Traditional herbal aphrodisiacs: chemical and microbial contamination, standard analytical techniques, regulation, and mitigation of health impacts.

IF 3 4区环境科学与生态学 Q3 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Pub Date : 2025-06-18 DOI:10.1007/s10661-025-14214-z

Eva Tabuaa Gyamfi, Alfred Kwablah Anim, Michael Ackah, Juliet Attah, Nafisatu Zakaria, Delali Tulasi

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Abstract

The quest for humans to increase, preserve, and/or recapture sexual ability via herbal-based aphrodisiacs continues unabated. However, the quality of some raw materials used in the preparation of herbal aphrodisiacs may be compromised with certain chemicals as well as adulterants. The aim of this review is to provide an insight on these chemical contaminants and adulterants. Several scientific publications and research reports from databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, the Wiley online library, and the Directory of Open Access Journals spanning 1990-2024 were evaluated. A descriptive analysis of articles produced per country and continent was presented, with the USA producing the greatest number of publications. Furthermore, the review revealed some common chemical and microbial contaminants present in some popular herbal aphrodisiacs. The instrumental techniques used to determine the concentrations of some probable contaminants were discussed. The importance of national regulations and suitable recommendations to reduce contamination of herbal products are reiterated in this study. To mitigate the occurrence of contamination in herbal aphrodisiacs, it is imperative for regulatory bodies, particularly those in developing countries, to perform upscale routine monitoring of processing facilities in addition to testing finished products. Producers must undertake mandatory formal training and be licenced to incorporate quality assurance/quality control protocols during production.

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传统草药春药：化学和微生物污染，标准分析技术，法规和减轻健康影响。

人类通过以草药为基础的催情药来增加、保存和/或重新获得性能力的追求有增无减。然而，用于制备草药催情药的一些原料的质量可能会受到某些化学品和掺假物的影响。本文综述的目的是提供这些化学污染物和掺假的见解。对来自Scopus、Web of Science、PubMed、Wiley在线图书馆和开放获取期刊目录等数据库的一些科学出版物和研究报告进行了评估。对每个国家和各大洲发表的文章进行了描述性分析，其中美国发表的出版物数量最多。此外，回顾揭示了一些常见的化学和微生物污染物存在于一些流行的草药壮阳药。讨论了用于测定某些可能污染物浓度的仪器技术。本研究重申了国家法规和适当建议的重要性，以减少草药产品的污染。为了减少草药春药污染的发生，监管机构，特别是发展中国家的监管机构，除了对成品进行检测外，还必须对加工设施进行高级常规监测。生产商必须接受强制性的正式培训，并获得在生产过程中纳入质量保证/质量控制协议的许可。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

6.70%

发文量

1000

审稿时长

7.3 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Monitoring and Assessment emphasizes technical developments and data arising from environmental monitoring and assessment, the use of scientific principles in the design of monitoring systems at the local, regional and global scales, and the use of monitoring data in assessing the consequences of natural resource management actions and pollution risks to man and the environment.