Lead in the medicine
While lead and other heavy metals are sometimes found in traces in ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines, there are no checks to ensure that these do not exceed the safe limit for human consumption. In the absence of standardisation of ayurvedic medicines, preparations containing high amounts of toxic elements like lead are being sold in the market. In an effort to bring such facts to the attention of the consumer and to check such practice, the Consumer Education Research Centre (CERC), Ahmedabad, has filed a case against three manufacturers of ayurvedic medicines. According to Manubhai Shah of the CERC the lead content in these preparations exceeded the maximum permissible safe limit for intake of lead prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The case is pending in a consumer court.
| Manufacturer | Weight of a pill | Lead content reported by laboratory (%) | Dose recommended | Lead consumption per week | Recommended maximum limit for lead intake per week |
| Raka Laboratories | 142 mg | 3.734 | 1-2 pills twice daily | 74.67—149.35 mg | 3 mg |
| Swami Atmanand | 57 mg | 3.16 | 1-2 pills twice daily | 25.22—50.43 mg | 3 mg |
| D K Sandhu | 167 mg | 5.63 | No dosage recommended | — | 3 mg |
| SOURCE: Consumer Education Research Centre, Ahmedabad | |||||
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