Determination of toxic metals in commonly consumed medicinal plants largely used in Peru by ICP-MS and their impact on human health

Abstract

The concentrations of As, Pb and Cd in leaves of the most consumed medicinal plants in the central highlands of Peru “eucalipto” - Eucalyptus globulus Labill and “muña” - Minthostachys mollis (Kunth) Griseb by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The composite foliage samples were collected in areas of the districts of Quilcas and Saño in the province of Huancayo. The decreasing order of the mean concentrations of toxic metals in E. globulus was Pb > Cd > As, and in M. mollis Pb > As > Cd. In E. globulus , the highest mean concentration of Pb (2.14 mg Kg ‒1 ) was recorded in Quilcas, of Cd (0.39 mg Kg ‒1 ) and As (0.06 mg Kg ‒1 ) in Saño. In M. mollis , the highest mean concentration of Pb (1.84 mg Kg ‒1 ) was recorded in Quilcas, of Cd (0.06 mg Kg ‒1 ) and As (0.06 mg Kg ‒1 ) in Saño. The PCA revealed two components that accounted for approximately 62.92% of the total data variation. Hazard index values for all the metals studied through the consumption of E. globulus and M. mollis leaves for the Saño and Quilcas sectors were less than 1. This indicates that there is no significant non-carcinogenic health risk for drinkers of infusions of these plants.