Mercury Contents of Medicinal Plants and the Cultivated Soils in Korea

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify transition characteristics of mercury in several selected medicinal plantsand to find the appropriate management for production of safety food. Cultivated soils and medicinal plantswere collected at 29 sites for Angelica gigas (Korean angelica root), 68 sites for Platycodon grandiflorum(Balloon flower), 35 sites for codonopsis lanceolata (Deoduck), 36 sites for Dioscorea batatas (Chinese yam),32 sites for Rehmannia glutinosa (Foxglove), 16 sites for Cnidium officinale makino (cnidium), and 26 sitesfor Astragalus membranaceus (milk vetch root) during the harvest season of 2013. Mercury in the soils andmedicinal roots were analyzed with a Direct Mercury Analyzer. Average content of mercury in soils cultivatedmedicinal plants was 0.023 mg kg-1 (range: from 0.003 to 0.074 mg kg-1) and average content of mercury inmedicinal plants was 0.003 mg kg-1 (range: from 0.001 to 0.011 mg kg-1), indicating that mercury in thesurveyed soils and medicinal plants were not exceeded the Korean regulation.