Scholarly record

TRENDS IN ACCUMULATION OF METALIC POLLUTANTS IN CERTAIN MEDICINAL PLANTS AND ANALYSIS OF THEIR INFUSION

Andrei Szollosi-Mota, Vasilica Irina Nalboc, Maria Prodan, Sonia Suvar, Iuliana Asimina Toplician

Abstract

Medicinal plants offer diverse health benefits through biological active compounds, anti microbial effects that help treat diseases. Polluants contaminate medicinal plants through polluted soil, water, and air, or poor processing, with different concentrations.Different contributors include industrial emissions, pesticides, irrigation with polluted water, and environmental pollution e.g. Toxic/heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), and chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn) if accumulate above the allowable level, cause harm to the blood’s composition, and vital organs, as well as impaired or diminished central nervous function.This study determines with ICP-OES analytical technic the levels of heavy metals in different medicinal plant samples used : Chamomile (Matricia chamomilla), black and green tea (Camellia sinensis), mint (Mentha), marigold (Calendula officinalis), caraway (Carum carvi), horsetail (Equisetum arvense), field vetch (Galium verun). Studies indicate that while herbal teas are generally recognized as safe, they can contain different levels of heavy metals.Simulating human consumption by dried herbs in boiling water for a specific time (e.g., 10-15 minutes), filtering, and adjusting to a known volume.Heavy metals in herbal infusions are commonly determined using advanced techniques (ICP-OES) for multielement analysis.Medicinal herbs may be easily contaminated during growing and processing. The ability of plants to selectively accumulate essential elements is different for different species and is subjected to certain geochemical characteristics depending on the type of soilHeavy metals have a tendency to accumulate in the food chain.

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