scholarly journals Study on Aluminium Contamination in Mettur Soil and its Subsequent Uptake by Medicinal Plants

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 3129-3133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalpana Palani ◽  
Krishnamurthy Balasubramanian ◽  
R. A. Kalaivani
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Centella Asiatica ◽  
World Health ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Al Content ◽  
Clean Environment ◽  
Chemical Content ◽  
Health Organization

Nowadays, the use of medicinal plants for disease treatment has been limited due to widely prevailing toxicity of medicinal plants and their source soil. The major reason for the toxicity in plants might be due to their mineral and chemical content and also related with the toxic materials present in the source soil. The aim of this study was to assess the Aluminum contamination in Mettur, an industrial town of Tamil Nadu, India which has many Al industries. Total Al content in the soil of the region where medicinal plants were cultivated was found to be 16700 mg kg-1. Further, Al content in commonly used medicinal plants Centella asiatica, Bacopa monneri and Euphorbia hirta grown in Al polluted soil was studied. The Al concentration of the medicinal plants ranged from 449 to 801 mg kg-1. All the three plants were found to accumulate level of Al which is above the maximum permissible limits prescribed by World Health Organization and thus, it may cause Al toxicity among the consumers of herbal medicines. From the results of the present study, it is inferred that the medicinal plants used for the human consumption or disease management should be collected from clean environment and processed carefully.

scholarly journals Benefits of Mainstreaming Herbal Medicine in the Philippine Healthcare System

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia C. Maramba-Lazarte
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Herbal Medicine ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Organization

There are several problems that continue to plague the Philippine health care system. The cost of branded drugs in the Philippines is 22 times more than international reference prices while generic drugs are 4 times more.1 Despite price reductions due to legislations such as the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008, as well as the Generics Act of 1988, those in the lower-income brackets still cannot afford maintenance medicines for hypertension and diabetes as well as antibiotics.2 Access to medicines and care from physicians and other healthcare professionals is especially challenging for geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas wherein the people are physically or economically inaccessible. Filipino traditional medicine, of which herbal medicine plays a large role has been around for centuries and is wellaccepted in the rural areas. Validating the use of these traditional medicinal plants through research is essential in order to have an evidence-based practice of herbal medicine. The main areas of research can be defined as (1) herbal medicine quality and standardization, (2) preclinical pharmacological assessments and action mechanisms, and (3) clinical efficacy and safety assessments.3 These types of researches aimed at developing safe and efficacious, as well as low-cost Philippine herbal medicines, may well be a long-term solution to the obstacles to a healthy population cited above. Our Philippine medicinal plants are a valuable but often underappreciated resource with innumerable applications for non-communicable and communicable disease indications. Limited research in this field had long been ongoing in the Philippines. Support for this movement came with the passage of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act of 1997 which affirmed the commitment of the government towards the support and development of traditional medicine including herbal medicine.4 Another boost was the endorsement of the Department of Health of the Sampung Halamang Gamot in the 1990s.5 The World Health Organization has advocated the integration of Traditional Medicine within national health care systems and has urged governments to develop and implement national traditional medicine policies and programs especially with Universal Health Coverage.6 It was the National Integrated Research Program of the Philippines (NIRPROMP) who was at the forefront of this field and conducted the initial studies of these Ten Medicinal Plants.7 Many of them have been developed into modern formulations. These include Lagundi (Vitex negundo) tablet and syrup for cough and asthma, Sambong (Blumea balsamifera) tablet as a diuretic and treatment of urolithiasis, Tsaang gubat (Ehretia microphylla) tablet for gastrointestinal and biliary colic, Akapulco (Senna alata) lotion for cutaneous fungal infections, Yerba Buena (Mentha villosa) tablet as an analgesic, Ulasimang bato (Peperomia pellucida) tablet for the treatment of gout and hyperuricemia. Ampalaya (Momordica charantia) tablet was also developed as a glucose-lowering agent, but it is presently undergoing researches on the reformulated tablet.8 Several of the articles in this issue present evidence for the use of some of the mentioned medicinal plants. The NIRPROMP was the forerunner and is still an integral part of the Institute of Herbal Medicine. Lagundi and Sambong have been integrated into the clinical practice of physicians in the Philippines, even by specialists. They have both been scientific and commercial successes.9 Their production has contributed to the revenue and growth of the Philippine Pharmaceutical Industry, as well as improved the economic status of farmers cultivating these crops. Developing more herbal medicines needed for primary health care would decrease our dependence on the importation of medicines, and increase the accessibility of drugs even in geographically isolated areas. Bringing back the herbal medicine gardens to the barangays in the rural communities will also assist in empowering the population. The integration of herbal medicines into mainstream clinical practice will only be possible if the researches performed, both non-clinical and clinical, are as robust as those for synthetic medicine.     Cecilia C. Maramba-Lazarte, MD Director Institute of Herbal Medicine National Institutes of Health University of the Philippines Manila     REFERENCES 1. Paris J. Pharma Companies Offer to Cut Drug Prices [Internet] Rappler. 2019 25 October [cited 2020 Jan 15]. Available from https://www. rappler.com/nation/243372-pharmaceutical-companies-offer-cut-drug-prices. 2. Clarete RL, Llanto GM. 2017. Access to medicines in the Philippines: Overcoming the barriers [Internet]. Philippine Institute for Development Studies. 2017 [cited 2020 Jan 14]. Available from http://hdl.handle.net/11540/7967. 3. Zhang AL, Xue CC, Fong HH. Integration of Herbal Medicine into Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Current Status and Issues. In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, eds. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects, 2nd ed. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011. 4. Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA) of 1997, Republic Act No. 8423, Approved: December 9, 1997. 5. World Health Organization. Report of the Working Group on Herbal Medicines Meeting, March 1997. 6. World Health Organization. WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy: 2014-2023. 7. Eusebio JE, Umali BE. Inventory, documentation and status of medicinal plants research in Philippines. In: Batugal PA, Kanniah J, Young LS, Oliver JT, editors. Medicinal plants research in Asia, Volume 1: The framework and project workplans. Selangor DE, Malaysia: International Plant Genetic Resource Institute-Regional office for Asia, the Pacific and Oceania (IPGRI-APO), Serdang; 2004. 8. Purificacion J, Maramba N. Research Proposal Phase 1 Clinical Trial: Safety and Efficacy of Lyophilized Momordica charantia (Ampalaya) leaf tablet among Normal Volunteer Subjects (2018 version). 9. From Herbal Folklore to Modern Medicine [Internet]. World Intellectual Property Organization. 2013 [cited 2020 Jan 14]. Available from https://www.wipo.int/ipadvantage/en/details.jsp?id=3661.

scholarly journals Utilização de medicamentos fitoterápicos e plantas medicinais em diferentes segmentos da sociedade

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Sarmento Gadelha ◽  
Vicente Maia Pinto Junior ◽  
Kevia Katiucia Santos Bezerra ◽  
Patricio Borges Maracajá ◽  
Débora S. S. Martins
Keyword(s):  
Herbal Medicine ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
World Health ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Herbal Plants ◽  
The Government ◽  
Health Organization

<p>A utilização de plantas medicinais como medicina alternativa é uma pratica milenar, no entanto, a inserção de fitoterápicos é recente, porém, tem sido incentivado a sua prescrição pelo SUS.  A Organização Mundial de Saúde,  leva em consideração a cultura e a biodiversidade existentes no Brasil, tendo em vista a complexidade que envolve a fitoterapia, a Política Nacional de Planta Medicinal e Fitoterápico. Esta pesquisa teve como principal objetivo avaliar o uso de fitoterápicos e de plantas medicinais na saúde básica do município de Sousa-PB. Para isso foram aplicados formulários com pacientes/usuários e profissionais de saúde (Médicos e Enfermeiros), a respeito do uso, indicações, contra indicações dentre outros. A pesquisa foi realizada entre os meses de julho a outubro de 2014. Em relação ao faixa etária 90% dos entrevistados possuem idade entre 22 e 59 anos, com relação à renda dos usuários 40% dos mesmos possuem uma renda de menos de R$ 1.000,00, já à indicação do uso de plantas medicinais 96,7% dos usuários utilizam por indicação popular. Em relação as plantas mais usadas pelos pacientes foram citadas: Quebra pedra 58 citações, Hortelã 44, Aroeira 38, Babosa 32, Alecrim do nordeste 16 e unha de gato 10 citações, 58,4% dos usuários acham excelente a ideia de plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos do SUS disponível para a comunidade, 90% dos profissionais de saúde consideram inserção da fitoterapia no SUS e principalmente nas UFS como avanço para a terapia comunitária, 88% dos profissionais de saúde relataram que os conhecimentos que possuem não são suficientes para uma orientação e/ou prescrição adequada e plantas medicinais ou de fitoterápicos, em relação a freqüência e recomendações que os profissionais de saúde prescrevem fitoterápicos foram antidepressivo, calmante com uma freqüência de 0,35, seguidos de tosse, gripe e sistema respiratório com 0,31 e mal estar gástrico com 0,21. Entretanto, de acordo com os dados encontrados na pesquisa, sugerem-se mais incentivos por partes do poder público, além, de capacitação aos profissionais de saúde para que os mesmos se sintam preparados para prescrever fitoterápicos.</p><p class="Default" align="center"><strong><em>Use of herbal and medicinal plants in different segments of society</em></strong><em></em></p><p><strong>Abstract</strong>:  The use of medicinal plants as alternative medicine is an ancient practice, however, the inclusion of herbal medicines is recent, however, has been encouraged their prescription by SUS. The World Health Organization, takes into account the culture and the existing biodiversity in Brazil, in view of the complexity involved in herbal medicine, the National Policy on Medicinal Plant and Herbal. This research aimed to evaluate the use of herbal and medicinal plants in the basic health of the municipality of Sousa-PB. To this were applied forms with patients / users and health professionals (doctors and nurses), regarding the use, indications, contraindications among others. The survey was conducted between the months of July to October 2014. In relation to the age group 90% of respondents have aged between 22 and 59, in relation to income users 40% of them have an income of less than R $ 1,000 , 00, as the indication of the use of medicinal plants 96.7% of users use a popular statement. Regarding the plants most used by patients were cited: Breaking stone 58 quotes, Mint 44, Aroeira 38, 32 Aloe, Rosemary Northeast 16 and cat's claw 10 citations. 58.4% of users find the excellent idea of SUS medicinal plants and herbal medicines available to the community, 90% of health professionals consider insertion of herbal medicine in the SUS and especially in the UFS as an advance for the community therapy, 88% of professionals Health reported that the knowledge they have are not enough for an orientation and / or proper prescription and medicinal herbal plants or in relation to frequency and recommendations that herbal prescribing health professionals were antidepressant, soothing with a frequency of 0.35, followed by cough, flu and respiratory system with 0.31 and 0.21 with gastric discomfort. However, according to the data found in the search, it is suggest more incentives for parts of the government, in addition, training for health professionals so that they feel prepared to prescribe herbal medicines.</p>

scholarly journals Determination of the heavy metal contents of frequently used herbal products in Pakistan

2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-382
Author(s):  
Tehseen Quds ◽  
Maryam Ahmed ◽  
Sadia Shakeel ◽  
Nusrat Jalbani ◽  
Farah Mazhar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Absorption Spectrometry ◽  
World Health ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Arsenic Level ◽  
Herbal Products ◽  
Flame Atomic Absorption ◽  
Metal Contents ◽  
Health Organization

Purpose: To determine the heavy metal content of selected local and international herbal medicines sold for the treatment of various diseases in Pakistan. Methods: The different dosage forms of herbal medicines assessed were crude forms of syrups, gel, capsule, powder and tonic. Wet digestion method was used to prepare the herbal samples using nitric acid, and then analyzed for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg), using MHS-15 mercury/hydride system and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Results: The investigated results displayed the Arsenic level (0.00 ppm to 0.580 ppm); Cadmium (0.001 ppm to 0.006 ppm); Lead (0.00 ppm to 1.078 ppm) and Mercury (0.001 ppm to 0.012 ppm). All results were found below the permissible limit of acceptability intake of the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). The pH of the samples were in the range of 1.52 to 6.99. Conclusion: The findings reveal that the investigated herbal products available in Pakistan are safe with reference to heavy metals, and considered non-toxic for human consumption.

scholarly journals Control of elemental impurities in herbal medicines

2018 ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
A. P. Baula ◽  
Т. М. Derkach
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Chemical Elements ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
World Health ◽  
Human Organism ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Limit Values ◽  
Plant Raw Materials ◽  
Elemental Impurities

The standardisation of plant raw materials is among the most important problems of the production of herbal medicines. Medicinal plant raw materials are of complex nature and can be contaminated with impurity elements. Therefore, the content of elemental impurities typical for plants should be controlled in comparison with the existing conceptions of recommended or permitted daily exposures of human consumption of some chemical elements. The paper goal was to study the existing approaches in the world to the fixing of elemental impurity content in herbal medicines and comparative analysis of their permitted daily exposures. The following methods were used to implement the research goal: system approach, bibliographic and information search, statistical methods, as well as generalisation and analysis. The work is based on the analysis of documents of World Health Organisation and appropriate organisations of leading countries. The contents of 28 elements were shown to normalise in these documents. Depending on their toxicity and probability of ingress into drugs, the elements are divided into four classes. This approach creates a clear idea of the potential effects of elements on the human organism and also illustrates the sensitivity requirements for analytical methods to be used for elemental control. In medicinal plants as well as in plants that are used as food additives and spices, the content of the five most toxic elements (As, Hg, Cd, Pb and Cr) is fixed. For other impurities in medicinal plants, there are no universally recognised limit values in contrast to medicinal products. Therefore, when analysing the quality of herbal medicines, one should take into account permitted daily exposures of human consumption of individual chemical elements used for the quality control of foodstuff and drinking water as well as environmental protection.

scholarly journals Potential of Malawi’s medicinal plants in Covid-19 disease management: A review

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-107
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Chikowe ◽  
Andrew G. Mtewa ◽  
David Tembo ◽  
Dallas Smith ◽  
Edna Ibrahim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Antiviral Treatment ◽  
Antiviral Agents ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
World Health ◽  
Traditional Medicinal Plants ◽  
Significant Public Health ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Promising Source

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has triggered an international pandemic that has led to significant public health problems. To date, limited evidence exists to suggest that drugs are effective against the disease. As possible treatments are being investigated, herbal medicines have shown potential for producing novel antiviral agents for the COVID-19 disease. Aim This review explored the potential of Malawi’s traditional medicinal plants for the management of COVID-19. MethodsThe authors searched on PubMed and Google scholar for medicinal plants that are used in Malawi and published in openly available peer reviewed journals. Plants linked with antiviral treatment, anti-COVID-19 activity or COVID-19 symptoms management were targeted. These included activity against pneumonia, inflammation, cough, difficulty in breathing, pain/aches, fever, diarrhoea, rheumatism, fatigue, asthma, immunocompromised and cardiovascular diseases.Results11 studies were found with 306 plant species. 127 plant species had at least one COVID-19 related pharmacological activity. Of these plant species, the number of herbal entities used for each indication was: pain/aches (87), fever (2), pneumonia (9), breathing/asthma problems (5), coughing (11), diarrhoea (1), immunosuppression (8), blood issues (10), fatigue (2), heart problems (11), inflammation (8), rheumatism (10) and viral diseases (12). Thirty (30) species were used for more than one disease and Azedarachta indica topped the list (6 of the 13 COVID-19 related diseases). The majority of the species had phytochemicals known to have antiviral activity or mechanisms of actions linked to COVID-19 and consequent diseases’ treatment pathways.ConclusionMedicinal plants are a promising source of compounds that can be used for drug development of COVID-19 related diseases. This review highlights potential targets for the World Health Organization and other research entities to explore in order to assist in controlling the pandemic.

Natural products from the traditional Moroccan pharmacopoeia: A potential lead for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 1278-1285
Author(s):  
Mohamed Yafout ◽  
Amine Ousaid ◽  
Ibrahim Sbai El Otmani ◽  
Youssef Khayati ◽  
Amal Ait Haj Said
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Plant Extracts ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Treatment Protocol ◽  
World Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Promising Source

The new SARS-CoV-2 belonging to the coronaviruses family has caused a pandemic affecting millions of people around the world. This pandemic has been declared by the World Health Organization as an international public health emergency. Although several clinical trials involving a large number of drugs are currently underway, no treatment protocol for COVID-19 has been officially approved so far. Here we demonstrate through a search in the scientific literature that the traditional Moroccan pharmacopoeia, which includes more than 500 medicinal plants, is a fascinating and promising source for the research of natural molecules active against SARS-CoV-2. Multiple in-silico and in-vitro studies showed that some of the medicinal plants used by Moroccans for centuries possess inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2. These inhibitory activities are achieved through the different molecular mechanisms of virus penetration and replication, or indirectly through stimulation of immunity. Thus, the potential of plants, plant extracts and molecules derived from plants that are traditionally used in Morocco and have activity against SARS-CoV-2, could be explored in the search for a preventive or curative treatment against COVID-19. Furthermore, safe plants or plant extracts that are proven to stimulate immunity could be officially recommended by governments as nutritional supplements.

scholarly journals Assessment of Antimalarial Activity againstPlasmodium falciparumand Phytochemical Screening of Some Yemeni Medicinal Plants

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed A. Alshawsh ◽  
Ramzi A. Mothana ◽  
Hassan A. Al-shamahy ◽  
Salah F. Alsllami ◽  
Ulrike Lindequist
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Antimalarial Activity ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Antiplasmodial Activity ◽  
World Health ◽  
Moderate Activity ◽  
Phytochemical Screening ◽  
Cissus Rotundifolia ◽  
Health Organization

Developing countries, where malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases, still rely on traditional medicine as a source for the treatment of this disease. In the present study, six selected plants (Acalypha fruticosa,Azadirachta indica,Cissus rotundifolia,Echium rauwalfii,Dendrosicyos socotranaandBoswellia elongata) commonly used in Yemen by traditional healers for the treatment of malaria as well as other diseases, were collected from different localities of Yemen, dried and extracted with methanol and water successfully. The antiplasmodial activity of the extracts was evaluated against fresh clinical isolates ofPlasmodium falciparum. The selectivity parameters to evaluate the efficacy of these medicinal plants were measured byin vitromicro test (Mark III) according to World Health Organization (WHO) 1996 & WHO 2001 protocols of antimalarial drug tests. Among the investigated 12 extracts, three were found to have significant antiplasmodial activity with IC50values less than 4 µg/ml, namely the water extracts ofA. fruticosa,A. indicaandD. socotrana. Six extracts showed moderate activity with IC50values ranging from 10 to 30 µg/ml and three appeared to be inactive with IC50values more than 30 µg/ml. In addition, preliminary phytochemical screening of the methanolic and aqueous extracts indicated the presence of saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, polysaccharides and peptides.

scholarly journals Estimation of Groundwater Quality in and Around Dumpsites of Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 229-233
Keyword(s):  
Ground Water ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
World Health ◽  
Ground Water Quality ◽  
Index Method ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Aggregate Index ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Land Filling

Land filling of urban solid desecrate is a universal dissipate care and one of the economical technique for organizing waste in several parts of the globe. Landfill poses serious threats to the worth of the surroundings if imperfectly safe and indecently managed. The stages of different physicochemical parameters are investigated including Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), alkalinity, pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), and hardness. The mixture of physical, chemical and microbial practice in the waste shifts the contaminant from the misuse matter to the percolating water. The study asses ground water quality of samples near the dumping area and characterized. The effects are evaluated with the world health organization (WHO) and Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) index. Also attempt will be made by the aggregate index method to assess the excellence of ground water in Chidambaram and Cuddalore SIPCOT dumpsites.

scholarly journals HEAVY METAL CONTENT IN SOME SEAFOODS COLLECTED FROM MUARA ANGKE FISH AUCTION PLACE, JAKARTA.

1987 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
Horas Hutagalung ◽  
Suwirma Syamsu
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Metal Content ◽  
Heavy Metal Content ◽  
World Health ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Zn Content ◽  
Standard Set ◽  
Health Organization

Determination of  heavy  metal  content  (Hg, Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, Zn) in some seafoods collected from  Muara  Angke  Fish  Auction  Place  were carried out during February to July 1979. The results showed  that Zn  content  in seafoods a nalyzed  was always much higher than the other heavy metals. The concentration levels of  the  six  heavy  metals observed were low. It is almost of the same level as the metal concentration of  other  seafoods  observed  in various parts of the world oceans, but still lower  than the maximum standard set  for human  consumption  as  established  by   Tasmania, Australia and  World Health Organization. The  mean  per capita  consumption of  fish  in Jakarta is only  about 165 g  per week, while  the  Provisional Tolerated Weekly Intake for Hg, set by WHO/FAO at 300 ug level, would be attained by consuming 1500 g Rastrelliger sp., or 698 gPenaeus setiferus, or 545 g Sepia sp., and or 1250 g Pecten sp.  Therefore,  at   present the  level of metal content in fishes sold at TPI  Muara  Angke  can be  considered  as  not  dangerous  to human health as long as these quantities are not surpassed.

scholarly journals Análise geoquímica das águas subterrâneas no município de Boquira, no semiárido baiano - Brasil

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
Maria da Conceição Gomes ◽  
Danilo Melo ◽  
Maíra da Costa ◽  
José Ângelo dos Anjos ◽  
Michael Trinta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Geochemical Modeling ◽  
Saturation Index ◽  
World Health ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Alluvial Deposits ◽  
Environmental Liabilities ◽  
Lead Zinc ◽  
Ionic Relations ◽  
Semi Arid Region ◽  
Health Organization

The geochemical analysis was carried out in the center-south portion of the state of Bahia, in the semi-arid region of Bahia, where outcrop the Paramirim Complex, Boquira Unit, Boquira Granite, Veredinha Granite, Serra do Espinhaço, detritus coverings and alluvial deposits. The Boquira Unit is known for lead-zinc mineralization. In this unit operated the Boquira mine, considered the largest lead and zinc mine in Brazil, until it was suddenly abandoned, leaving significant environmental liabilities of toxic metals such as lead, zinc, silver, barium, copper, chromium and nickel. To characterize the groundwater 16 physical-chemical parameters from 24 wells were used, obtained from the Water and Sanitation Engineering Company of Bahia - CERB. Its classification was made in the Piper Diagram and the ionic relations in meq/L. To evaluate the quality of the water we used the Consolidation Ordinance no 5/2017 of the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization. With the PHREEQC 3.5 hydrochemical model, the saturation index of the analyzed elements was calculated. The results showed predominance of calcium chloride waters (71% of the samples), with ionic relations of type rCa2+> rMg2+>rNa+ and rCl->rHCO3->rSO42+. Geochemical modeling indicated calcite (CaCO3), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) and quartz (SiO2) as the main minerals with a tendency to precipitation. The first two were associated with the dissolution of the Boquira Unit carbonates and the third one with the quartzites of the Serra do Espinhaço Formation. The concentrations of calcium and chloride showed 54% and 25% of the samples above the Maximum Allowable Value for human consumption, respectively, representing a risk factor to the health of the population in the area.

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