Toxicity and risk assessment of mercury exposures from cinnabar and Baizi Yangxin Pills based on pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Baizi Yangxin Pills (BZYXP), a popular cinnabar (α-HgS) contained Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) is widely used in clinical trials. However, mercury is one of the most toxic elements. The adverse effects of cinnabar-containing TCMs have been occasionally reported in recent years, leading to the growing concerns about their toxicity and safety.

[Pharmacokinetics of mercury after oral administration of cinnabaris and Fufang Niuhuang Xiaoyan capsule in rats].

Fufang Niuhuang Xiaoyan capsule was a classical compound prescription with the efficacy of heat-clearing, detoxification, sedation and anti-inflammation, with cinnabaris as one of its active ingredients. The study focuses on the pharmacokinetics of mercury in rats after oral administration of cinnabaris and Fufang Niuhuang Xiaoyan capsule, in order to explore the effect of combined traditional Chinese medicines on mercury metabolism. In this study, the method of nitric-perchloric acid digestion system coupled with cold atomic-atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (CV-AFS) was adopted to accurately determine mercury in whole blood of rats.