Rasa shastra, the follow of adding metals, minerals or gems to herbs, could have nephrotoxic serious metals like lead, mercury and arsenic. Adverse reactions to herbs owing to their medicine are represented in ancient ayurvedic texts; however ayurvedic practitioners are reluctant to admit that herbs might be nephrotoxic which reliable data on seasoner toxicity isn't promptly accessible. And there's communication gap between fashionable drugs practitioners and Ayurvedic practitioners.

According to a 1990 study on ayurvedic medicines in Republic of India, forty one p.c of the merchandise tested contained arsenic, and sixty four p.c contained lead and mercury. A twenty04 study found nephrotoxic levels of serious metals in 20 p.c of ayurvedic preparations created in South Asia and sold  within the Beantown space, and complete that ayurvedic merchandise exhibit serious health risks and will be tested for heavy-metal contamination.

A twenty08 study of over 230 merchandise found that about 20 p.c of remedies (and forty p.c of rasa shastra medicines) purchased over the net from each America and Indian suppliers contained lead, mercury or arsenic In 2012 the U.S. Centers for unwellness management and interference (CDC) declared that Ayurvedic medication are coupled to steer poisoning on the premise of some cases wherever pregnant ladies had taken Ayurvedic medication and nephrotoxic materials were found in their blood.

Ayurvedic proponents believe that the toxicity of those materials is reduced through purification processes like samskaras or shodhanas (for metals), the same as the Chinese pao zhi, though the ayurvedic technique is a lot of advanced and should involve prayers likewise as physical pharmacy techniques. However, this merchandise has however caused severe plumbism and different nephrotoxic effects.


Due to these considerations, the govt. of Republic of India dominated that ayurvedic merchandise should specify their metallike content directly on the labels of the merchandise, but, writing on the topic for Current Science, a publication of the Indian Academy of Sciences, M. S. Valiathan noted that "the absence of post-market police investigation and also the scarceness of take a look at laboratory facilities [in India] create the standard management of Ayurvedic medicines extremely tough at this point.