PIGE-PIXE analysis of medicinal plants and vegetables of pharmacological importance.

PIGE and PIXE techniques were employed to the study of elemental constituents of some traditional medicinal plants generally used in curing many diseases and ailments in southwestern Nigeria. Analyses were also carried out on commonly edible vegetables of medicinal and pharmacological importance. PIGE measurements were carried out using 3.5-MeV collimated protons from the 7 mV CN Van-de-Graaff accelerator of INFN, LNL, Legnaro (Padova), Italy, whereas the PIXE measurements were carried out using 1.8 MeV from the 2.5 MV AN 2000 Van-de-Graaff accelerator of the same laboratory. The results show that many of the medicinal plants contain elements of cardinal importance in human metabolism. The results from the vegetables also show the presence of vital elements that are needed for growth and development. In addition, some of the toxic elements, which include As, Cd, Hg, and so forth, were not detected. However, some of the recipes contain trace amounts of Pb at very low concentrations. This calls for proper control of dose rates in some samples to prevent the attendant negative cumulative effects.