Document Type
Article
Source of Publication
Journal of Environmental and Public Health
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Abstract
Copyright © 2015 Rania Dghaim et al. Herbs are extensively consumed in the United Arab Emirates for their flavoring and medicinal properties. This study aimed at determining the concentration of heavy metals in selected traditional herbs consumed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A total of 81 samples of seven herbs, parsley (Petroselinumcrispum), basil (Ocimum basilicum), sage (Salvia officinalis), oregano (Origanum vulgare), mint (Mentha spicata), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), and chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), were purchased from the local market in Dubai and analyzed for their cadmium, lead, copper, iron, and zinc contents. Microwave-assisted digestion was applied for the dissolution of the samples and heavy metals concentration was determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). Metals were found to be present in varied concentrations in the herb samples.The concentration ranges were found as follows: less than 0.1-1.11mg.kg-1 for cadmium, less than 1.0-23.52mg.kg-1 for lead, 1.44-156.24mg.kg-1 for copper, 12.65-146.67mg.kg-1 for zinc, and 81.25-1101.22mg.kg-1 for iron. The findings of the study suggest that most of the analyzed herbs contained unsafe levels of heavy metals that exceeded theWorld Health Organization (WHO) permissible limits (PL).
DOI Link
ISSN
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Volume
2015
First Page
973878
Last Page
973878
Disciplines
Life Sciences
Keywords
cadmium, copper, heavy metal, iron, lead, zinc, heavy metal, pollutant, analytic method, Article, atomic absorption spectrometry, basil, dissolution, drug determination, herb, herbal medicine, Matricaria chamomilla, maximum permissible dose, Mentha spicata, microwave assisted digestion, microwave radiation, nonhuman, oregano, parsley, priority journal, Salvia officinalis, thyme, United Arab Emirates, analysis, chemistry, food analysis, medicinal plant, pollutant, Matricaria chamomilla, Mentha, Mentha spicata, Ocimum, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum, Origanum vulgare, Petroselinum crispum, Salvia officinalis, Thymus vulgaris, Environmental Pollutants, Food Analysis, Metals, Heavy, Plants, Medicinal, Spectrophotometry, Atomic, United Arab Emirates
Scopus ID
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Dghaim, Rania; Al Khatib, Safa; Rasool, Husna; and Khan, Munawwar Ali, "Determination of heavy metals concentration in traditional herbs commonly consumed in the United Arab Emirates" (2015). All Works. 1227.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/1227
Indexed in Scopus
yes
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series