Estimation of radionuclides concentration and average annual committed effective dose due to ingestion for some selected medicinal plants of South India

Abstract

Eight medicinal plants and soil samples from the Malnad area of Karnataka in South India (N 13 29 0 35.4 00 ; E 75 18 0 02.4 00) were analysed for activity concentrations of natural and artificial radionuclides using HPGe gamma spectrometry. The average annual committed effective dose (AACED) due to the ingestion of radionuclides from medicinal plants were also estimated. The activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 210 Pb, 232 Th, and 40 K were found to vary in the range of 32.27e60.12 Bqkg À1 , 56.09e160.56 Bqkg À1 , 49.61e98.46 Bqkg À1 , and 241.57e712.85 Bqkg À1 , respectively, in the soil samples and 2.66e11.27 Bqkg À1 , BDL to 87.03 Bqkg À1 , 2.42e8.72 Bqkg À1 , and 93.79e6831.40 Bqkg À1 , respectively, in the medicinal plants corresponding to the soil samples. The activity concentration of artificially produced radionuclide 137 Cs was BDL to 12.34 Bqkg À1 in the soil and it was below detectable level (BDL) in all the plant samples. The soil to plant transfer factors (TF) varied from 0.07 to 0.27, BDL to 0.80, 0.04 to 0.13 and 0.17 to 23.80, respectively, for 226 Ra, 210 Pb, 232 Th, and 40 K. The AACED due to the ingestion of radionuclides from the medicinal plants varied from 0.0075 to 0.1067 mSvy À1. The AACED values reported in this study are much below the world average value of 0.30 mSvy À1 for an individual. This indicates that there is no radiological health risk in using these plants for medicinal purposes. This study may also contribute data on local medicinal plants to formulate regulations related to radiological healthcare.

Estimation of natural radioactivity of some medicinal or herbal plants used in kars, turkey

“…In this study, the average radioactivity concentration of 232 Th in medicinal plants was found as 61.15 Bqkg -1 which is much higher than previously reported in other countries 2,6,14 . Similarly, 40 K concentrations in medicinal plants were higher than concentration in medicinal plants from other countries except India and Egypt 2,6 .…”

“…Similarly, 40 K concentrations in medicinal plants were higher than concentration in medicinal plants from other countries except India and Egypt 2,6 . These results can be explained may be due to a wide differences in the soil component which are normally directly dependent to the main rocks, the type of weathering processes, and also the content of the fertilizers used in the soil 2 .…”

“…Today, some of the alternative medicine methods have been scientifically proven by pharmacists, medicine people and molecular biologists and reintroduced into the lives of people with the approval of the authorities 1 . The use of traditional herbal medicines for the treatment of various diseases makes it very important to determine the radionuclide concentrations in such plants [2][3][4] . Plants can be affected by radioactive substances in two basic ways.…”

Productivity and nutrient use efficiency with integrated fertilization of buckwheat–fenugreek intercrops

“…Medicinal plants as intercrops are gaining interest in both developing and developed countries and can provide a novel strategy for sustainable agricultural cropping systems (Chandrashekara and Somashekarappa 2016).…”

Radiological hazard of coffee to humans: a comparative study of Arabian and Turkish coffees

“…Estimation of the average annual committed effective dose (AACED) due to ingestion of NORMs in coffee can be calculated using the following equation (Njinga et al, 2015;Chandrashekara and Somashekarappa, 2016):…”