Full article available from the EHP website. I take kelp supplements sometimes, so was interested in this article:
(also, I take many herbal supplements and oppose any control on their sale by the FDA)
Case Report: Potential Arsenic Toxicosis Secondary to Herbal Kelp Supplement
Eric Amster,1 Asheesh Tiwary,2,3 and Marc B. Schenker1
1School of Medicine, and 2School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, USA; 3California Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory System, Davis, California, USA
Abstract Context: Medicinal use of dietary herbal supplements can cause inadvertent arsenic toxicosis.
Case Presentation:
A 54-year-old woman was referred to the University of California, Davis, Occupational Medicine Clinic with a 2-year history of worsening alopecia and memory loss.
She also reported having a rash, increasing fatigue, nausea, and vomiting, disabling her to the point where she could no longer work full-time.
A thorough exposure history revealed that she took daily kelp supplements. A urine sample showed an arsenic level of 83.6 �g/g creatinine (normal is below 50 �g/g creatinine) .
A sample from her kelp supplements contained 8.5 mg/kg (ppm) arsenic. Within weeks of discontinuing the supplements, her symptoms resolved and arsenic blood and urine levels were undetectable.
Discussion:
To evaluate the extent of arsenic contamination in commercially available kelp, we analyzed nine samples randomly obtained from local health food stores.
Eight of the nine samples showed detectable levels of arsenic higher than the Food and Drug Administration tolerance level of 0.5 to 2 ppm for certain food products.
None of the supplements contained information regarding the possibility of contamination with arsenic or other heavy metals.
The 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) has changed the way dietary herbal therapies are marketed and regulated in the United States.
Less regulation of dietary herbal therapies will make inadvertent toxicities a more frequent occurrence.
Relevance to Clinical Practice: Clinicians should be aware of the potential for heavy metal toxicity due to chronic use of dietary herbal supplements. Inquiring about use of dietary supplements is an important element of the medical history.
Key words: arsenic, DSHEA, heavy metal, herbal supplement, kelp, toxicity. Environ Health Perspect 115: 606-608 2007.
Address correspondence to M.B. Schenker, Department of Public Health Sciences, One Shields Ave., TB-168, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616-8638 USA.
The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.
Received 7 July 2006 ; accepted 18 January 2007.
[ 29. April 2007, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: Vermont_Lymie ]
Posted by Foggy (Member # 1584) on :
One would assume Mercury too, as Kelp is a product of the ocean.
Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
Yes, that is a good point! Ideally, I would love to get all my supplements tested (if time and money were unlimited)for heavy metals. I take chlorella (not Biopure's) and I am concerned also about quality control there.