The Assessment of Cadmium Accumulation Factors in Atractylodis japonica

The toxic metal contamination of medicinal plants has been regulatory concern for acquiring the quality of traditional medicines in Korea. The Chinese standards of GTSIEMPP [1] established the maximum cadmium amounts in importing and exporting medicinal plants. But it has been reported that some medicinal plant species have a tendency to accumulate cadmium. The acceptance criteria of heavy metals should be based on knowledge of the plant species, its growth, cultivation and the primary processing. When grown on a cadmium-polluted soil, some medicinal plants, such as Atractylodis japonica, can accumulate considerable amounts (more than 0.3 mg/kg) of cadmium. Cadmium in medicinal plants comes to a large extent from root uptake of cadmium deposited in soil. Uptake of cadmium by plants from soils is primarily dependent on the concentration of cadmium in soil. The transfer of cadmium from soil to the medicinal plants depends on a number of additional factors, such as the type and pH of the soil. Another important source of contamination of soils is the use of fertilizers. We determined the cadmium level in cultivated plants, wild collected plants, the pH of the soil, fertilizers, water for irrigation by ICP-MS. The data showed that Atractylodis japonica cultivated has lower cadmium content than the one wild collected. Organic fertilizer was a dominant factor for soil contamination. It concluded that fertilizer inputs during cultivation should not lead to a progressive rise of cadmium levels in medicinal plants sensitive to cadmium. These results could be used to establish acceptance cadmium limits and GACP guidelines of Atractylodis japonica. References: [1] Green sector standard office of chamber of import and export trade of medical health products in China (2001) Green Trade standards of Importing & Exporting Medicinal Plant & Preparations (WM2-2001)