Determination of element contents in herbal drugs: chemometric approach.

The elemental content of 23 commercial herbal drugs was evaluated and multivariate analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were performed with aim to know the relationship among the elements in the herbal drugs. Among the 13 elements investigated K (8096.97), Na (581.53), Cu (2.06); Mg (678.4); Fe (476.93), Al (321.5), Co (0.22); Zn (4.46), Ni (0.56); Mn (25.77); Pb (13.33); and Cr (13.18)mg/kg dry weight, respectively, were found at high concentrations in Eclipta prostrata; Adhatoda vasica; Phyllanthus amarus; Hybanthus enneaspermus; Cardiospermum halicacabum; Acacia nilotica; and Denolix elata. Interestingly, the toxic element Cd was below detectable level in all the samples and Cr, Pb and Ni were lower than the permissible limit as prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This study clearly shows that PCA and HCA procedures appear useful tools for the differentiation and classification of herbal drugs using the profile of elements.

In vitro antioxidant activities of selected seaweeds from Southeast coast of India.

OBJECTIVE: In vitro antioxidant activities of three selected Indian seaweeds viz., Halimeda tuna (H. tuna), Turbinaria conoides (T. conoides) and Gracilaria foliifera (G. foliifera) were evaluated. METHODS: Total antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, and reducing power of crude methanol and diethyl ether extracts were determined. RESULTS: Total phenolic content and total antioxidant activity were higher (1.231±0.173 mg GAE/g, 1.675± 0.361 mg GAE/g) in T. conoides respectively. Reducing power of crude methanol extract increased with concentrations of the extract. The Fourier transform-infra red spectrum analysis revealed the presence of polyphenolic signals. The seaweed extracts displayed moderate antioxidant activity compared to gallic acid standard. CONCLUSIONS: The seaweeds could be considered for curing diseases from oxidative deteriorations.