Mineral Arsenicals in Traditional Medicines: Orpiment, Realgar, and Arsenolite

@article{Liu2008MineralAI,
  title={Mineral Arsenicals in Traditional Medicines: Orpiment, Realgar, and Arsenolite},
  author={Jie Liu and Yuanfu Lu and Qin Wu and Robert A. Goyer and Michael P. Waalkes},
  journal={Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics},
  year={2008},
  volume={326},
  pages={363 - 368}
}
  • J. Liu, Y. Lu, +2 authors M. Waalkes
  • Published 2008
  • Chemistry, Medicine
  • Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Mineral arsenicals have long been used in traditional medicines for various diseases, yet arsenic can be highly toxic and carcinogenic. Arsenic in traditional medicines typically comes from deliberate addition for therapeutic purposes, mainly in the form of mineral arsenicals, including orpiment (As2S3), realgar (As4S4), and arsenolite (contains arsenic trioxide, As2O3). Inorganic arsenic is now accepted in Western medicine as a first line chemotherapeutic agent against certain hematopoietic… Expand
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Arsenicals are a double-edged sword and are used as therapeutics as well as poisons from time immemorial. Mineral arsenicals such as orpiment (As2S3), realgar (As4S4) and arsenolite (As2O3) have been… Expand
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Chemical forms of metals are important factor in determining their toxicity in traditional medicines, both cinnabar and realgar are much less toxic than well-known mercurial and arsenicals. Expand
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The average daily intake dose (ADD) and hazard quotient (HQ) of arsenic in most of medicines were within the safe limits, while in certain medicines, they exceeded the safe threshold level. Expand
Toxicology Evaluation of Realgar-Containing Niu-Huang-Jie-Du Pian as Compared to Arsenicals in Cell Cultures and in Mice
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Realgar and NHJD are much less toxic than arsenite and arsenate, and the use of total arsenic to evaluate the safety of realgar and realgar-containing NHJD is inappropriate. Expand
Comparative health risk assessment of realgar and NiuHuangJieDu tablets based on tissue arsenic levels after multiple oral administration to rats.
TLDR
NHJDT with co-existing components combination was relatively safe than realgar, but the accumulation of arsenic was still significant after long-term medication, and great attentions should be paid to realgar-containing TCMs to avoid arsenic toxicity caused by arsenic accumulation. Expand
Health risk assessment of arsenic in Realgar and NiuHuangJieDu Tablets based on pharmacokinetic study.
  • Xiao Wu, Shanhu Wu, +4 authors T. Hang
  • Medicine
  • Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements
  • 2018
TLDR
NHJDT significantly reduced the total blood arsenic exposure present in realgar, and the detoxification mechanism might be attributed to herb-herb interactions in NHJ DT, but the accumulation of blood total arsenic was significant due to the long elimination half-life and high accumulation index in both realgar and NHJDT groups. Expand
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