Antioxidant value and element content in some tinctures used in medication

Tinctures are almost the oldest medicines and their use is substantial in the medication nowadays as well. The antioxidant values by ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) method and element content by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) were investigated in some tinctures official in the VII. and VIII. Pharmacopoeia Hungarica. The highest FRAP values were found for volatile oil containing Tinctura Aurantii amari epicarpii et mesocarpii, Tinctura Amara and Tinctura Valerianae (764.54 ± 19.90; 757.37 ± 14.46; 826.40 ± 5.89 µmol l⁻¹, respectively). The correlations between the FRAP values and dilution with different alcohol content in Tinctura Chinae, Tinctura Ipecacuanhae normata and Tinctura Strychni were also investigated. Remarkable differences were found between the element concentrations in the different tinctures. The element contents in tinctures are not so high in absolute values nevertheless the presence of essential selenium, zinc, manganese and copper is important since they have key role in the antioxidant system. The common feature of the tinctures seems to be the lithium content. The Ca to Mg concentration ratio was found to be shifted towards magnesium in some of the tinctures that can show a higher Mg absorption which could affect against the proinflammatoric processes in the cases of gastrointestinal diseases.