Fourteen elements(Al,Ca,Fe,K,Mg,Mn,Na,Sr,Zn,V,Ni,Cu,Cd and Pb)in Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae,Radix Platycodonis,Radix Astragali,Radix Paeoniae Alba,Rhizoma Coptidis,Radix Angelicae Sinensis,Rhizoma Phragmitis,Radix Et Rhizoma Glycyrrhizae,Radix Codonopsis,Radix Et Rhizoma Salviae Miltorrhizae,Rhizoma Chuanxiong,Prepared Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii,Prepared Kusnezoff Monkshood Root,Giant Typhonium Rhizome,Aconitum Carichali Debx,Flos Carthami,Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii,and Rhizoma Pinelliae Praeparatum were extracted by water stewing.ICP-OES was used to determine nine elements including Al,Ca,Fe,K,Mg,Mn,Na,Sr and Zn,and contents of V,Ni,Cu,Cd and Pb were determined by ICP-MS.The result showed that concentrations of fourteen elements in each herb or its extracts decreased with the extraction times.Four elements K,Ca,Na,and Mg are not only rich in content,but also extracted easily,such as K and Na with at least 80% extracted.High contents of Fe,Cu,Zn,Mn,V,Ni,Al and Sr as indispensable or possible indispensable elements to human being are not as easily extracted as the four major elements.Toxic elements lead and cadmium are difficult to be extracted,both less than 20% in total soluble in the extract after three times of extraction.
