Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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RESEARCHES UPON INDIGENOUS HERBAL PRODUCTS FOR THERAPEUTIC VALORIFICATION IN METABOLIC DISEASES NOTE I. BETULAE FOLIUM AND RUBI IDAEI FOLIUM, SOURCES OF MICRO- AND MACROELEMENTS

TEODORA COSTEA1, VIORICA ISTUDOR1, RADU FIERĂSCU2*, IRINA FIERĂSCU2, ADRIANA BOTEZ3

1University of Medicine and Pharmacy ,,Carol Davila’’, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry, Phytotherapy Department, 6 Traian Vuia Street, 020956, Bucharest,
2National Insitute for R&D for Chemistry& Petrochemistry ICECHIM, 202 Splaiul Independenţei, Bucharest,
3Research and Development National Institute for Methals and Radioactive Resources - ICPMRR, 70 Carol I Bd, Bucharest

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The role of micro- and macroelements in some metabolic diseases’ pathology (diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia) is well known. The purpose of the study was a screening of macro- and microelements found in birch (Betulae folium) and raspberry (Rubi idaei folium) leaves and the quantitative determination of those elements (calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron, copper, nickel, chromium and vanadium) implicated in diabetes and dyslipidaemia pathology, for therapeutic valorification of both herbal products as adjuvants in these metabolic disorders’ treatment. Regarding this, qualitative (X-ray fluorescence = XRF) and quantitative (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy = ICP-AES, flame atomic absorption spectroscopy = F-AAS) methods have been used. Calcium, potassium, zinc, manganese, iron, copper and nickel were identified in both herbal products using XRF. Betulae folium and Rubi idaei folium are considerable sources of: calcium (11,600; 19,400 mg kg1), potassium (16,200; 40,300 mg kg-1), magnesium (6,300; 7,200 mg kg-1), manganese (3,200; 94 mg kg-1), zinc (225; 48.5 mg kg-1), iron (49.3; 335 mg kg1), copper (19.09; 15.05 mg kg-1) (ICP-AES) and chromium (69.85; 23.28 mg kg-1) (F-AAS). Nickel and vanadium were not quantified, being under the detection limit of the used methods. The presence of chromium in raspberry leaves hasn’t been mentioned before.