Profiling of Micronutrients and Heavy metals in Ocimum species of Punjab
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Date
2021
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Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
Medicinal plants are the foundation stones of Ayurveda and Siddha system of medicine as
they help in curing a variety of ailments. Genus, Ocimum represents a major member of
medicinal plants of family Lamiaceae. Ocimum, also known as Tulsi, is indigenous to the
Indian continent and is highly revered for its medicinal uses. Scientific examinations of the
medicinal plants w.r.t elemental analysis especially heavy metals are lacking to ensure
development of their safe formulations. Such studies are needed to ensure the standardization
and quality control of the developed products and approval for use in primary health care.
This need has greatly emphasized on the development of analytical methods for their
elemental analysis to produce reliable results and hence to guarantee the quality. In present
study, ICP-MS method was validated for the simultaneous determination of essential
micronutrients (Co, Ni, Se, Cu, Mn, Zn, Al and Fe) and toxic elements (Cr, As, Cd, Pb and
Hg) in Ocimum leaves. The extraction of samples was performed by a microwave assisted
digestion with HNO3 to stabilize these elements. The validated method fulfilled all the
acceptance criteria (Correlation coefficient (R) ≥ 0.995, Recoveries ranging between 70-130
% and RSD ≤ 20 %) for the parameters: linearity, limit of detection/quantification, accuracy
and precision at three levels of concentrations. LOQ for all the elements varied from 0.01160.55
µg/kg. Three Ocimum species (Ocimum kilimandscharicum, Ocimum basilicum and
Ocimum sanctum) collected from two different locations (PAU, Ludhiana, Punjab and
Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre, Kannuaj, Uttar Pradesh) were analyzed for their
micronutrient and heavy metal contents by using the validated method on ICP-MS. Analytical
results demonstrated that O. kilimandscharicum contained the highest levels of micronutrients
especially Fe and Al than other two species. However, among various heavy metals,
concentration of Cd (in O. basilicum) and Hg (in all Ocimum species) were found to be higher
than their permissible limits of 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg respectively. The validated method, thus,
can be effectively used in laboratory for routine determination of these micronutrients (8) and
heavy metals (5) in Ocimum species with acceptable analytical performance.
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Citation
Arora, Aayushi (2021). Profiling of Micronutrients and Heavy metals in Ocimum species of Punjab (Unpublished M.Sc. thesis). Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.