Evaluation of a proficiency test on cadmium and lead in herbal material using assigned reference values

This paper presents an international proficiency testing program (APLAC T065) on two trace elements, cadmium and lead, in an herbal sample, Herba Desmodii Styracifolii. The program was registered with a total of 109 laboratories from 42 countries. The assigned reference values of the analytes for performance assessment were provided by the organizers using an accurate gravimetric isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry technique. z-Score was used as the numerical indicator to interpret participants' competence. The between-laboratory variations for cadmium and lead were respectively 18.7% and 19.8% and the consensus values were found to be consistent with the assigned reference values. Twenty-two participants gave at least one unsatisfactory z-score, but the performance of the majority of participants on the analysis of cadmium and lead in herbal matrix was generally good when compared with the assigned reference values.