Contamination of aflatoxins as threat to the safety of herbal Unani drugs: an overview  

作　　者：Nazish Siddiqui 

机构地区：[1]Department of Ilmul Advia(Unani Pharmacology),Faculty of Unani Medicine,Aligarh Muslim University,Aligarh 202002,U.P.,India

出　　处：《Integrative Medicine Discovery》2024年第31期1-7,共7页

摘　　要：Unani medicine is an oldest system of traditional medicine,where drugs of animal,mineral and herbal origin are used for centuries to cure diseases.Unani remedies are now available not only in drug stores,but also in food stores and super markets.Therefore the efficacy and safety of these drugs is very crucial.One of the most serious risks associated with these remedies is,consumer assumes that they are natural,so they are safe.But biological contamination(bacterial,fungal and insect)of herbal medicines is a serious concern.The Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus are the fungal species that occur naturally,release aflatoxins and is a threat to the natural drugs.The World Health Organization has recommended determination of aflatoxins in natural drugs(Unani)as one of the parameter of their safety studies as Aflatoxin contamination is concerned significantly with health and economic loss affecting humans,animals,and agriculture.Aflatoxin B1 is categorized as a group 1 carcinogen by The International Agency for Research on Cancer that causes a variety of health issues.Thus keeping in mind the deleterious health effects of aflatoxins,here,in this review we have made an attempt to summarize the aflatoxins with respect to their origin,occurrence,structure and properties to generate the awareness among the people dealing mainly with Unani herbal drugs.Besides these their toxicity and effects on health have also been discussed.The analytical methods for their determination and some measures to prevent their contamination are also suggested to improve the efficacy and safety of Unani herbal drugs.

关 键 词：Unani herbal drugs mycotoxins AFLATOXINS safety studies Aspergillus sp. CARCINOGEN 

分 类 号：R288[医药卫生—中药学]