Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

Dawit Darcha; Abebe Desalegne; Biruk Bezabeh Yimam; Turunesh Debela Jufar

doi:doi:10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14

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Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

Dawit Darcha, Abebe Desalegne, Biruk Bezabeh Yimam, Turunesh Debela Jufar

Published in Modern Chemistry (Volume 10, Issue 3)

Received: 17 August 2022 Accepted: 13 September 2022 Published: 28 September 2022

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Abstract

Although medicinal plants may be produced in polluted soil or water settings, their extracts have long been utilized to treat illnesses affecting the general populace. Many of these herbs are collected and prepared in an unsanitary way by untrained local natural healers and other sellers. As a result, there is a chance that potentially harmful elements from the environment will contaminate the area. In this study, the five most prevalent poisonous heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury) were measured in five medicinal plants used extensively in southwest Ethiopia's Sheka Zone., including Bersama abyssinica, Calpurnia aurea, Croton macrostachyus, Eucalyptus globules, and Solanum incanum. The Tepi district in southwest Ethiopia provided the plant samples, which were then cleaned, dried, disinfected with 0.1% HgCl, digested with 69% HNO₃ and 35% H₂O₂, and then subjected to AAS analysis. According to the study's findings, neither cadmium nor mercury was found in Solanum incanum. Additionally, Bersama abyssinica and Croton macrostachyus also do not contain mercury. Cd (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.6012 ppm), As (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.032 ppm), Hg (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.020 ppm), Cr (0.75 0.18 to 1.32 0.21), and Pb (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.0200 ppm) were the harmful heavy metals with the widest concentration ranges (0.01013 ppm to 0.4012 ppm). The findings demonstrate that while these plant species were below the WHO permitted limits for consumed therapeutic herbs; their usage for disease prevention will not cause heavy metal toxicity and may even be advantageous to users who are deficient in micronutrients.

Published in	Modern Chemistry (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14
Page(s)	93-97
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Spectrophotometer, Heavy Metals, Medicinal Plants

References

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Dawit Darcha, Abebe Desalegne, Biruk Bezabeh Yimam, Turunesh Debela Jufar. (2022). Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Modern Chemistry, 10(3), 93-97. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14

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ACS Style

Dawit Darcha; Abebe Desalegne; Biruk Bezabeh Yimam; Turunesh Debela Jufar. Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Mod. Chem. 2022, 10(3), 93-97. doi: 10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14

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AMA Style

Dawit Darcha, Abebe Desalegne, Biruk Bezabeh Yimam, Turunesh Debela Jufar. Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Mod Chem. 2022;10(3):93-97. doi: 10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14

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@article{10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14,
  author = {Dawit Darcha and Abebe Desalegne and Biruk Bezabeh Yimam and Turunesh Debela Jufar},
  title = {Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia},
  journal = {Modern Chemistry},
  volume = {10},
  number = {3},
  pages = {93-97},
  doi = {10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.mc.20221003.14},
  abstract = {Although medicinal plants may be produced in polluted soil or water settings, their extracts have long been utilized to treat illnesses affecting the general populace. Many of these herbs are collected and prepared in an unsanitary way by untrained local natural healers and other sellers. As a result, there is a chance that potentially harmful elements from the environment will contaminate the area. In this study, the five most prevalent poisonous heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury) were measured in five medicinal plants used extensively in southwest Ethiopia's Sheka Zone., including Bersama abyssinica, Calpurnia aurea, Croton macrostachyus, Eucalyptus globules, and Solanum incanum. The Tepi district in southwest Ethiopia provided the plant samples, which were then cleaned, dried, disinfected with 0.1% HgCl, digested with 69% HNO3 and 35% H2O2, and then subjected to AAS analysis. According to the study's findings, neither cadmium nor mercury was found in Solanum incanum. Additionally, Bersama abyssinica and Croton macrostachyus also do not contain mercury. Cd (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.6012 ppm), As (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.032 ppm), Hg (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.020 ppm), Cr (0.75 0.18 to 1.32 0.21), and Pb (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.0200 ppm) were the harmful heavy metals with the widest concentration ranges (0.01013 ppm to 0.4012 ppm). The findings demonstrate that while these plant species were below the WHO permitted limits for consumed therapeutic herbs; their usage for disease prevention will not cause heavy metal toxicity and may even be advantageous to users who are deficient in micronutrients.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia
AU  - Dawit Darcha
AU  - Abebe Desalegne
AU  - Biruk Bezabeh Yimam
AU  - Turunesh Debela Jufar
Y1  - 2022/09/28
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14
T2  - Modern Chemistry
JF  - Modern Chemistry
JO  - Modern Chemistry
SP  - 93
EP  - 97
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2329-180X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14
AB  - Although medicinal plants may be produced in polluted soil or water settings, their extracts have long been utilized to treat illnesses affecting the general populace. Many of these herbs are collected and prepared in an unsanitary way by untrained local natural healers and other sellers. As a result, there is a chance that potentially harmful elements from the environment will contaminate the area. In this study, the five most prevalent poisonous heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury) were measured in five medicinal plants used extensively in southwest Ethiopia's Sheka Zone., including Bersama abyssinica, Calpurnia aurea, Croton macrostachyus, Eucalyptus globules, and Solanum incanum. The Tepi district in southwest Ethiopia provided the plant samples, which were then cleaned, dried, disinfected with 0.1% HgCl, digested with 69% HNO3 and 35% H2O2, and then subjected to AAS analysis. According to the study's findings, neither cadmium nor mercury was found in Solanum incanum. Additionally, Bersama abyssinica and Croton macrostachyus also do not contain mercury. Cd (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.6012 ppm), As (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.032 ppm), Hg (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.020 ppm), Cr (0.75 0.18 to 1.32 0.21), and Pb (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.0200 ppm) were the harmful heavy metals with the widest concentration ranges (0.01013 ppm to 0.4012 ppm). The findings demonstrate that while these plant species were below the WHO permitted limits for consumed therapeutic herbs; their usage for disease prevention will not cause heavy metal toxicity and may even be advantageous to users who are deficient in micronutrients.
VL  - 10
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Dawit Darcha

College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Mizan Tepi University, Tepi, Ethiopia
Abebe Desalegne

College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Mizan Tepi University, Tepi, Ethiopia
Biruk Bezabeh Yimam

College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Mizan Tepi University, Tepi, Ethiopia
Turunesh Debela Jufar

College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Mizan Tepi University, Tepi, Ethiopia

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APA Style

Dawit Darcha, Abebe Desalegne, Biruk Bezabeh Yimam, Turunesh Debela Jufar. (2022). Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Modern Chemistry, 10(3), 93-97. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14

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ACS Style

Dawit Darcha; Abebe Desalegne; Biruk Bezabeh Yimam; Turunesh Debela Jufar. Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Mod. Chem. 2022, 10(3), 93-97. doi: 10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14

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AMA Style

Dawit Darcha, Abebe Desalegne, Biruk Bezabeh Yimam, Turunesh Debela Jufar. Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Mod Chem. 2022;10(3):93-97. doi: 10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14,
  author = {Dawit Darcha and Abebe Desalegne and Biruk Bezabeh Yimam and Turunesh Debela Jufar},
  title = {Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia},
  journal = {Modern Chemistry},
  volume = {10},
  number = {3},
  pages = {93-97},
  doi = {10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.mc.20221003.14},
  abstract = {Although medicinal plants may be produced in polluted soil or water settings, their extracts have long been utilized to treat illnesses affecting the general populace. Many of these herbs are collected and prepared in an unsanitary way by untrained local natural healers and other sellers. As a result, there is a chance that potentially harmful elements from the environment will contaminate the area. In this study, the five most prevalent poisonous heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury) were measured in five medicinal plants used extensively in southwest Ethiopia's Sheka Zone., including Bersama abyssinica, Calpurnia aurea, Croton macrostachyus, Eucalyptus globules, and Solanum incanum. The Tepi district in southwest Ethiopia provided the plant samples, which were then cleaned, dried, disinfected with 0.1% HgCl, digested with 69% HNO3 and 35% H2O2, and then subjected to AAS analysis. According to the study's findings, neither cadmium nor mercury was found in Solanum incanum. Additionally, Bersama abyssinica and Croton macrostachyus also do not contain mercury. Cd (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.6012 ppm), As (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.032 ppm), Hg (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.020 ppm), Cr (0.75 0.18 to 1.32 0.21), and Pb (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.0200 ppm) were the harmful heavy metals with the widest concentration ranges (0.01013 ppm to 0.4012 ppm). The findings demonstrate that while these plant species were below the WHO permitted limits for consumed therapeutic herbs; their usage for disease prevention will not cause heavy metal toxicity and may even be advantageous to users who are deficient in micronutrients.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Determination of the Level of Toxic Heavy Metals in Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants in Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia
AU  - Dawit Darcha
AU  - Abebe Desalegne
AU  - Biruk Bezabeh Yimam
AU  - Turunesh Debela Jufar
Y1  - 2022/09/28
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14
T2  - Modern Chemistry
JF  - Modern Chemistry
JO  - Modern Chemistry
SP  - 93
EP  - 97
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2329-180X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20221003.14
AB  - Although medicinal plants may be produced in polluted soil or water settings, their extracts have long been utilized to treat illnesses affecting the general populace. Many of these herbs are collected and prepared in an unsanitary way by untrained local natural healers and other sellers. As a result, there is a chance that potentially harmful elements from the environment will contaminate the area. In this study, the five most prevalent poisonous heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury) were measured in five medicinal plants used extensively in southwest Ethiopia's Sheka Zone., including Bersama abyssinica, Calpurnia aurea, Croton macrostachyus, Eucalyptus globules, and Solanum incanum. The Tepi district in southwest Ethiopia provided the plant samples, which were then cleaned, dried, disinfected with 0.1% HgCl, digested with 69% HNO3 and 35% H2O2, and then subjected to AAS analysis. According to the study's findings, neither cadmium nor mercury was found in Solanum incanum. Additionally, Bersama abyssinica and Croton macrostachyus also do not contain mercury. Cd (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.6012 ppm), As (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.032 ppm), Hg (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.020 ppm), Cr (0.75 0.18 to 1.32 0.21), and Pb (below detection limit (BDL) to 0.0200 ppm) were the harmful heavy metals with the widest concentration ranges (0.01013 ppm to 0.4012 ppm). The findings demonstrate that while these plant species were below the WHO permitted limits for consumed therapeutic herbs; their usage for disease prevention will not cause heavy metal toxicity and may even be advantageous to users who are deficient in micronutrients.
VL  - 10
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download