International Journal of Applied Chemistry

  • Year: 2009
  • Volume: 5
  • Issue: 2

Herbo-Mineral Analysis of Rauwolfia Serpentina

  • Author:
  • Imad A. Abu-Yousefa, Conjeevaram Gunasekara, Naser Abdoa, Srinivasan Narasimhanb, Sofian M. Kanana,
  • Total Page Count: 12
  • DOI:
  • Page Number: 103 to 114

aAmerican University of Sharjah, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 26666, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

bAsthagiri Herbal Research Foundation, Chennai 600 059, India.

Abstract

Elemental composition of Rauwolfia serpentina (Apocynaceae) grown wildly in Indian continent has been studied. The aqueous extracts of the plant were analyzed for the determination of herb-minerals such as Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Ca, K, Na, Co, Cr, Pb, Ni, Al, Cd, and Li by Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Phytopharmaceuticals containing Rauwolfia serpentina are used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Prior to the analyses of all herbal samples, a normal digestion procedure as well as microwave assisted acid digestion methods were optimized. The recoveries of most elements are in the range of 26.3–113.8%. The method proposed has been applied to the analysis of real samples and compared with biological standard samples (NIST 1573a) Tomato leaves. The determined values of most of the elements in the sample were in good agreement with the certified values.

Keywords

Rauwolfia serpentina, ICP-AES, elemental analysis, extracts, NIST 1573a, blood pressure