Herbal medicine found with high sulphur levels

Traditional Chinese medicines sold at a well known mainland herbal market contained high levels of sulphur dioxide, posing health risks, state media reported.

A production procedure adopted in the northwestern province of Gansu steamed and smoked common Chinese medication with industrial sulphur to prolong its shelf life, the report said.

The startling discovery was made in an investigation by CCTV's current affairs programme, Economics 30 Minutes, and broadcast this week.

An unidentified herb dealer told CCTV: 'After steaming and smoking with sulphur, the Chinese medicines contain sulphur dioxide, which is harmful to the human body. However, because of the difficulty in preserving the medicines from insects and mould, herb farmers will normally process the herbs with sulphur.'

It has been an ancient practice to process Chinese medicines with a small amount of sulphur, Zhang Yuan, a professor with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine was quoted as saying.

However, the programme found that nowadays herb farmers and dealers added too much industrial sulphur, both to extend shelf life and to improve the look of the herbs.

The television report said the practice was prevalent in Longxi county, which provides 20 per cent of the mainland's total herbal medicines, including 70 per cent of a type of ginseng known as the codonopsis root, or dangshen.