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Assessment of Heavy Metals Content in Some Medicinal Plants and Spices Commonly Used in Romania

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Overview

Marinescu et al. measured arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), Cu, Fe, mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) in 42 samples of 12 commonly used medicinal plant and spice species from Romania, comparing wild-collected (spontaneous flora) specimens against packaged commercial products. The main findings were: (1) Pb exceeded the EU limit of 0.3 mg/kg in samples of yarrow (Achillea millefolium), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), peppermint (Mentha piperita), basil (Ocimum basilicum), marjoram (Origanum majorana), and linden (Tilia cordata); (2) Hg exceeded 0.1 mg/kg in wild-collected linden and in packaged oregano (Origanum vulgare) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris); (3) As, Cd, Cu, and Fe were within permissible limits across all 42 samples.

No Cuminum cyminum (cumin) samples were included. The six spice species studied are all leaf or herb-type botanical spices (parsley, basil, marjoram, savory, thyme, peppermint), not seed spices.

Key numbers

Summary by analyte:

  • Pb: range <0.01 to values exceeding 0.3 mg/kg EU ML in spices (Table IV); exceedances in basil, marjoram, peppermint (all from at least one packaged source or wild sample)
  • Cd: range <0.01 to <0.08 mg/kg across spices (Table IV); no exceedances
  • As: range <0.01 to 0.78 mg/kg in spices; maximum in packaged parsley (Petroselinum crispum); no reported exceedances
  • Hg: reported within permissible levels for most spices; Origanum vulgare (packaged) and Thymus vulgaris (packaged) above 0.1 mg/kg Hg; Mentha piperita samples did not contain Hg
  • Cu: range 4 to 24 mg/kg across analyzed spices
  • Fe: concentration data not explicitly extracted from tabular text at the precision needed for numeric synthesis

Specific values in spices (selected, from Table IV, as interpreted from text):

  • As in spices: <0.01 to 0.78 mg/kg; highest in packaged parsley
  • Pb in spices: 0.11 to values exceeding 0.3 mg/kg; specified exceedances in basil, marjoram, peppermint, possibly others
  • Hg in Origanum vulgare and Thymus vulgaris packaged: >0.1 mg/kg

The Cu concentration range 4-24 mg/kg in spices is consistent with other European herb/spice studies.

Methods (brief)

Plant material: 42 samples from 12 species. Wild (spontaneous flora) and packaged (indigenous producers or local suppliers) specimens both included. Digestion: 65% HNO3 and 30% H2O2. Analysis: GF-AAS (SpectrAA240Z with GTA120 furnace, Varian, Netherlands) for As, Cd, and Pb at the graphite furnace; FAAS for Cu and Fe; cold-vapor AAS for Hg. Four determinations per sample; mean and SD reported. LODs for Pb and Cd not explicitly stated in available text.

Implications

Certification: Useful as a European (Romania) baseline for Pb and Hg occurrence in dried leaf-type herbs and spices. Pb exceedances above the EU 0.3 mg/kg ML in several common culinary herbs (peppermint, basil, marjoram) are consistent with the broader European literature showing that wild-collected or inadequately monitored herbs carry higher metal loads than certified commercial products.

Courses: Illustrates the wild vs. packaged contrast for herb contamination and the utility of EU regulatory limits as quality benchmarks.

App: No cumin, no seed spice, and no high-contamination cumin matrix represented. Use for herb-category evidence only, not for cumin-specific routing.

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