Tong Ren Tang 40 kinds of medicines were exposed to cinnabar

Following the Hong Kong Department of Health's announcement that the recall of mercury (mercury) levels exceeded the standard of “Healthy Wubu Pill”, Beijing Tong Ren Tang was once again exposed to the other two products: Niu Huang Qian Jin San and Xiao Er Zhi Bao Wan’s cinnabar content was 17.3%. And 0.72%, far exceeding international standards. The amount of instructions on the above two drug specifications is super domestic standards and Hong Kong standards.

According to industry sources, of Tongrentang's existing commonly used drugs such as Tingxin, Qingrejiedu, and other commonly used drugs, nearly 40 drugs contain cinnabar. About 30% of drugs available to children contain this ingredient. The main component of cinnabar is mercury sulphide, which has been shown to be highly toxic and has been banned from pharmaceutical use in countries such as the United States and Japan.

However, as a blind formula, mercury is not an ordinary thing. The cinnabar is considered to have a calming effect and is widely used.

It is understood that the draft of the limited standards issued by the State Pharmacopoeia Commission clearly stipulates that “except for minerals, animals, and marine products other than Chinese herbal medicines, mercury should not exceed 1 mg/kg.” However, it is actually difficult to implement it. According to industry sources, from the point of view of product production, since the soil and water source for cultivation of Chinese medicine contain heavy metals, the medicine is likely to have excessive heavy metal content, and unscrupulous traders may also incorporate heavy metal weight gain; during the production process, it may also be due to contact with machinery and equipment. , which leads to the incorporation of heavy metals into medicinal herbs. From the aspect of supervision, due to the lack of inspection technology, staffing, equipment support, and other aspects, the current detection and inspection of heavy metals in Chinese medicines is not in place.