Abstract
Two samples, water extract and blended whole leaves, of fresh Kalanchoe integra leaves (Crassulaceae), a traditional antihypertensive medicine used in Ghana, were analyzed with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopy (EDXRF). Analysis revealed 12 macro and 26 micro elements in both extracts. Further quantitative assessment of the results for amounts of elements that are pharmacologically significant revealed that the amounts of calcium, potassium, and magnesium present in the extracts could be correlated to its traditional usage in managing hypertension and arrhythmias. However, heavy metals (lead and inorganic arsenic) detected in the extracts may pose a threat at doses normally used traditionally for the treatment of hypertension.
Highlights
Since time immemorial, man has used herbs and potions as medicines, but it is only around the mid-nineteenth century that serious efforts were made to isolate and purify active principles from these remedies [1]
The results presented as mean, standard deviation (±) (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), and P values were used to analyse the results (Table 1)
Triplicate four grams of each sample analyzed with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopy (EDXRF) gave thirty-eight (38) elements with twelve (12) major {sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), phosphorus (P), sulphur (S), chlorine (Cl), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), titanium (Ti), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe)} and twenty-six (26) minor {vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), yttrium (Y), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), antimony (Sb), iodine (I), cesium (Cs), barium (Ba), lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), lead (Pb), bismuth (Bi), thorium (Th), and uranium (U)} elements in percentage weight per 100 grams weight of sample (%w/w) and parts per million
Summary
Man has used herbs and potions as medicines, but it is only around the mid-nineteenth century that serious efforts were made to isolate and purify active principles from these remedies [1]. There is the probability that these secondary metabolites may interact or interfere with the micro and macro elements present in plants. These interactions and interferences may damage or enhance the bioavailability of micro and macro elements within plant tissues [5]. For safety of consumers, the World Health Organization states maximum permissible levels in raw plant materials for only cadmium (0.3 mg kg−1), arsenic (1 mg kg−1), and lead (10 mg kg−1) [7]. Kalanchoe pinnata (K. pinnata), a medicinal plant used in Ghana, has broad pharmacological properties that include immunosuppression, antimicrobial activity; wound healing, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic and anticonvulsant, antidiabetic, and antihypertensive activities among others [8, 9]
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