New ICP-MS Systems Help Ensure Safety of Chinese Herbal Medicines

PerkinElmer (USA) announce that the Company’s Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) technology can help insure that traditional Chinese herbal medicines comply with safety guidelines.

This capability is demonstrated by a recent collaboration with food and drug institute in China, highlighted via the following linked application note.

Amid concerns that traditional herbal ingredients may contain potentially toxic contaminants, PerkinElmer’s broad portfolio of high performance analytical solutions are well suited for the safety and quality testing of traditional Chinese herbal medicines. PerkinElmer’s ICP-MS systems, such as the ELAN 9000, offer exceptional analytical sensitivity and accuracy and feature superior detection capacity.

A popular choice of alternative therapy or health care, traditional Chinese herbal medicines are generally perceived by consumers as being natural and having few side-effects. Due to the complexity of the medicinal plants, their inherent biological variation and environmental influences, including water sources, soil conditions, fertilizers and manufacturing processes, it is essential to evaluate the safety, efficacy and quality of these herbal ingredients to ensure consumer safety.

Awareness of the potential for contamination has led to the increased demand for quantitative evaluation of inorganic impurities. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2010 (CP 2010) guidelines, due to take effect later this year, will set legal limitations on the levels of certain critical elements, including lead and arsenic, in medicinal products intended for frequent use by infants and the elderly. PerkinElmer’s range of ELAN ICP-MS instruments, as well as the new NexION 300 ICP-MS offering, which both combine superior detection limits with ease of use and high sample throughput, can help to assess traditional Chinese herbal ingredients for CP 2010 compliance.

Designed for the quantification of elemental isotopic concentrations and ratios, PerkinElmer’s ELAN ICP-MS range offers multi-element capacity, allowing the detection of multiple analytes per sample to enable quicker analysis. Operating at or below the parts-per-trillion detection range, ELAN ICP-MS systems can provide the levels of sensitivity and reproducibility necessary for the accurate determination of the inorganic profile of Chinese herbal medicines.