Speaking as a chemist, I'm worried nearly not at all about the detection of cadmium or lead in herbals at microgram levels - hell, they're at levels like that in dirt and in home-grown tomatos. What concerns me, to echo several comments above, is either 1) the presence of toxic levels of the chemicals that the herb in question synthesizes in nature, or 2) the absence of anything useful in the bottle of gimmeweed extract pills, or 3) the complete lack of a mechanism to tell if you have 1), 2), or something in between in your purchase.
There's a reason that an aspirin tablet contains 325 mg of acetylsalicylic acid: that, or twice that, is enough, but not too much, for your typical adult. Buz, how much willow bark does it take to get a proper dose of salicylate? Which species of willow? What time of year was the bark harvested? Did the tree grow in Vermont or in Louisiana, or was it northern Vietnam?
And where is the most kindergarten of studies that shows that "saw palmetto promotes prostate health", for one example? Is there any study beyond ""my uncle took it and never had prostate trouble?"
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