Evaluation of mineral contents of some edible medicinal plants

The contents of macro-(Cd, Al, Pb, Mg, Ca, Na, K) and trace-metals (Cu, Ni, Cr, Fe, Mn) in ten edible medicinal plants have been determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry using a wet digestion method. The overall reproducibility of the method is within +/- 10%. The results indicate large variations in the concentration of metals in plants samples studied. Out of the total contents of metals in these plants, the macro-metals including Cd (0.00024-0.00028%), Pb (0.00032-0.00047%), Mg (0.20-0.54%), Ca (0.32-0.39%), and Al (0.008-1.64%) are present in very low concentrations whereas Na (18.76-38.95%) and K (59.66-78.67%) are present comparatively in very high concentrations. Similarly, the trace elements, Cu (0.0022-0.016%). Cr (0.16-0.44%) and Ni (0.38-0.66%) show the lowest concentration and Mn (2.59-14.50%) and Fe (84.36-96.87%) show the highest concentration which may be toxic to health.