CHARACTERIZATION OF A GROUP OF MEDICINAL HERBS COMMERCIALIZED IN RIO DE JANEIRO STATE THROUGH XRF SPECTROSCOPY

• Published in: Demetra: Alimentação, Nutrição e Saúde Vol. 14; p. e36771
• Main Authors: Leandro da Conceição Luiz, Deborah Demarque Martins da Silva, Andresa de Souza Costa, Rafaela Tavares Batista, Renato Pereira de Freitas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro 01-04-2019
• Subjects: fluorescência de raios x. ervas fitoterápicas. xrf
• ISSN: 2238-913X
• DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2019.36771

The use of medicinal plants by the Brazilian population is a traditional practice, and is often the only resource used in basic health care. Within the context of the new instrumental analytical techniques, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy stands out, being used mainly for areas where the rapid profile of constituents is indispensable. The medicinal plants used in this study were: Brazilian arnica (Solidago microglossa D. C.), chamomile (Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rauschert), Chilean boldo (Peumus boldus Molina), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and Brazilian ginseng (Pfaffia Paniculata (Martius) Kuntze). This work aims to qualitatively analyze, through X-ray fluorescence, the elemental composition of selected medicinal plants that are commonly marketed in the state of Rio de Janeiro. By means of the generated energy spectra, Ca, K, Fe, Zn, Ni, among others, were observed. The Chilean boldo, chamomile and arnica samples presented a large number of photon counts for Ca and K, while the lemongrass showed a high number of photons for Fe and Ni. However, one of Chilean boldo samples was highlighted as worrying, due to peak in the spectrum, referring to energy that corresponds to a heavy metal, lead (Pb). DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2019.36771