RELEASE OF SOLUBLE ARSENIC FROM REALGAR IN SIMULATED GASTRIC JUICE

Realgar is a mineral used as traditional Chinese medicine. It is a sulphide of the Realgar Group, containing mainly arsenic disulphide (As2S2). To evaluate the safety intake of this mineral medicine, the soluble arsenic was extracted from pulverised Reaglar samples under conditions that simulated the situation in which the materials stayed in the alimentary tract after swallowing. The content of soluble arsenic in the extracts was determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The Realgar samples were also digested by concentrated nitric acid and its total arsenic content was determined by Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).