally imported. Being non-controlled products, the herbal weight-loss products may contain high levels of elemental impurities that might exceed the permissible ranges. Moreover, these products contribute to the total daily intake (TDI) of such elements, which might represent concerns about their potential toxicological danger. In this research, the elemental contents in such products were investigated. The inductively coupled plasma with optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) was used to determine the levels of 15 elemental contents, namely, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Al, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, As, Co, Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb. The results showed that seven micro-elements, namely Cd, Co, Ni, Cr, Pb, Li and Cu, were either not detectable or at a concentration much lower than their tolerable limits. However, all studied macro-elements (Na, K, Ca and Mg), together with Fe, were found at considerable, yet safe levels. On the other hand, Mn, Al and As contents showed perturbing levels in some of the studied products. Finally, a conclusion was highlighted for the necessity for stricter surveillance of such herbal products.

Keywords: ICP-OES; dietary supplements; microwave digestion; trace elements.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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