earticle

영어

This study was conducted to monitor aflatoxins in various medicinal herbs, providing available data for the safety of those products. To monitor aflatoxins in medicinal herbs, a total of 400 samples of 40 different herbs were collected in commercial retailers in Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu, and Busan from March to August, 2008. The samples that passed the sensory evaluation were tested for aflatoxins. Aflatoxins in samples were analyzed by HPLCflorescence coupled with photochemical enhancement. Samples were extracted with 70% methanol and then diluted to the appropriate concentration. A refining process was performed using an immunoaffinity column. The analytical method used in this study was validated. The R2 value for aflatoxin B1 was 0.99946, and the detection range was from 0.25 to 10.0 ng/mL. The accuracy of the analysis was ranged from 83.2% to 101.8%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) in the aflatoxin B1 analysis was 3.4%, demonstrating the precision of this method. In addition, the detection limit and quantitative analysis limit of aflatoxin B1 was 0.53 μg/kg and 1.76 μg/kg, respectively. These results indicated that the analytical method used in this study was appropriate. The results of HPLC showed that 1% (4 samples) of the samples may contain aflatoxins. The concentration of quantified aflatoxin was 2.3 μg/kg for both Quisqualis fructus and Remotiflori radix samples. The other samples were below the limit of quantification. Moreover, the concentration of aflatoxin B1 which is made by specific fungi were below the level of regulation. Only 20% of aflatoxin B1 were transferred to hot water.
Therefore, the levels of aflatoxins in medicinal herbs were considered to be safe especially considering the aflatoxin transfer ratio.