Study of some Indian medicinal plants by application of INAA and AAS techniques

Ram Lokhande, Pravin Singare, Mahadeo Andhele, Raghunath Acharya

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DOI: 10.4236/ns.2010.21004                

Abstract

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) techniques were used to analyze 18 elements (K, Mn, Na, Fe, Zn, Cu, Co, Br, Sm, Cl, La, Al, Cr, Ca Cd, Ni, Pb and Hg) in different medici-nal plants often used in Indian Ayurvedic system. The samples were irradiated with thermal neutrons in a nuclear reactor and the induced activities were counted by γ-ray spectrometry using efficiency calibrated high resolution High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. Most of the medicinal plants were found to be rich in one or more of the ele-ments under study. The elemental concentra-tion in different part of medicinal plants and their biological effects on human beings are discussed.

Keywords

Instrumental Neutron Activation Analyses; Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy;Medicinal Plants; Trace Elemental Analysis;Inter-Elemental Correlations

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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