This article is protected by German copyright law. You may copy and distribute this article for your personal use only. Other use is only allowed with written permission by the copyright holder. Radiochim. Acta 97, 325–331 (2009) / DOI 10.1524/ract.2009.1621  by Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, München Study of some Ayurvedic Indian medicinal plants for the essential trace elemental contents by instrumental neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectroscopy techniques By R. S. Lokhande 1 , P. U. Singare 1 , ∗ , M. L. Andhele 1 , R. Acharya 2 , A. G. C. Nair 2 and A. V. R. Reddy 2 1 Department of Chemistry, University of Mumbai, Vidyanagari, Santacruz, Mumbai 400098, India 2 Radiochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India (Received January 24, 2008; accepted in final form December 22, 2008) Instrumental neutron activation analysis / Atomic absorption spectroscopy / Medicinal plants / Trace elemental analysis / Inter-elemental correlations Summary. Elemental analysis of some medicinal plants used in the Indian Ayurvedic system was performed by em- ploying instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) techniques. The sam- ples were irradiated with thermal neutrons in a nuclear reactor and the induced activity was counted by gamma ray spec- trometry using an efficiency calibrated high resolution high purity germanium (HPGe) detector. Most of the medicinal plants were found to be rich in one or more of the elements under study. The variation in elemental concentration in same medicinal plants samples collected in summer, winter and rainy seasons was studied and the biological effects of these elements on human beings are discussed. 1. Introduction There are many references to the curative properties of sev- eral herbs in the ancient Indian literature, Rigveda, though a more detailed account is found in the Atharvaveda from where Ayurveda, the Indian traditional health care sys- tem (ayus = life, veda = knowledge, meaning science of life) originated. Fairly comprehensive information about herbs has been recorded in two treatises Charak Samhita and Shusruta Samhita – a base for Ayurvedic system of medicine [1, 2]. These herbs are now being increasingly used in cosmetics, foods as well as alternative medicine [3]. Some of the ingredients of allopathic and most of the Ayurvedic and Homeopathy medicines are derived from plants. Traditional Indian medical herbs used for strength- ening the body immune system are known to have many essential and nutritional elements. Their excess or defi- ciency may disturb normal biochemical functions of the body [4]. Some western scholars have pursued the analy- sis of various Indian plants and herbs for their medicinal properties [5]. Most studies on such medicinal plants per- tain to their organic contents, viz. essential oils, glycosides, vitamins, alkaloids and other active components and their *Author for correspondence (E-mail: pravinsingare@vsnl.net). pharmacological/therapeutic effects. Besides several or- ganic compounds, it is now well established that many trace elements play a vital role in general well-being as well as in the cure of diseases [6, 7]. Several studies have reported elemental contents in plant extracts, which are consumed by us either as a herbal health drink or medicine [8 – 10]. These elements are present at varying concentrations in dif- ferent parts of the plants, especially in roots, seeds and leaves which are used as a dietary item as well as ingredi- ent in the Ayurvedic medicinal preparation. The leaves of the plants are still used in some countries as for instance in Malaysia [11], Greece [12] and India [13] particularly for their therapeutic effects. Since these trace elements constitute a minute fraction in different parts of the medic- inal plants, a sensitive and reliable analytical technique is a perquisite for obtaining precise and accurate data. Considering the importance of trace elements in various human metabolic processes and also considering their cura- tive properties, in the present investigation we have applied one of the sensitive analytical technique like INAA to study the essential elemental content in different parts of Indian medicinal plants and herbs. The overall impact of these es- sential trace elements on human health is also discussed. However due to increasing industrialization and environ- mental pollution the study was also extended to estimate the level of toxic elements present in these medicinal plant samples. Even though the direct link between the essential elemental content and their curative capacity is not yet es- tablished, the experimental data of the present work will be of immense importance in synthesis of new Ayurvedic for- mulations. Also it will help in deciding the proportion of various active constituents and managing dose of a particular formulation. 2. Experimental 2.1 Sampling The various medicinal plants in the form of roots, leaves, fruits, and seeds were collected from and around the Keshav Shrushti, Bhayander and shree Narsing K. Dube college, Nalasopara, Maharashtra,India to study the climatic effect on the mineral content of the plants. Surface contaminants