Disposable electrochemical sensor for rapid determination of heavy metals in herbal drugs.

Analysis of herbal drugs and extracts need rapid and affordable methods to assure the quality of products. The application of the electrochemical sensors in the field of quality control of herbal drugs, herbal drug preparations and herbal medicinal products appears very promising, advantageous and alternative to conventional methods due to their inherent specificity, simplicity and for the fast response obtained. This paper presents a proposal about the application of disposable electrochemical sensors associated with electroanalytical instrumentation for the detection of heavy metal analysis in herbal drugs. In particular samples of St. John's wort were analysed applying anodic stripping voltammetry. The content of Cd and Pb were evaluated. The ICP spectroscopy was used as reference method.