Inorganic analysis of herbal drugs, Part I: Metal determination in herbal drugs originating from medicinal plants of the family Lamiacae

Abstract

Elemental profiles of the total analyte content of major, minor and trace elements (Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, K, Ca, Mg, Al, Ba and B) in 8 herbal drugs, originating from medicinal plants of the family Lamiacae, were determined. Flame atomic absorption/ emission spectroscopy (FAAS/FAES), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) were applied, and the advantages and limitations of these techniques are also discussed. The whole procedure, from sample preparation via dissolution to the actual measurements, was validated by using CRM (NIST 1573a - Tomato leaves). The recovery values obtained were in the range 90.64 - 101.58 %. A high degree of similarity in their elemental profiles was noticed from the results of qualitative analysis, while quantitative analysis shows significant diversity due to the variety of the influencing sources. The medicinal plants investigated in this work contained Cu (5.92- 14.79 mg kg-1), Zn (15.0 - 43.0 mg kg-1), Mn (25 - 111 mg kg-1), Fe (74 - 546 mg kg-1), K (1.80 - 6.24 %), Ca (0.90 - 1.43 %), Mg (0.17 - 0.67 %), Al (49 - 378 mg kg-1), Ba (15.53 - 69.84 mg kg-1) and B (34.7 - 56.5 mg kg-1).

Određeni su profili elemenata, izraženi kao ukupan sadržaj glavnih komponenti i tragova (Cu, Zn,Mn, Fe,K,Ca, Mg,Al, Ba i B) u 8 biljnih droga, dobijenih iz biljaka familije Lamiacae. U analizi su primenjene metode: plamena atomska apsorpciona/ emisiona spektroskopija, atomska emisiona spektroskopija sa induktivno spregnutom plazmom i fluorescentna rendgenska analiza sa disperzijom energije. Diskutovane su prednosti i ograničenja primenjenih metoda analize. Metodološki postupak od pripreme uzoraka, do merenja proveren je i potvrđen primenom sertifikovanog standardnog materijala (NIST 1573a - Tomato leaves). Statističkom obradom rezultata dobijeni su procenti prinosa u opsegu 90.64 - 101.58 %. Rezultati kvalitativne analize ukazuju na veliki stepen sličnosti u sastavu neorganskih analita. Kvantitativnom analizom određen je sadržaj 10 elemenata i uočena različitost koncentracionih profila. Analizirane biljne droge sadrže: Cu (5.92 - 14.79 mg kg-1), Zn (15.0 - 43.0mg kg-1), Mn (25 - 111 mg kg-1), Fe (74 - 546 mg kg-1), K (1.80 - 6.24 %), Ca (0.90 - 1.43 %), Mg (0.17 - 0.67 %), Al (49 - 378 mg kg-1), Ba (15.53 - 69.84 mg kg-1) and B (34.7 - 56.5mg kg -1).