02342nas a2200217 4500008004100000245010900041210006900150260001600219300001300235490000600248520164400254653002701898653001701925653002101942653001301963100001601976700002101992700002302013700002002036856006802056 2013 eng d00aThe Heavy Metal Contents of Some Selected Medicinal Plants Sampled from Different Geographical Locations0 aHeavy Metal Contents of Some Selected Medicinal Plants Sampled f cApril 2013 a 103-1080 v53 a

Background: The levels of 5 minerals namely; lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and aluminum were assessed in 10 medicinal plants sampled from 5 different geographical locations to determine the effect of location on the plants' mineral content. Materials and Methods: Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (wet digestion) was used for the analyzes, and content of the minerals per sample was expressed as μg/g. The levels of minerals were compared to their limit specification for herbs and daily total intake of these minerals. A two-way analysis of variance, which tends to look at the effect of the location and the medicinal plant itself on the plants mineral content, was used in the statistical analysis. Results: Lead (Pb) was present in all plant species examined, except Ocimum gratissimum. One plant exceeded the maximum safety limit for lead. Cadmium was also detected in some of the medicinal plant species (44%) whilst majority were below the detection limit (0.002) representing 56%. 40% of the plant species exceeded the limit for cadmium. Mercury and arsenic in all the plant species were below the detection limit (0.001). Significant variation existed in mineral content for the various locations ( P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: The findings generally suggest the variation in mineral levels for the various locations. Thus, our study has shown that same species of medicinal plants, growing in different environments, accumulates different levels of heavy metals.

10aGeographical Locations10aHeavy metals10aMedicinal plants10aMinerals1 aAnnan, Kofi1 aDickson, Rita, A1 aAmponsah, Isaac, K1 aNooni, Isaac, K uhttps://www.phcogres.com/article/2013/5/2/1041030974-8490110539