Levels of metals and metalloids (µg/g) in Nigerian medicinal plants
Elements
BC
AG
AR
TO
SL
IA
PL
Cu
2.516 ± 0.121a
2.794 ± 0.249a
75.03 ± 0.202b
3.626 ± 0.49a
3.065 ± 0.136a
3.159 ± 0.321a
150
Cd
0.002 ± 0.000a
0.001 ± 0.000a
0.008 ± 0.001b
0.003 ± 0.000a
0.008 ± 0.000b
0.178 ± 0.000c
0.3
Pb
0.254 ± 0.001c
0.033 ± 0.002a
0.379 ± 0.034d
0.084 ± 0.004b
0.07 ± 0.000b
0.912 ± 0.118e
10
Zn
7.883 ± 0.119a
8.997 ± 0.314a
9.715 ± 0.056a
10.528 ± 0.823a
13.709 ± 1.499b
25.187 ± 0.063c
50
Mn
21.636 ± 3.47d
2.016 ± 0.062b
3.397 ± 0.164b
0.502 ± 0.013a
7.118 ± 0.033c
2.098 ± 0.055b
2
Co
0.158 ± 0.005c
0.026 ± 0.002a
0.199 ± 0.002c
0.033 ± 0.000a
0.093 ± 0.018b
0.12 ± 0.006b
0.48
Ni
1.19 ± 0.029c
0.298 ± 0.017b
0.748 ± 0.02bc
0.369 ± 0.18b
0.416 ± 0.091b
0.12 ± 0.006a
1.5
As
0.166 ± 0.024b
0.122 ± 0.001a
0.267 ± 0.019b
0.206 ± 0.036a
0.109 ± 0.001a
0.138 ± 0.006a
10
Fe
7.746 ± 0.1585a
7.298 ± 0.024a
33.53 ± 0.427b
17.2 ± 1.46a
14.58 ± 5.694a
99.68 ± 4.044c
20
Data with the same superscripts in the same row are not statistically different from one another. Values are mean ± SD of three replicates. The SD values which are less than 0.0001 were written as 0.000 in this table. PL: permissible limits
Bruno A. Rocha is the GE of Exploration of Foods and Foodomics, but he had no involvement in the journal review process of this manuscript. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Ethical approval
Not applicable.
Consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent to publication
Not applicable.
Availability of data and materials
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this manuscript will be made available by the author (Joseph A. Adeyemi, jaadeyemi@futa.edu.ng), without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher.
Funding
The authors warmly appreciate the financial support from the Sao Paulo Research Foundation [FAPESP 2018/24069-3, FAPESP 2022/09989-4]; and the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development [CNPq 406442/2022-3]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Kasilo OMJ, Wambebe C, Nikiema JB, Nabyonga-Orem J. Towards universal health coverage: advancing the development and use of traditional medicines in Africa.BMJ Glob Health. 2019;4:e001517. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Khan MSA, Ahmad I. Herbal medicine: current trends and future prospects. In: Khan MSA, Ahmad I, Chattopadhyay D, editors. New look to phytomedicine. Florida: Academic Press; 2019. pp. 3–13.
Anand U, Jacobo-Herrera N, Altemimi A, Lakhssassi N. A comprehensive review on medicinal plants as antimicrobial therapeutics: potential avenues of biocompatible drug discovery.Metabolites. 2019;9:258. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Süntar I. Importance of ethnopharmacological studies in drug discovery: role of medicinal plants.Phytochem Rev. 2020;19:1199–209. [DOI]
Lezoul NE, Belkadi M, Habibi F, Guillén F. Extraction processes with several solvents on total bioactive compounds in different organs of three medicinal plants.Molecules. 2020;25:4672. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Moyo M, Aremu AO, Van Staden J. Medicinal plants: an invaluable, dwindling resource in sub-Saharan Africa.J Ethnopharmacol. 2015;174:595–606. [DOI] [PubMed]
de Santana BF, Voeks RA, Funch LS. Ethnomedicinal survey of a maroon community in Brazil’s Atlantic tropical forest.J Ethnopharmacol. 2016;181:37–49. [DOI] [PubMed]
Bibi F, Abbas Z, Harun N, Perveen B, Bussmann RW. Indigenous knowledge and quantitative ethnobotany of the Tanawal area, Lesser Western Himalayas, Pakistan.Plos One. 2022;17:e0263604. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Bouyahya A, Belmehdi O, Benjouad A, El Hassani RA, Amzazi S, Dakka N, et al. Pharmacological properties and mechanism insights of Moroccan anticancer medicinal plants: what are the next steps?Ind Crops Prod. 2020;147:112198. [DOI]
Ma RH, Ni ZJ, Zhu YY, Thakur K, Zhang F, Zhang YY, et al. A recent update on the multifaceted health benefits associated with ginger and its bioactive components.Food Funct. 2021;12:519–42. [DOI] [PubMed]
Elahee SF, Mao H, Shen X. Traditional Indian medicine and traditional Chinese medicine: a comparative overview.Chin Med Cult. 2019;2:105–13. [DOI]
Salvilla RCM, Faller EM. Indian and Chinese traditional medicine on COVID-19: a review and perspective.Int J Sci Res Publ. 2021;11:77–81. [DOI]
Watt JM, Breyer-Brandwijk MG. The medicinal and poisonous plants of Southern and Eastern Africa. Berlin: Springer; 1962.
Orabueze IC, Uzor SC, Ndiaye B, Uba D, Ota DA, Agbedahusi J. Antimalarial, antioxidant activities and chemoprofile of Sansevieria liberica Gerome and Labroy (Agavaceae) leaf extract.Adv Pharmacol Pharm Sci. 2021;2021:9053262. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Akindele AJ, Wani ZA, Sharma S, Mahajan G, Satti NK, Adeyemi OO, et al. In vitro and in vivo anticancer activity of root extracts of Sansevieria liberica Gerome and Labroy (Agavaceae).Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2015;2015:560404. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Meira M, Silva EP, David JM, David JP. Review of the genus Ipomoea: traditional uses, chemistry and biological activities.Rev Bras Farmacogn. 2012;22:682–713. [DOI]
Akindele AJ, Eksioglu EA, Kwan JC, Adeyemi OO, Liu C, Luesch H, et al. Biological effects of Byrsocarpus coccineus in vitro.Pharm Biol. 2011;49:152–160. [DOI] [PubMed]
Ogbiti VM, Akindele AJ, Adeyemi OO. Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic activities of hydroethanolic stem bark extract of Albizia glaberrima.J Herbs Spices Med Plants. 2017;23:44–67. [DOI]
Akindele AJ, Oladimeji-Salami JA, Usuwah BA. Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of Telfairia occidentalis hydroethanolic leaf extract (Cucurbitaceae).J Med Food. 2015;18:1157–1163. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Akindele AJ, Wani Z, Mahajan G, Sharma S, Aigbe FR, Satti N, et al. Anticancer activity of Aristolochia ringens Vahl. (Aristolochiaceae).J Tradit Complement Med. 2014;5:35–41. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Luo L, Wang B, Jiang J, Fitzgerald M, Huang Q, Yu Z, et al. Heavy metal contaminations in herbal medicines: determination, comprehensive risk assessments, and solutions.Front Pharmacol. 2021;11:595335. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Sadhu A, Upadhyay P, Singh PK, Agrawal A, Ilango K, Karmakar D, et al. Quantitative analysis of heavy metals in medicinal plants collected from environmentally diverse locations in India for use in a novel phytopharmaceutical product.Environ Monitor Assess. 2015;187:542. [DOI] [PubMed]
Tschinkel PF, Melo ES, Pereira HS, Silva K, Arakaki DG, Lima NV, et al. The hazardous level of heavy metals in different medicinal plants and their decoctions in water: a public health problem in Brazil.BioMed Res Int. 2020;2020:1465051. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Vinogradova N, Glukhov A, Chaplygin V, Kumar P, Mandzhieva S, Minkina T, et al. The content of heavy metals in medicinal plants in various environmental conditions: a review.Horticulturae. 2023;9:239. [DOI]
Rafati Rahimzadeh M, Rafati Rahimzadeh M, Kazemi S, Moghadamnia A. Cadmium toxicity and treatment: an update.Caspian J Intern Med. 2017;8:135–45. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Rizvi A, Parveen S, Khan S, Naseem I. Nickel toxicology with reference to male molecular reproductive physiology.Reprod Biol. 2020;20:3–8. [DOI] [PubMed]
Sabir S, Akash MS, Fiayyaz F, Saleem U, Mehmood MH, Rehman K. Role of cadmium and arsenic as endocrine disruptors in the metabolism of carbohydrates: inserting the association into perspectives.Biomed Pharmacother. 2019;114:108802. [DOI] [PubMed]
Rahaman MS, Rahman MM, Mise N, Sikder MT, Ichihara G, Uddin MK, et al. Environmental arsenic exposure and its contribution to human diseases, toxicity mechanism and management.Environ Pollut. 2021;289:117940. [DOI] [PubMed]
Adeoye I, Etuk V. Prevalence, predictors and pregnancy outcomes of unprescribed and herbal medicine use in Ibadan, Nigeria.BMC Complement Med Ther. 2023;23:17. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Usai J, Ekeocha Z, Byrn S, Clase K. Herbal medicines registration process for Zimbabwe overview of the process. BIRS Africa Technical Report Papers; 2021 Nov. Report No.: TR-BIRSAFRICA-2021-8.
Adeyemi JA, Adedire CO, Paulelli AC, Martins-Junior AC, Ileke KD, Barbosa Jr F. Levels and dietary intake of lead (Pb) and six essential elements in gari samples from Ondo States, Southwest Nigeria: a potential risk factor of health status.J Food Compost Anal. 2016;45:34–8. [DOI]
Kenny CR, Ring G, Sheehan A, Mc Auliffe MAP, Lucey B, Furey A. Novel metallomic profiling and non-carcinogenic risk assessment of botanical ingredients for use in herbal, phytopharmaceutical and dietary products using HR-ICP-SFMS.Sci Rep. 2022;12:17582. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Geronimo ACR, Melo ESP, Silva KRN, Pereira HS, Nascimento VA, Machate DJ, et al. Human health risk assessment of heavy metals and metalloids in herbal medicines used to treat anxiety: monitoring of safety.Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:772928. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Bakar MA, Bhattacherjy SC. Assessment of heavy metals concentration in some selected medicinal plants collected from BCSIR, Chittagong cultivation area in Bangladesh.Hamdard Med. 2012;55:26–32.
Annan K, Dickson RA, Amponsah IK, Nooni IK. The heavy metal contents of some selected medicinal plants sampled from different geographical locations.Pharmacognosy Res. 2013;5:103–8. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Karahan F. Evaluation of trace element and heavy metal levels of some ethnobotanically important medicinal plants used as remedies in Southern Turkey in terms of human health risk.Biol Trace Elem Res. 2023;201:493–513. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Roy M, McDonald LM. Metal uptake in plants and health risk assessments in metal-contaminated smelter soils.Land Degrad Develop. 2015;26:785–92. [DOI]
Mohamed BA, Ellis N, Kim CS, Bi X. The role of tailored biochar in increasing plant growth, and reducing bioavailability, phytotoxicity, and uptake of heavy metals in contaminated soil.Environ Pollut. 2017;230:329–38. [DOI] [PubMed]
Kulhari A, Sheorayan A, Bajar S, Sarkar S, Chaudhury A, Kalia RK. Investigation of heavy metals in frequently utilized medicinal plants collected from environmentally diverse locations of northwestern India.Springerplus. 2013;2:676. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Silva CS, Moutinho C, Ferreira da Vinha A, Matos C. Trace minerals in human health: iron, zinc, copper, manganese and fluorine.Int J Sci Res Methodol. 2019;13:57–80.
Giménez VM, Bergam I, Reiter RJ, Manucha W. Metal ion homeostasis with emphasis on zinc and copper: potential crucial link to explain the non-classical antioxidative properties of vitamin D and melatonin.Life Sci. 2021;281:119770. [DOI] [PubMed]
Vogt AC, Arsiwala T, Mohsen M, Vogel M, Manolova V, Bachmann MF. On iron metabolism and its regulation.Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22:4591. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Osman D, Cooke A, Young TR, Deery E, Robinson NJ, Warren MJ. The requirement for cobalt in vitamin B12: a paradigm for protein metalation.Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Res. 2021;1868:118896. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Rani A, Kumar A, Lal A, Pant M. Cellular mechanisms of cadmium-induced toxicity: a review.Int J Environ Health Res. 2014;24:378–99. [DOI] [PubMed]
Orr SE, Bridges CC. Chronic kidney disease and exposure to nephrotoxic metals.Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18:1039. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Kiziler AR, Aydemir B, Onaran I, Alici B, Ozkara H, Gulyasar T, et al. High levels of cadmium and lead in seminal fluid and blood of smoking men are associated with high oxidative stress and damage in infertile subjects.Biol Trace Elem Res. 2007;120:82–91. [DOI] [PubMed]
Odukoya JO, Odukoya JO, Ndinteh DT. Elemental measurements and health risk assessment of sub-Saharan African medicinal plants used for cardiovascular diseases’ and related risk factors’ treatment.J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2021;65:126725. [DOI] [PubMed]
Liu H, Tang J, Chen T, Zhu P, Sun D, Wang W. Assessment of heavy metals contamination and human health risk assessment of the commonly consumed medicinal herbs in China.Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2023;30:7345–57. [DOI] [PubMed]
Ghasemidehkordi B, Malekirad AA, Nazem H, Fazilati M, Salavati H, Shariatifar N, et al. Concentration of lead and mercury in collected vegetables and herbs from Markazi province, Iran: a non-carcinogenic risk assessment.Food Chem Toxicol. 2018;113:204–10.Erratum in: Food Chem Toxicol. 2018;121:717–8. [DOI] [PubMed]
Burkill HM. The useful plants of west tropical Africa.Econ Bot. 1986;40:176. [DOI]
Soladoye MO, Adetayo MO, Chukwuma EC, Adetunji AN. Ethnobotanical survey of plants used in the treatment of haemorrhoids in South-Western Nigeria.Ann Biol Res. 2010;1:1–15.
Aigbe FR, Adeyemi OO. The aqueous root extract of Aristolochia ringens (Vahl) prevents chemically induced inflammation.Planta Med. 2011;77:PF28. [DOI]
Van Wyk BE, Wink M, editors. Medicinal plants of the world. Oxfordshire: CABI; 2017.
Neuwinger HD. African ethnobotany: poisons and drugs; chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology.J Nat Prod. 1997;60:864–5. [DOI]
Yakubu MT, Atoyebi AR. Brysocarpus coccineus (Schum & Thonn) root reinstates sexual competence and testicular function in paroxetine-induced sexual dysfunction in male Wistar rats.Andrologia. 2018;50:e12980. [DOI] [PubMed]
Sunday EA, Onyeyili PA, Saganuwan SA. Therapeutic effects of Byrsocarpus coccineus root bark extract on bacterially and chemically induced diarrhea in the Wistar albino rat (Rattus norvegicus domestica).Animal Model Exp Med. 2019;2:312–25. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]
Akindele AJ, Unachukwu EG, Osiagwu DD. 90 Days toxicological assessment of hydroethanolic leaf extract of Ipomoea asarifolia (Desr.) Roem. and Schult. (Convolvulaceae) in rats.J Ethnopharmacol. 2015;174:582–94. [DOI] [PubMed]
Kayode AAA, Kayode OT. Some medicinal values of Telfeiria occidentalis: a review.Am J Biochem. 2011;1:30–8. [DOI]
