Determination of the Levels of selected Heavy Metals in Medicinal plants from Narok County, Kenya and variations in their levels due to hot water Infusion

Abstract

The use of traditional medicine to majority of communities in developing countries is well accepted since they are affordable and readily available. Narok County, Kenya which is home to the Maasai Community commonly use Dovyalis abyssinica, Todalia asistica, Clutia abysssinica, Trimelia grandifolia, Rhamnus prinoides and Caylusea abyssinica plants for medicinal purposes. This study assessed the levels of selected heavy metals in leaves, stem, and roots of these medicinal plants and their infusions using AAS. The trend in heavy metal accumulation was Fe > Cu > Co > Cr. The levels significantly (P≤0.05) differed among the different plants and even further variation (P≤0.05) was observed in different plant parts. The levels in the infusions for all the metals studied were lower than 50%. Generally, the levels in the studied medicinal plants were low and safe for human consumption. Keywords: Medicinal plants, heavy metals, infusion, acid digestion, traditional medicine, AAS.