Determination of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in the Leaves and Tea of Arrabidaea chica (Humb. & Bompl.) Verl.

Abstract

Arrabidaea chica (Humb. & Bompl.) Verl. is an herb popularly used in the treatment of anemia in the Brazilian Amazon region, and little is known about its mineral content. Therefore, the elemental contents of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn were determined in the dried leaves and tea obtained by decoction and infusion of the three varieties of the medicinal plant using flame atomic absorption spectrometry after acid wet digestion of the samples. In general, the levels of the minerals are in good agreement with other studies involving medicinal plants, and the variety AC2 had the highest concentrations of all elements both in dried leaves and tea. Iron was found to be the most abundant in dried leaves (38.4-115.5 μg g(-1)), whereas manganese had the highest extraction efficiencies both in decoction (56.1-62.7%) and infusion (45.6-63.6%). Additionally, the decoction was more efficient in the extraction of almost all elements. The consumption of the decoction of variety AC2 may contribute to a small proportion to the daily requirements of Mn.

Interrelationships among selected essential elements in medicinal plant raw materials and their water-extractable forms

“…The results obtained in this study concerning total and water-extractable level of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu point out, that the level of Cu is the lowest one, both in dry samples of medicinal plant material and in aqueous extracts. Similar results were obtained by other researchers [4,[15][16][17][18].…”

“…Herbs: Euphrasiae (samples 1 and 2), Millefolii (samples 3 and 4), Equiseti (samples 5-7), Hyperici (8)(9)(10), Violae tricoloris (11)(12); leaves: Salviae (samples [13][14][15][16], Sennae (samples [17][18][19], Urticae (samples [20][21]; Inflorescentia: Tiliae (samples 22-25), Crataegi (26-28); flowers: Sambuci (samples 29 and 30); Calendulae (samples 31-32), Chamomillae (samples 33-36); fruits: Anisi (samples 37-38), Crataegi (samples 39-40) and Foeniculi (samples 41 and 42).…”

“…The second large cluster in the lower area of the dendrogram, contains in general the samples of herbal teas with low level of total and water-extractable Cu. As examples of plant materials, which can be located in this cluster, the samples of Herba Equiseti (5-7), Folium Sennae (17)(18)(19), Fructus Anisi (37-38), can serve.…”

Perfil hematológico e bioquímico plasmático de camundongos após ingestão da planta Arrabidaea chica

“…O aumento expressivo da concentração de plaquetas (29,9%; p<0,05 para EE) pode ser devido à alta concentração de ferro (115,5 μg/g) encontrada nas folhas da planta [14]. Figueira et al (2010) [15], também ao analisar o perfil hematológico de camundongos, após ingestão das folhas de A. chica preparadas como chá, percebeu que este aumentou significativamente a concentração de plaquetas, hemoglobina corpuscular e hemácias, corroborando com muitos dos resultados deste presente estudo, que ao invés do chá usou extratos das folhas de A. chica.…”

Efeito dos extratos de Aloe vera e Arrabidaea chica sobre a cicatrização do tendão calcanear de ratos após transecção parcial

“…Foram ainda isolados fitoesteróis, flavonoides e taninos Albuquerque, 1989). O estudo da composição mineral identificou ainda a presença de cálcio, fósforo, manganês, cobre, zinco e ferro Albuquerque, 1989;Magalhães et al, 2009).…”