Herbal Decoctions for the Levels of Sulfur Dioxide, Benzopyrene, and Mycotoxin from Traditional Korean Medicine Clinics: A Preliminary Study.

In this study, we investigated whether the levels of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), benzopyrene, and mycotoxins in herbal decoctions in Korea in 2019 were within normal limits. In total, 30 decoctions composed of multi-ingredient traditional herbs were sampled from traditional Korean medicine (TKM) clinics, TKM hospitals, and external herbal dispensaries in 2019. The decoctions were analyzed for SO 2 , benzopyrene, and mycotoxins using 10 samples. SO 2 and benzopyrene were not detected in any of the herbal decoctions. With regard to mycotoxins, aflatoxin B1 was not detected, but B2 was detected in 7 cases (0.00~0.04 ppb), G1 in 13 cases (0.03~0.29 ppb), and G2 in 9 cases (0.02~0.93 ppb). None of these values exceeded the restrictions in prior studies. Thus, we confirm that the amounts of SO 2 , benzopyrene, and mycotoxins in herbal decoctions are at safe levels and provides the basis of establishing safety management criteria for herbal decoctions.