There have been articles in the LA Times, NY Times and other publications about the presence of heavy metals in some ayurvedic herbal remedies.
I want to assure you that the ayurvedic herbs I use in my practice are not only certified organic and grown in an environmentally sustainable manner but are tested very stringently for heavy metals and other contaminants.
Here are more details, if you're interested:
Testing for botanicals is generally classified into the following four
categories: Microbiologicals, Heavy Metals, Pesticides, and
Identification.
Microbiologicals
My herb source requires microbiological testing and certificates of analysis from all
of its suppliers for every batch of herbs. Testing is done in either
the U.S. or in the U.K., in government regulated labs. The herbs are
tested for the following:
Total Aerobic Microbial Count
Total combined yeast and molds
Coliforms
E. Coli
Salmonella
Test methods used are those specified by the
European Pharmacopoeia, which are in conformity with the tests
specified by the AHPA (American Herbal Products Association) and ANSI
Standard 173. We adhere to the microbiological standards provided by
the AHPA. They are as follows:
Total aerobic microbial count 10^7
Total combined yeast and molds 10^5
Coliform 10^4
E. Coli absent in 1 gm
Salmonella absent in 10 gm
Heavy Metals
My source tests its herbs and products for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury
using independent U.S. laboratories. All of their products are within the
safety guidelines stipulated by the American National Standards
Institute/National Sanitation Foundation International Dietary
Supplement Standard 173 (ANSI 173). The acceptable limits for daily
intake are as follows:
Arsenic content shall not exceed 0.01 milligrams per daily dose (10 micrograms per day)
Cadmium content shall not exceed 0.006 mg/d (6 micrograms per day)
Lead content shall not exceed 0.02 mg/d (20 micrograms per day)
Mercury content shall not exceed 0.02 mg/d (20 micrograms per day)
Pesticides
For an herb to
be certified organic, the farm must be certified to be free from the use
of pesticides, sewage sludge, GMOs and ionizing radiation. My supplier does spot
testing for pesticides in third-party labs to ensure the integrity of
the organic certification of its partner farms.
Some companies
market their herbs as “organic” but unless they are USDA certified by
an accredited certifying agency of the National Organics Program (NOP),
they have not been legally validated as organic. The NOP is the gold
standard in the United States for certified organic materials. All of
my source's organic herbs and products are USDA certified organic
Look for certification and the USDA seal on products labeled "organic."
It's your assurance that the product has been grown and handled without
harmful chemicals and pesticides, in accordance with the USDA’s strict
organic standards.
Identification
My supplier uses the industry-accepted practice of organoleptic testing for the
proper identification of its botanicals. This involves the physical
examination of the herbs using the senses of sight, taste, smell and
touch. Their staff includes recognized experts in the field of ayurvedic
herb identification. In addition, qualified botanists in both India and
Sri Lanka conduct botanical verification of every species grown and
also identify the species at the collection point. They use visual
identification, microscopic identification (involving checking plant
cell structures against pharmacopoeia standards) as well as Thin Layer
Chromatography (TLC) and High Performance Layer Chromatography (HPLC)
to verify that what they are collecting is actually the correct species.
Only on passing these tests do the plants proceed for further cleaning
and drying.
Once dry, the herbs are subjected to tests in accordance with the
Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. This reveals that the levels of
solids, ash content and active ingredients present in the plants
actually conform to the recommended reference ranges.
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