Toxicity of Chinese herbs due to farming practices in China

In the past few years there has been a lot of publicity regarding the risk of using Chinese herbal medicine due to the high use of chemicals in Chinese farming practices. The TGA is an Australian regulatory body that screens for these chemical agents and thus drives the price of herbs up dramatically. One result is that some products are no longer available to our industry due to the exorbitant cost loading. While it is important to monitor these practices, I do find it curious that we don't scrutinise the Australian farming practices and the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, steroids and antibiotics. Especially since people consume more food each day than they do herbs. I believe it is still a question of the devil we know, as it is too easy to criticise cultures we are not familiar with, especially if the standards are not as high and transparent as our own. China is definitely a good example. Regardless, it is important to look at the facts. DDT and round-up are but a few good examples of our own foolish demise. A recent study in China has demonstrated that the traditional herbal processing methods have a positive effect of removing chemical residues, up to 98%. The information found below provides more details from one such study.

Extract

Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis

Behaviour of pesticides and their metabolites in traditional Chinese medicine Paeoniae Radix Alba during processing and associated health risk

TCM processing could be useful for the partial removal of several pesticide residues, with removal rate reaching 98%. A drying time of 1–9 h and temperature of 60 °C are recommended for the post-harvest processing of P. Radix. Behavior of pesticides and their metabolites in traditional Chinese medicine Paeoniae Radix Alba during processing and associated health risk.

Authors Jin-JingXiaoab1Jin-ShengDuanc1XingXuabSheng-NanLiaFanWangaQing-KuiFangabMinLiaoabHai-QunCaoab