scholarly journals Control of elemental impurities in herbal medicines

2018 ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
A. P. Baula ◽  
Т. М. Derkach

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.

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 3129-3133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalpana Palani ◽  
Krishnamurthy Balasubramanian ◽  
R. A. Kalaivani

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-257
Author(s):  
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorshenin ◽  
Valeria Igorevna Ruderman

In the conditions of the Great Patriotic War, there was a problem of shortage of medicines, caused by the partial loss of pharmaceutical industry enterprises due to the occupation of large territories of the Soviet Union. In this situation the solution was the use of medicinal plants, which attracted attention in the 1920s and 1930s, but in the conditions of war it became much more important. The paper deals with the activities of the Main Pharmacy Department and the inter-regional office of the All-Union Trust for the procurement of medicinal plants for the cultivation, collection and procurement of plant raw materials used in medicine. The structure of the pharmaceutical industry of the region is analyzed and the ways of harvesting cultivated and wild medicinal plants are characterized. The authors analyze the dynamics of medicinal plants harvesting on the territory of the Kuibyshev Region using the documents of the Central State Archive of the Samara Region and the State Archive of the Russian Federation, as well as periodicals of the war years. The paper reveals the reasons for non-compliance with the planned indicators for the delivery of plant raw materials established by the government, as well as the measures taken by local authorities to correct this situation. The enthusiasm of the public the help of schoolchildren, teachers and housewives played a great role in increasing the volume of harvesting plants.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 944-949
Author(s):  
Ina Faraz ◽  
Arslan Ali ◽  
Faraz Ul Haq ◽  
Joseph Tchamgoue ◽  
Simeon F Kouam ◽  
...  

Abstract One of the major problems with the formulation of herbal medicines is the quality control of plant material to ensure its efficacy and safety. Quality control of medicinal plants requires analysis of many bioactive compounds present in the plant. C-alkylated flavonoids are an important bioactive subclass of flavonoids. A simple, rapid, sensitive and selective method is presented here for the quantification of bioactive C-alkylated flavonoids. This is the first quantitative method for analysis of C-alkylated flavonoids based on the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) approach so far. This study focuses on method development for quantification of bioactive C-alkylated flavonoids. Quantification of a total of five C-alkylated flavonoids was done employing the MRM approach on an HPLC-QqQ-MS instrument. LODs and LOQs for quantified flavonoids were in the range of 0.41–1.32 and 1.23–3.96 ng/mL, respectively. Linear calibration curves between 25 and 1500 ng/mL were obtained with the regression coefficients of ≥0.996. Accuracy (% bias) and precision (% RSD) of the analyses were found to be less than 5%. Developed HPLC-ESI-MS/MS can be employed as a quality control method of plant raw materials.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-95
Author(s):  
Никифоров ◽  
Aleksandr Nikiforov ◽  
Никифорова ◽  
Antonina Nikiforova

Harvesting of medicinal-plant raw materials is one of the most promising areas for Russian producers, the market of which is characterized as developing one. Research on spatial analysis and definition of biological stock of medicinal-plant raw materials is made on the example of Lisinsky scientific-experimental forestry. The following medicinal plants: lily of the valley (Convallária majalis L.), St. John's wort (Hypéricum perforátum L.), valerian (Valeriána officinális L.), wood sorrel (Óxalis acetosella L.), Labrador tea (Ledum palustre L.), stinging nettle (Urtíca dióica L.) are widespread on the territory of the forestry and have potential commercial value. Data on stocks and territorial location of the medicinal plants were obtained with the use of geoinformation technologies. Biological stocks of medicinal raw materials is defined by the regional table for average long-term yield based on the types of growing conditions, forest types and taxonomic characteristics of plants. If we consider the maximum yield of one specific type of forest, we can say that Labrador tea and stinging nettle has the greatest mass. In the result, it was determined that harvesting of medicinal plants in the territory of forestry is possible for all the considered types of medicinal plants, which will increase the volumes of harvesting and storage of valuable raw materials. Inventory information and location of medicinal plants will enable to optimize the choice of the routes for the priority procurement of raw materials. Using GIS technology the total biological stock of the types of medicinal plants in Lisinsky scientific-experimental forestry was determined. Spatial analysis allowed determining the areas with the highest yield of medicinal plants. Geographic information systems can be used as a tool for monitoring, inventory, protection and organization of the industrial harvesting of medicinal raw materials. The developed technology can be used to determine the yield of mushrooms and wild berries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 32-36
Author(s):  
A. Yu. Turyshev ◽  
V. D. Belonogova ◽  
A. A. Orlova ◽  
K. O. Sidorov ◽  
A. Yu. Skornyakova

Introduction. Medicinal plant raw materials are one of the most important sources of herbal remedies used both for the prevention and treatment of a number of diseases [1, 2]. Even with the development of modern science and chemistry, medicinal plant raw materials are widely used in both folk and official medicine. The advantage of medicinal plants is their wide range of biological activity, low toxicity and the possibility of long-term use without significant side effects. Human economic activity has a noticeable negative effect on the condition of wild-growing plants: their stocks are decreasing, and some species disappear altogether. Today, given the high level of development of industry and agriculture, the procurement of raw materials for wild medicinal plants is not always possible. Information on the quantitative assessment of the raw material base of wild medicinal plants in the Middle Urals, the content of biologically active substances in medicinal plant raw materials is partially outdated, which determines the need for their systemic resource study and chemical-pharmacognostic study.Aim. Comprehensive assessment of the state of populations of wild medicinal plants in the Middle Urals.Materials and methods. Determination of stocks of raw materials of the studied species of medicinal plants was carried out on specific thickets according to the generally accepted method. The authenticity of the raw materials was established by a macroscopic method when collecting raw material samples. In the course of the study, samples of medicinal plant materials of 5 types were prepared. The determination and assessment of the main indicators of the good quality of medicinal plant raw materials (the content of active and extractive substances, moisture in the mass upon drying, total ash and ash insoluble in a 10% solution of hydrochloric acid) was carried out according to the methods and requirements of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation XIV edition. In the raw materials Artemisiae absinthii herba and Leonuri herba, the amount of extractives was determined by the gravimetric method. The quantitative assessment of the content of essential oil in the samples of Origani vulgaris herba and Tanaceti vulgaris flores was carried out by the method of hydrodistillation. To determine the quantitative content of the sum of flavonoids in Hyperici herba, Artemisiae absinthii herba, Leonuri herba and the sum of flavonoids and phenolcarboxylic acids in Tanaceti vulgaris flores, a spectrophotometric method was used.Results and discussion. In the course of resource and phytochemical studies of representatives of the medicinal flora of the Middle Urals, a comprehensive assessment of the state of populations of wild medicinal plants – sources of medicinal plant raw materials (Origani vulgaris herba, Hyperici herba, Tanaceti vulgaris flores, Artemisiae absinthii herba and Leonuri herba) was carried out. The results are included in the electronic inventory of wild medicinal plants of the Middle Urals.Conclusion. The conducted complex of studies will allow updating information about the medicinal flora of the Middle Urals in order to use raw materials for the creation of medicines.


2021 ◽  
pp. 70-77
Author(s):  
С. А. Козира ◽  
Т. М. Гонтова ◽  
С. І. Степанова ◽  
В. П. Гапоненко ◽  
В. В. Машталер ◽  
...  

Among the relevant for the modern pharmacy problems, there is a need for the rational complex use of known medicinal plants, as well as the search for new sources of natural biologically active compounds in order to expand the list of official medicinal plants and raw material base. Species of genus Geum L. contain a number of biological active substances and are promising sources of raw materials for the production of antimicrobial, astringent, anti-inflammatory, and hemostatic medicines. Pharmacological activity of these plants results from their multi-component chemical composition, including tannins, flavonoids, macro- and microelements and other compounds. The aim of thе study was to compare the elemental composition of herb and rhizomes with roots of G. urbanum L., G. aleppicum Jacq. and G. rivale L. of Ukrainian flora. The objects of the study were the samples of herb and rhizome with roots of G. urbanum L., G. aleppicum Jacq. and G. rivale L. (dried raw materials) which were collected in the Kharkiv region, Ruski Tishki village, in June-August 2018–2019. The determination of the qualitative composition and quantitative content of elements was carried out by atomic absorption spectroscopy with atomization in an air-acetylene flame using a spectrometer CAS 120 («Selmi», Sumy, Ukraine). In the studied samples, 19 elements were determined, including 5 macroelements and 14 microelements. The data about accumulation of elements in investigated herb of G. urbanum L., G. aleppicum Jacq., G. rivale L. can be arranged in descending order as follows: K > Ca > Si > Mg > P > Fe > Al > Na > Sr > Zn, and in rhizomes with roots as follows – K > Si > Ca > Mg > Fe > P > Al > Na > Sr > Zn. The content of toxic elements such as cobalt, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury was within the permissible limits for plant raw materials and food. For the first time, a comparative study of the macro- and microelement composition in herb and rhizomes with roots of G. urbanum L., G. aleppicum Jacq. and G. rivale L. has been carried out. Using the method of atomic absorption spectral analysis, 19 elements have been identified and their content has been determined, among which К, Ca, Mg, Si, P, Fe, Al, Na, Mn, Zn predominantly accumulate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 691-698
Author(s):  
Vandana ◽  
Rajesh Lather ◽  
Sridevi Tallapragada ◽  
Gurnam Singh

Since thousands years back approximately around 900 BC, medicinal plants are considered as a source of many biomolecules with therapeutic potential. Herbal medicines are considered as safer, better, physiologically compatible and costeffective. The oldest evidence of medicinal and aromatic plants depicts that with the emergence of human civilization, plants have been considered as the main source to heal and cure various serious ailments. It has been proven that the secondary metabolites e.g. alkaloid, glycosides, flavonoides, steroids etc present in the medicinal plants possesses ability to prevent occurrence of some of the diseases, means medicinal plants acts as a “preventive medicine”. Medicinal plants have a paramount importance and a great interest due to its pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutritional values. Some plants are also considered as an important source of nutrition and are known to have a variety of compounds with potential therapeutic properties. India is the principal repository of large number of medicinal and aromatic plants or we can say India is one of the rich mega-biodiversity countries of the world. Medicinal plants are “backbone” of traditional medicinal system (TMS). Crude drugs are usually dried parts of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) such as roots, stems, wood, bark, seeds, fruits, flowers, leaves, rhizomes, whole plant etc. that form the essential raw material for the production of medicines in various systems of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Tibatian, Tribal and Homeopathy. According to the survey of the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of the world population are using herbs and other traditional medicines for their primary healthcare and have established three kinds of herbal medicines: raw plant material, processed plant material, and herbal products. Now days, variety of available herbs are used throughout the world and they continue to promote good health. As the benefits from medicinal and aromatic plants are recognized, these plants will have a special role for humans in the future. The present review on medicinal and aromatic plants revealed similar combination of studies.


Author(s):  
D. Umamaheswari ◽  
R. Muthuraja ◽  
M. Kumar ◽  
B.S. Venkateswarlu

The medicinal plants are important source for pharmaceutical manufacturing. Medicinal plants & herbal medicines account for a significant percentage of the pharmaceutical market. As the side effects of Synthetic medicine have started getting more apparent, majority of formulation are prepared from herbs. The herbal medicines however, suffer from lack of standardization parameters. The main limitation is the lack of standardization of raw materials, of processing methods and of the final products, dosage formulation, and the non existence of criteria for quality control. Herbal formulations have reached extensive acceptability as therapeutic agents for several diseases. The development of authentic analytical methods which can reliably profile the phytochemical composition, including quantitative analyses of marker/bioactive compounds and other major constituents, is a major challenge to scientists. Standardization is an important step for the establishment of a consistent biological activity, a consistent chemical profile, or simply a quality assurance program for production and manufacturing of herbal drugs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 56-63
Author(s):  
Iryna Fito ◽  
Nataliya Stadnytska

The aim. The aim of this study was to propose methods of standardization of Eucalyptus globulus leaves and Cetraria islandica slan by the main group of biologically active substances (BAS). This was done for further development of complex medicines based on Eucalyptus globulus leaves and Cetraria islandica slan. These studies provide an opportunity for further development and standardization of extracts from these plants, and the main aim of this study is the development and standardization of a complex medicine. Materials and methods. Thin layer chromatography was used to determine the presence of these markers. Quantitative values of these biologically active substances were determined by spectrophotometric method according to the relevant methods of the State Pharmacopoeia of Ukraine. Results. Markers for the certification of Cetraria islandica and Eucalyptus globulus have been proposed in this study. Chlorophylls and 1,8-cineole were chosen as a marker for the study of Eucalyptus globulus, and polysaccharides were chosen as a marker for Cetraria islandica. The qualitative and quantitative content of these markers in the studied objects was studied. Further research in this direction will be aimed at developing methods for control and standardization of water and alcohol extracts from these plants. Conclusions. Biologically active substances in medicinal plant raw materials were studied. It is proposed to study extracts and finished products from Eucalyptus globulus leaves and Cetraria islandica slan using these methods. The method of qualitative and quantitative determination of polysaccharides in Cetraria islandica slan is easy to apply and easily reproducible. It is important to be able to standardize Eucalyptus globulus leaves for essential oils and chlorophylls. The biologically active substances-markers found in Eucalyptus globulus leaves and Cetraria islandica slan will be used for the development of herbal medicines, the standardization of which will be carried out for the same compounds.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1503
Author(s):  
Ekaterina-Michaela Tomou ◽  
Krystalia Lytra ◽  
Antonios Chrysargyris ◽  
Nikolaos Tzortzakis ◽  
Helen Skaltsa

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) play an essential role in global health systems, since more than 80% of population use natural products in primary healthcare. Given that the global use of herbal medicines is exponentially increasing, as well as many MAPs products are introduced into the market, many cultivation practices are applied to produce high quality and standardized plant raw materials. Thus, the present study focuses on the chemical fingerprints of two cultivated Sideritis species. In Cyprus, Sideritis cypria Post and S. perfoliata L. subsp. perfoliata are widely used in traditional medicine. To date, there is no research work presenting the comparative chemical profiling between the aforesaid species using NMR methods. In this study, 1D and 2D NMR experiments were used to compare the chemical fingerprints of these species originated from conventional cultivation practices. Iridoids (ajugol, monomelittoside, and melittoside) and one flavone (4′-methyl-isoscutellarein 7-O-[6‴-O-acetyl]-β-D-allosyl(1→2)glucoside) were present in the infusion of S. perfoliata subsp. perfoliata. The phenylethanoid glycoside, acteoside, was detected in both samples. The phytochemical profiles of these cultivated species were similar to those of Sideritis species, indicating the positive impact of cultivation practices in MAPs.


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