DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METAL CONTENT IN THE ROOTS OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS BY MICROWAVE PASMA ATOMIC-EMISSION SPECTROMETRY

Author: Natia Tchanturia
Keywords: Medicinal plants, Roots, Heavy metals, Microwave Plasma Atomic-Emission Spectrometry.
Annotation:

Chemical composition of plants depends on their species, stage of development, climatic conditions and other factors of growing. Species of plants play an important role in a distribution of chemical substances (phytoaccumulation, translocation) from soil to plants. We evaluated the concentration of some heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Mn and Fe) in Licorice and Valeriana roots of various origin, which are often used for medicinal purposes. For determination of heavy metal concentrations Microwave Plasma Atomic-Emission Spectrometry was used. The obtained values were compared with the recommendations about permissible limits of heavy metals in medicinal plants set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Concentrations of Zinc, Manganese, Copper and Lead in all samples are within permissible range. Content of Cadmium in one sample exceeds the recommended value (0.3mg/kg). Concentration of Nickel in some samples is above the upper limit (1.5 mg/kg). All analyzed samples contained excessive amount of Iron considering its maximal allowed concentration of 200 mg/kg. Based on our results, it can be concluded that every batch of medicinal plant should be checked for heavy metal contamination before processing it for further pharmaceutical purposes.

Lecture files:

DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METAL CONTENT IN THE ROOTS OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS BY MICROWAVE PASMA ATOMIC-EMISSION SPECTROMETRY [en]
მძიმე მეტალების განსაზღვრა ზოგიერთი სამკურნალო მცენარის ფესვებში მიკროტალღური პლაზმის ატომურ - ემისიური სპექტრომეტრიის გამოყენებით [ka]