Abstract

Heavymetal analysis fromTridax procumbens plant powder and effect of regional variation on its copper content using ICP-AES technique

Author(s): Shaikh Shamshul S., Kiran V.Mangaonkar

Most of the herbal medicines analysed for heavy metals, are found to be having higher concentration of one or more elements. Therefore, limit tests of heavy metals are essential for herbal medicines. There is also a need for heavy metal analysis to be an integral part of the standardization of herbal medicines. Tridax procumbens is one of the herbs abundantly found all over India growing wild in the fields as a weed. The use of Tridax procumbens as a wound healing plant was already known, but “Anti-diabetic activity of leaf extract of Tridax procumbens (1); Anti-hepatotoxic and anti-oxidant defence potential of Tridax procumbens (2)” are recently reported. Toxic Heavy metals such as Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Selenium (Se), Arsenic (As) and Mercury (Hg) were analyzed by Inductive Coupled Plasma (ICP) Spectroscopy and Cu metal was studied in detail for regional variation.