Croatica Chemica Acta, Vol. 94 No. 2, 2021.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5562/cca3855
Selected Metal Concentrations in Some Medical Herbs from Localities Around Mount Bjelasica
Vlatko Kastratović
orcid.org/0000-0001-6232-7138
; Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Montenegro, G. Washington Street, P. O. Box 5455, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
Nada Blagojević
; Faculty of Metallurgy and Technology, University of Montenegro, G. Washington Street, P. O. Box 5455, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
Vesna Vukašinović-Pešić
; Faculty of Metallurgy and Technology, University of Montenegro, G. Washington Street, P. O. Box 5455, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
Abstract
The use of wild herbs to relieve and treat many human diseases is increasing worldwide, due to their medicinal features and limited side effects. The content of metals in them is of great interest. Our objective was to determine the levels of Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn in individual parts of four medicinal plant species (Achillea millefolium L., Origanum vulgare L., Thymus serpyllum L., and Hypericum perforatum L.) and their native soil. For the study, we selected four sites located at the foot of Mount Bjelasica in Montenegro. Microwave-assisted digestion was applied for the dissolution of the samples and the metal concentrations were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). All the investigated metals are most concentrated in the roots of the tested herbs. The translocation of metal from the root to the aboveground parts is different and depends on the metal and the plant. All the tested plants contain the most Fe (except oregano) and the least Ni. The most significant levels of Zn (44.6–116 mg kg–1), Ni (0.10–26.3 mg kg–1) and Mn (28.4–329 mg kg–1) were found in O. vulgare, the largest concentration of Cu (20.6–85.4 mg kg–1) in H. perforatum and Fe (108–1324 mg kg–1) showed its largest value in T. serpyllum.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Achillea millefolium; Origanum vulgare; Thymus serpyllum; Hypericum perforatum
Hrčak ID:
272219
URI
Publication date:
16.12.2021.
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