Essential and toxic elements in three Pakistan's medicinal fruits (Punica granatum, Ziziphus jujuba and Piper cubeba) analysed by INAA.

Three important medicinal fruits generally used by the people of Pakistan for the treatment of different diseases have been studied for their mineral contents. Twenty-two major and minor trace elements (essential, toxic and non-essential) were identified in Punica granatum (pomegranate), Ziziphus jujuba (jujube) and Piper cubeba L. (cubeb) by employing instrumental neutron activation analysis technique. The studied medicinal herbs are a good source of the essential elements while toxic elements are found in trace amounts. K is detected as a major element in pomegranate, jujube and cubeb with respective values of 1.20%, 1.18% and 2.01%. Pomegranate has significant concentrations of Na, Zn, Cr and Se; jujube has high Cl, Zn, Mn and Co contents while cubeb is a good source of K and Fe. The baseline data presented in this work can be used in understanding the role of mineral elements in nutritive, preventive and therapeutic properties of medicinal herbs.

Determination of the natural and anthropogenic radioactivity in the soil of Gilgit--a town in the foothills of Hindukush range.

The activity concentration of terrestrial (226Ra, 232Th, and 40K) and anthropogenic gamma-emitting radionuclide (137Cs) have been analyzed in 48 soil samples collected from Gilgit, a famous city for mountaineers and tourists in northern Pakistan, at an average altitude of 1,550 m, using gamma-ray spectrometry. The data analysis includes descriptive statistics, radium equivalent activity and its principal component analysis, air absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose rate, and collective effective dose equivalent. It is found that the level of cosmic exposure is high in Gilgit relative to the world average values, but the average outdoor annual effective dose rate from terrestrial radionuclides is lower as compared to its value in the soil of Punjab, Pakistan, and the world average values found in United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) for the general public. The median annual effective dose rate produced by 137Cs was 0.11 microSv y-1.

Non-occupational lead exposure and hypertension in Pakistani adults.

Hypertension is one of the most prevalent diseases in the developed and developing countries. Based on the long historical association and the provocative findings of blood pressure effects at low level of lead exposure a study was carried out to determine if an association existed between low blood lead concentration and hypertension. In this study the effects of low-level exposure to lead on blood pressure were examined among 244 adults using atomic absorption spectrometer. For quality assurance purpose certified reference materials i.e., Animal blood A-13, Bovine liver 1577 and cotton cellulose V-9 from IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and NIST (National Institute of Standard Technology) were analyzed under identical experimental conditions. The mean age of hypertensive adults was 52 years (range 43 - 66). The mean values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure were (209+/-11.7) (range 170 - 250) and (117+/-3.9) (range 105 - 140) mmHg respectively. Blood lead concentration ranged from 78 - 201 microg/L with a mean of 139 microg/L and 165 - 497 microg/L with a mean of 255 microg/L in normal and hypertensive adults respectively. Increase in systolic blood pressure was significantly predictive with increase in blood lead levels. Body mass index (BMI) and lipid profile including total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride correlated with blood pressure.