The aim of this study was to evaluate the inorganic elemental composition (49 elements) of 29 botanical preparations obtained from fruits, leaves, peels, seeds, roots, fungi, and spirulina by using inductively coupled-mass spectrometry and a mercury analyzer. Simultaneously, the risk associated with the chronic dietary exposure to 12 toxic metals and metalloids among the European population was evaluated by using a probabilistic approach based on Monte Carlo simulations. The analysis revealed worrying intake levels of Al, As, and Ni, primarily stemming from the consumption of spirulina-, peel-, and leaf-based botanicals by younger age groups. The intake of As from all analyzed botanicals posed a significant risk for infants, yielding margins of exposure (MOEs) below 1, while those deriving from peel-based botanicals raised concerns across all age groups (MOEs = 0.04–2.3). The consumption of peel-based botanicals contributed substantially (13–130%) also to the tolerable daily intake of Ni for infants, toddlers, and children, while that of spirulina-based botanicals raised concerns related to Al intake also among adults, contributing to 11–176% of the tolerable weekly intake of this element. The findings achieved underscore the importance of implementing a monitoring framework to address chemical contamination of botanicals, thus ensuring their safety for regular consumers.

中文翻译：

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植物制剂的多元素组成以及饮食暴露后有毒金属和类金属摄入的概率评估

本研究的目的是使用电感耦合质谱法和汞分析仪评估从水果、叶子、果皮、种子、根、真菌和螺旋藻中获得的 29 种植物制剂的无机元素成分（49 种元素）。同时，使用基于蒙特卡罗模拟的概率方法评估了欧洲人群长期饮食接触 12 种有毒金属和类金属的相关风险。分析显示，铝、砷和镍的摄入水平令人担忧，这主要源于年轻群体对螺旋藻、果皮和叶子植物药的消费。所有分析的植物药中砷的摄入都会对婴儿构成重大风险，接触边际 (MOE) 低于 1，而来自果皮植物药的砷则引起所有年龄段的担忧 (MOE = 0.04–2.3)。果皮植物药的摄入量也对婴儿、幼儿和儿童每日可耐受的镍摄入量做出了很大贡献（13-130%），而螺旋藻基植物药的摄入量也引起了与成人铝摄入量相关的担忧，导致该元素每周可耐受摄入量的 11–176%。所取得的研究结果强调了实施监测框架来解决植物药化学污染问题的重要性，从而确保普通消费者的安全。