Estimation of Metals in Different Medicinal Plants from Marathwada region

 

Ghumare Pramila¹, Jirekar D. B.¹, MazaharFarooqui², Naikwade S. D.³

¹Anandrao Dhonde Alias Babaji Mahavidyalaya Kada. Dist. Beed. India

²Dr. Rafiq Zakeria College for Women, Aurangabad. India

³Mrs. K. S. K. College, Beed. India

*Corresponding Author E-mail: mazahar_64@rediffmail.com

The present study was conducted to determine the concentration of heavy metals in some selected medicinal plants taken from Mahadeo dara, District Beed, India. Essential heavy metals such as  Fe,  Cu, Ni and Cr  were investigated in leaves of Feronia limonia, Bauhinia racemosa, Pongamia pinnata, Dalbeagia sissoo, Terminalia arjuna, Ailanthus excelsa, Morinda tinctoria, Moringa oleifera, Cordia dichotoma by using inductive coupling plasma spectroscopy. Plants showed different metal concentration in the range of: 721.5-14481.4 ppm for Fe, 26.5-300 ppm for Cu, 6.7-638.9 ppm for Ni, 0.6-10 ppm for Co. High contents of Fe and Cu were found in all nine plants. Other heavy metals were present in low quantity. The purpose of this study was to identify each type of metal associated with a given plants and also to highlight the heavy metals present in these plants.         

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Medicinal plants are worldwide used in various disciplines of health care systems such as herbal, Ayurvedic, Unani and homeopathic systems of medicines in the form of herbs and standardized extracts. According to the advanced researches it has been suggested that plants contain secondary metabolites which are not only contain toxic substances (alkaloids), but they are also contaminated with environmental pollutants specially heavy metals, which are very dangerous to all living organisms upon long term exposures^1-2. Heavy metals are classified in two main categories i.e.essential and non essential heavy metals.

 

Essential heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Zn, Fe, and Co) are present in very little concentration in the body for the proper functioning of enzyme systems, vitamin synthesis and hemoglobin formation in men and also required for the growth, development and photosynthesis in plants. On the other hand toxic metals (Pb, As, Cd and Hg) are not needed to perform specific function in the body and they have deleterious effects even at very low concentrations^3-4. According to the advanced research which has shown that crude extract of herbal origin can prove fatal for the health because these drugs may contain toxic metabolites. Some trace elements which cause damages to health⁵.

 

Some heavy metals are needed by the body in very low concentration for proper functioning to synthesis various biomolecules inside the body. Due to their minor side effects, the medicinal plants are widely used to treat many human diseases^6-7. The human body needs a number of minerals in order to maintain good health^8-9. Macro- and microelements influence biochemical processes in the human organism. Active constituents of medicinal plants i.e. metabolic products of plant cells and a number of mineral elements play an important role in the metabolism¹⁰. Some mineral elements remain chelated with organic ligands and make them bioavailable to the body system¹¹. Vartika and co-workers concluded that the medicinal values of some plant species used in homoepathic system¹² may be due to the presence of Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, K and Zn. These elements also take part in neurochemical transmission and serve as constituents of biological molecules and in a variety of different metabolic processes¹³. Determination of mineral elements in plants is very important since the quality of many foods and medicines depends upon the content and type of minerals¹⁴.

 

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees. They are typically characterized by their green colour, which include common groups such as trees, herbs, flowers and fern and algae. The active ingredients are the main effective compounds of medicinal plants, the presence and quality vary from one plant to the other. Some plants contain significant amount of minerals, the presence and quantity depend on plant family, history and phytochemical properties of the plant¹⁵. It has been found that many plants irrespective of their parts have medicinal usages¹⁶. So many medicinal plants have been used by traditional medicine practitioners in Nigeria for the treatment of different diseases. Among the various evidence revealing that medicinal and culinary herbs have some endemic species, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and phytochemical which decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases and some forms of cancer are of particular interest¹⁷.

 

Malnutrition is of major concern for many tropical developing countries. Deficiency or excess of elements may cause a number of disorders. For example, Iron deficiency anemia affects one third of the world population^18-19. Low levels of Zn can induce the pathogenesis of lung cancer ²⁰. Breast cancer patients had low levels of Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn in their hair²¹. Therefore, it is of major interest to establish the levels of some metallic elements in common used plants because, at elevated levels, these metals could be dangerous and toxic^22-23.

 

Determination of metals in medicinal plants is a part of quality control to establish their purity, safety and efficacy according to the World Health Organization (WHO) ²⁴. Most of the medicinal plants were used after soaking in water and thus only this water extract is taken for the cure of disease. However, some are taken as a whole in the form of powder mixed with milk, honey and yoghurt or eaten as a fruit.  So this study aimed to determine the concentration of some elements in selected medicinal plants extensively used in the preparation of  products.

 

MATERIAL AND METHOD:

The fresh leaves of Feronia limonia, Bauhinia racemosa, Pongamia pinnata, Dalbeagia sissoo, Terminalia arjuna, Ailanthus excelsa, Morinda tinctoria, Moringa oleifera, Cordia dichotoma are collected from Mahadeo dara, District Beed.  The fresh leaves were dried under shade, powdered and pass through 40 mesh sieve and stored in closed bottle for further use. Specified weight of powdered plant sample was taken in china dish for heating in an oven at 110⁰C for several hours to remove moisture. Then the moisture free sample was placed in furnace. The furnace temperature was gradually increased from room temperature to 600⁰C in 1 hour. The sample was ashed for about 5 hours until a grey or white ash residue was obtained.  The samples were send to Dr. Baldeo Singh  Senior Scientist  Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR), Jamu-Tawi for metal content. The metal present in sample were detected by inductive coupling plasma spectroscopy which is superior to double atomic absorption spectroscopy.

 

RESULT AND DISCUSSION:

Selected plants its family, parts used and its medicinal uses were shown in Table.1. Metal content of Feronia limonia has been determined using induced coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP) at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR Lab.) Jammu. It shows (Table.1) presence of nickel, copper, cobalt and iron in the order of metal content as Fe > Cu > Ni > Co. The contents of nickel, copper, cobalt and iron was found to be 7.1 ppm, 26.5  ppm, 0.6 ppm and 721.5 ppm respectively. In Bauhinia racemosa the trend in metal was found to be Fe > Cu > Ni > Co. It contents nickel 91.4 ppm, copper 300 ppm, cobalt 10 ppm and iron 14481.4 ppm. These values are found to be higher compaired to plant Feronia limonia. It was found that nickel is 43.3 ppm, copper is 83.9 ppm, cobalt is 1.4 ppm and iron is 2135.0 ppm in Pongamia pinnata. The observed trend was Fe > Cu > Ni > Co. This was same as Feronia limonia and Bauhinia racemosa. Dalbergia sissoo was tested for nickel, copper, cobalt and iron. It was found that nickel is 43.3 ppm, copper is 83.9 ppm, cobalt is 1.4 ppm and iron is 2135.0 ppm. The similar trend was observed Fe > Cu > Ni > Co. Terminalia arjuna shows presence of nickel, copper, cobalt and iron. Nickel is 638.9 ppm, copper is 116.9 ppm, cobalt is 3.2 ppm and iron is 3097.6 ppm is present in the sample. The trend is Fe > Ni > Cu > Co. However, the amount of iron present is found to be very high compaired to other samples. At the same time amount of nickel is appreciably higher than copper. Ailanthus excelsa was tested for quantitative determination of nickel, copper, cobalt and iron. It was observed that the presence of nickel is 6.7 ppm, copper is 34.9 ppm, cobalt is 2.2 ppm and iron is 3634.5 ppm. The trend can be given as Fe > Cu > Ni > Co. This sample shows high concentration of iron in it. Morinda tinctoria evaluated for nickel, copper, cobalt and iron content. It shows 20.0 ppm of nickel, 82.6 ppm of copper, 4.1 ppm of cobalt and 8154.9 ppm of iron. The trend is similar as earlier Fe > Cu > Ni > Co. The highest concentration of iron was observed in Morinda tinctoria. Moringa oleifera when screened for presence of nickel, copper, cobalt and iron. It was found that concentration of these metals are nickel 8.5 ppm, copper 39.5 ppm, cobalt 2.7 ppm and iron 4306.8 ppm. The trend is Fe > Cu > Ni > Co. Cordia dichotama content of nickel is 14.7 ppm, copper is 114.7 ppm, cobalt is 2.1 ppm and iron is 3255.9 ppm when tested by ICP Spectroscopy. The trend is Fe > Cu > Ni > Co.

 

 

Table .1 : Showing Name of plant, Family, Parts used and its Medicinal uses.

Sr.No.	Sample Name	Family	Parts used	Medicinal uses
1	Feronia limonia	Rutaceae	Fruit Leaves	Dysentery, heart diseases, vomiting, blood impurities, liver diseases, diarrhea.
2	Bauhiniaracemosa	Caesalpiniaceae	Bark	Cuts and wounds, skin diseases, dysentery, diarrhea.
3	Pongamia pinnata	Leguminoceae	Leaves	Cold, cough, diarrhoea, dyspepsia, gonorrhoea and leprosy.
4	Dalbergia sissoo	Fabaceae	Leaves , Bark	Jaundice, gonorrhea and leprosy.
5	Terminalia arjuna	Combretaceae	Fruit Leaves	Ulcers, leucorrhoea, diabetes, cough, asthma, inflammation and skin disorders.
6	Ailanthus excelsa	Simaroubaceae	Bark Root	Diarrhoea, dysentery, gonorrhea epilepsy, tape warm infestation and high blood pressure.
7	Morinda tinctoria	Rubiaceae	Fruit	Arthritis, cancer, gastric ulcer and  heart diseases.
8	Moringa oleifera	Moringaceae	Root	Diabetes, nervous debility, asthma.
9	Cordia dichotoma	Boraginaceae	Bark	Dyspepsia, mouth ulcers, fever, abscesses and tumors.

 

Table .2 : Metal content of different plant material.

 

 

REFERENCES:

1      Lasisi A.A., Ejelonu B.C., Nwosu F.O., Olayiwola M.A. and Yusuff A.A., Heavy metals and  macronutrients contents in selected herbal plants of south-western Nigeria, Hamdard Medicus,  XLIX(4), 2006:71-76.

2      Abu-Darwish M.S., Abu-Dieyeh Z.H., Mufeed B, Al- Tawaha ARM, Al-Dalain SYA, Trace element contents and essential oil yields from wild thyme plants (Thymus serpyllum L.) grown at different natural variable environments, Jordan. J. Food Agr. Environ., 7(4),2009: 920-924.

3      Friberg L, Nordbergs G.F., and Vouk V.B.,  Hand book on the toxicology of metals 2nd ed. , Amsterdam, Oxford:Elsevier Science Publishers BV, New York,2,1986:43.

4      Islam E, Yang X, He Z and Mahmood Q. Assessing potential dietary toxicity of Heavy metals in selected vegetables and food crops. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci., 8(1),2007 1-13.

5      Singh V and Garg A.N., Availability of essential trace elements in Indian cereals, vegetables, and spices using INAA and the contribution of spices to daily dietary intake. Food Chem.,  94 (1), 2006:81-89.

6      Basgel, S. and Erdemoğlu, S. B., Determination of mineral and trace elements in some medicinal herbs and their infusions consumed in Turkey, Sci. Total Environ, 359,2006: 82-89.

7      Nafiu, M.O., Akanji, M.A. and Yakubu, M.T., Phytochemical and mineral  of Cochlospermum planchonii (Hook. Ef. x Planch) root, Bioresearch Bull, 5,2011: 342-347.

8      Ajasa, A. M.O., Bello, M.O., Ibrahim, A. O., Ogunwande, I. A. and Olawore, N. O.,  Heavy trace metals and macronutrients status in herbal plants of Nigeria. Food Chem, 85,2004: 67–71.

9      Balaji, T., Acharya, R. N., Nair, A. G. C., Reddy, A. V. R., Rao, K.S., Naidu, G. R. K. and Manohar, S. B., Determination of essential elements in Ayurvedic medicinal leaves by k0 standardized instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. J Radioanal Nucl Chem, 243,2000: 783-788.

10    Kolasani, A., Xu, H. and Millikan, M., Evaluation of mineral content of Chinese medicinal herbs used to improve kidney function with chemometrics. Food Chem., 127,2011: 1465-1471.

11    Choudhury, R. P. and Garg, A. N., Variation in essential, trace and toxic elemental contents in Murraya koenigii – A spice and medicinal herb from different Indian states. Food Chem. 104,2007: 1454-1463.

12    Vartika, R., Poonam, K., Sayyada, K., Rawat, A. K. S. and Shanta, M., Heavy metal accumulation in some herbal drugs. Pharm. Biol., 39,2001: 384-387.

13    Mayer, M. L. and Vyklicky, L., The action of zinc on synaptic transmission of mouse neuronal excitability in culture of mouse hippocampus. J. Physiol., 415,1989: 351-365.

14    Bahadur, A., Chaudhry, Z., Jan, G., Danish, M., Rehman, A. Ahmad, R., Khan, A., Khalid, S., Irfan U., Shah, Z., Ali, F., Mushtaq, T. and Gul Jan, F., Nutritional and elemental analyses of some selected fodder species used in traditional medicine. Afri. J. Pharm. Pharmacol., 5,2011: 1157-1161.

15    P. Houghton, Use of medicinal plants in CNS disorders in Yanniv Z. and U. Bachrach (Eds.) Handbook of medicinal plants, India, (Harworth press, 2007) 234.

16    A. Sofoworola, Medicinal plants and traditional medicine in Africa. (Spectrum Books Ltd., Ibadan, Nigeria, 1993) 289.

17    J. Javanmerdi, C. Stushnoff, E. Lockie, M. Vivanco, Antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of Iranian Ocimum accession, Journal of Food Chem., 83, 2003:547 -550.

18    Kumari, M., Gupta, S., Lakshmi, A., Prakash, J., Iron bioavailability in green leafy vegetables cooked in different utensils. Food Chem., 86,2004: 217-222.

19    Leterme, P., Buldgen, A., Estrada, F. and Londono, A. M., Mineral content of tropical fruits and unconventional foods of the Andes and the rain forest of Colombia. Food Chem.,95,2006: 644-652.

20    Cobanoglu, U., Demir, H., Sayir, F., Duran, M. and Mergan, D., Some mineral, trace element and heavy metal concentrations in lung cancer. Asian Pacific J. Cancer Prev., 11,2010: 1383-1388.

21    Joo, N., Kim, S., Jung, Y. and Kim, K., Hair iron and other minerals’ level in breast cancer patients. Bio Trace Elem Res, 129,2009: 28-35.

22    Schumacher, M., Bosque, M. A., Domingo, J. L. and Corbella, J., Dietary intake of lead and cadmium from foods in Tarragona Province, Spain. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 46,1991: 320-328.

23    Jabeen, S., Shah, M. T., Khan, S. and Hayat, M. Q., Determination of major and trace elements in ten important folk therapeutic plants of Haripur basin, Pakistan. J. Med. Plant Res., 4, 2010: 559-566.

24    WHO, Expert committee on specification for pharmaceuticals preparation. WHO technical report series 823, Report Geneva WHO 32. 1992: 44-52, 75-76. 

 

 

 

 

Received on 27.07.2014         Modified on 12.08.2014

Accepted on 28.11.2014         © AJRC All right reserved