Authors: Rajeev Bhat K Kiran A B Arun A A Karim
Publish Date: 2009/09/16
Volume: 3, Issue: 3, Pages: 181-187
Abstract
Minerals and heavy metal concentrations of 23 plants arial parts leaves bark stem root rhizome dried berries seeds possessing healthpromoting effects and used in indigenous medicines as medicinal food were determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic spectrometry Vital essential minerals and heavy metals were present in all the samples analyzed The majority of the plant materials were rich in some of the essential minerals like Na K Ca Fe Mg Cu Mn and Zn which are known to be beneficial for health The plant material of Vitiveria zizinalis had highest concentration of toxic heavy metals including arsenic 531 mg/100 g chromium 674 mg/100 g cobalt 102 mg/100 g mercury 36 mg/100 g and nickel 328 mg/100 g Results of the present study provide vital data on the availability of some essential minerals which can be useful to provide dietary information for designing valueadded foods and for food biofortification Apart from this data on the contaminant levels of heavy metals highlights the necessity on the quality and safety concerns about their use
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