Determination of Pesticide Residues
Even though there are no serious reports of toxicity due to the presence of pesti-
cides and fumigants, it is important that herbs and herbal products are free of
these chemicals or at least are controlled for the absence of unsafe levels [61]. Her-
36 2 Quality Control, Screening, Toxicity, and Regulation of Herbal Drugs
bal drugs are liable to contain pesticide residues, which accumulate from agricul-
tural practices, such as spraying, treatment of soils during cultivation, and admin-
istering of fumigants during storage. However, it may be desirable to test herbal
drugs for broad groups in general, rather than for individual pesticides. Many pes-
ticides contain chlorine in the molecule, which, for example, can be measured by
analysis of total organic chlorine. In an analogous way, insecticides containing
phosphate can be detected by measuring total organic phosphorus.
Samples of herbal material are extracted by a standard procedure, impurities are
removed by partition and/or adsorption, and individual pesticides are measured by
GC, MS, or GC/MS. Some simple procedures have been published by the WHO
[17, 43, 65] and the European Pharamacopoeia has laid down general limits for pes-
ticide residues in medicine
Even though there are no serious reports of toxicity due to the presence of pesti-
cides and fumigants, it is important that herbs and herbal products are free of
these chemicals or at least are controlled for the absence of unsafe levels [61]. Her-
36 2 Quality Control, Screening, Toxicity, and Regulation of Herbal Drugs
bal drugs are liable to contain pesticide residues, which accumulate from agricul-
tural practices, such as spraying, treatment of soils during cultivation, and admin-
istering of fumigants during storage. However, it may be desirable to test herbal
drugs for broad groups in general, rather than for individual pesticides. Many pes-
ticides contain chlorine in the molecule, which, for example, can be measured by
analysis of total organic chlorine. In an analogous way, insecticides containing
phosphate can be detected by measuring total organic phosphorus.
Samples of herbal material are extracted by a standard procedure, impurities are
removed by partition and/or adsorption, and individual pesticides are measured by
GC, MS, or GC/MS. Some simple procedures have been published by the WHO
[17, 43, 65] and the European Pharamacopoeia has laid down general limits for pes-
ticide residues in medicine
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