Simultaneous Quantification of 30 Elements in the Mineral Chinese Medicine Quartz Album by ICP-MS for the Identification of Different Geogenesis

Abstract

Background Quartz album is one of the mineral drugs commonly used in Chinese medicine. Different geogenesis of Quartz album led to differences in its composition and thus affected its clinical efficacy. Mineral Chinese medicines are mainly composed of inorganic elements, including some heavy metals and harmful elements, so their quality control is crucial to their clinical safety. Materials and Methods In this study, the contents of 30 elements in 13 batches Quartz album of different origins were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Multiple elements and chemometrics were used to distinguish its different geogenesis. Results We found that the top elements in order of content were as follows: Al>Fe>Ca>K>Mg>Ti>Mn, all with content greater than 100 µg/g. In addition, the contents ranges of Pb, Cd, As, Hg, and Cu were 1.603–637.705, 0.011–1.387, 0.348–41.298, 0.033–10.877, and 0.808–86.482 µg/g, respectively. Quartz albums produced in Fengyang County, Anhui Province, had the lowest content of heavy metals. Correlation analysis showed that there was a strong correlation among the elements in the samples. Chemometrics were used to analyze the elemental content, and the results of the different models were found to be consistent and could be used to distinguish between Quartz albums of different geogenesis. Conclusion This study provided a reference for the quality control and safety of the clinical application of Quartz album.