الملخص الإنجليزي
The tendency of using weight loss herbal preparations is continuously increasing, espe cially for the widespread consumption of junk food that is characterized by high calories. Weight
loss herbal preparations are considered a type of food supplement product, and, as such, the regu lations governing their quality control might be minimal. These products could be locally formu lated in any country or internationally imported. Being non-controlled products, the herbal weight loss products may contain high levels of elemental impurities that might exceed the permissible
ranges. Moreover, these products contribute to the total daily intake (TDI) of such elements, which
might represent concerns about their potential toxicological danger. In this research, the elemental
contents in such products were investigated. The inductively coupled plasma with optical emission
spectrometer (ICP-OES) was used to determine the levels of 15 elemental contents, namely, Na, K,
Ca, Mg, Al, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, As, Co, Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb. The results showed that seven micro-elements,
namely Cd, Co, Ni, Cr, Pb, Li and Cu, were either not detectable or at a concentration much lower
than their tolerable limits. However, all studied macro-elements (Na, K, Ca and Mg), together with
Fe, were found at considerable, yet safe levels. On the other hand, Mn, Al and As contents showed
perturbing levels in some of the studied products. Finally, a conclusion was highlighted for the
necessity for stricter surveillance of such herbal products.
