The Union Health minister, Anbumani Ramadoss refused to accept that some Ayurvedic drugs manufactured by leading Indian companies contained heavy metals above the permissible limit as reported in a US medical journal.

Based on the information collected from an article in the ‘Journal of the American Medical Association’, the US Food and Drug Administration had recommended the consumers to use caution with Ayurvedic products.

Ramadoss said that government tested the drug samples of these Ayurvedic products and its report found nothing wrong with these products.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha, the minister said, “After the Journal of the American Medical Association article, the government took immediate steps to test the samples in labs accredited by the National Accreditation Board of Laboratories. After examination, it was found that no Indian-exported herbal Ayurvedic medicine contained toxic heavy metals more than the permissible limit.”

The Health minister also informed the House that it has made testing for heavy metals mandatory in all purely herbal Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicines to be exported since January 2006.