Impact of minerals in Chinese medicinal herbs and decoctions on kidney function

Kidney function or renal function is essential and depends on the ability of the kidneys to filter the blood. Millions of people around the world suffer from kidney diseases, and these patients will eventually need a form of renal replacement therapy: dialysis or transplantation. Dialysis and kidney transplantation save lives but with great costs, that are becoming a major issue in western countries because they account for a significant proportion of healthcare expenditure. Due to cost constraints, the majority of the people with kidney diseases die in developing countries. Traditional medicine is gaining an increasing share of the public‟s awareness. Studies have documented that about half of the population and many industrialised countries use traditional medicine, and the proportion is as high as eighty percent in many developing countries

Analysis of metals in plant parts of selected Chinese herbs by near infrared spectroscopy

Some of the medicinal herbal products may not be required to demonstrate efficacy, safety or quality. Little is known about the relative safety of medicinal herbs compared to synthetic drug treatments, although, for some medicinal herbs the risk may be less than conventional drugs. The toxic effects may show due to heavy metal poisoning. Measurement of metal content in the herbs by standard conventional wet chemical methods usually re-quires numerous reagents, skilled labor and expensive analytical equipment. The objective of this study, therefore, is to study the ability of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to determine the concentrations of lead and zinc in Chinese herbs. The reference values for the Chinese herbs were ob-tained by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The samples were scanned using a FOSS-NIRSystem (Model 6500) Spectrophotometer from 400-2500 nm. Partial least squares (PLS) and multiple linear regression (MLR) statistics were applied to analyze the data. Coefficient of determination (R2) and Standard error of calibration (SEC) from MLR were Zn (0.74, 0.08), Pb (0.92, 0.04) and from PLS for Zn (0.63, 0.10), Pb (0.90, 0.05), respectively. This preliminary study showed that NIRS is a feasible analytical method for prediction of metal content in various parts of Chinese herbal plants

Determination And Comparison Of Mineral Elements In Traditional Chinese Herbal Formulae At Different Decoction Times Used To Improve Kidney Function - Chemometric Approach

Traditional Chinese herbal formulae Liu wei di huang (LW) (six-ingredient pill with Rehmannia) and Jin gui shen qi wan (JG) (kidney Qi pill from the golden cabinet) were analysed for Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, K and Zn at different decoction intervals by atomic absorption spectroscopy. LW and JG were used to improve the kidney function. JG was higher in all elements than LW. K (1691.29 – 2372.71 mg l-1) was highest in both formulae LW and JG followed by Ca (245.31 – 562.91 mg l-1). Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn and K were highest at 40 min for LW and Fe, Mn, Na and K were highest at 40 min for JG. Chemometrics such as principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and linear discriminate analysis were applied to classify the data and to understand the relation between the elements. Metal intake related to the consumption of decoction has also been studied. Mn made the highest contribution to average daily dietary intakes from the formulae

Evaluation of mineral content of Chinese medicinal herbs used to improve kidney function with chemometrics

Mineral elemental concentrations of 50 Chinese medicinal herbs in acid digests were determined by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The data were subjected to chemometric assessment to understand the association between the elements and to classify the herbal samples. Chemometric techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were used as classification techniques. PCA generated two principal components that explained 62% of the total variance in the data. HCA disclosed two significant groups of samples based on their elemental concentrations

Determination and comparison of mineral elements in traditional Chinese herbal formulae at different decoction times used to improve kidney function - chemometric approach

Traditional Chinese herbal formulae Liu wei di huang (LW) (six-ingredient pill with Rehmannia) and Jin gui shen qi wan (JG) (kidney Qi pill from the golden cabinet) were analysed for Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, K and Zn at different decoction intervals by atomic absorption spectroscopy. LW and JG were used to improve the kidney function. JG was higher in all elements than LW. K (1691.29 – 2372.71 mg l-1) was highest in both formulae LW and JG followed by Ca (245.31 – 562.91 mg l-1). Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn and K were highest at 40 min for LW and Fe, Mn, Na and K were highest at 40 min for JG. Chemometrics such as principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and linear discriminate analysis were applied to classify the data and to understand the relation between the elements. Metal intake related to the consumption of decoction has also been studied. Mn made the highest contribution to average daily dietary intakes from the formulae