Characterization of Polyphenols and Mineral Contents in Three Medicinal Weeds
Yaman Kumar Sahu
School of Studies in Chemistry, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur-492010, India.
Khageshwar Singh Patel *
School of Studies in Chemistry, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur-492010, India.
Pablo Martín-Ramos
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, EPS, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón (IUCA), University of Zaragoza, Carretera de Cuarte s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain.
Erick K. Towett
World Agroforestry Centre, P.O.Box 30677, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: Common weeds Rorippa palustris (L.) Besser, Euphorbia rothiana Spreng. and Schoenoplectiella articulata (L.) Lye are used for food, medicinal, green biofertilizer and biosorbent applications. In this work, their polyphenol and mineral contents have been characterized.
Methodology: Samples from aforementioned three plants were manually collected in Raipur city (CG, India) and processed for the analyses. Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride were used for the spectrophotometric determination of polyphenols. The mineral contents were quantified by X-ray fluorescence.
Results: The total concentration of 20 elements (viz. P, S, Cl, As, Se, K, Rb, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Al, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Mo and Pb), total polyphenol and flavonoid contents in the leaves ranged from 46372 to 71501, from 47877 to 73791 and from 1950 to 9400 mg/kg, respectively. Remarkable concentrations of several nutrients (P, S, Cl, K, Mg, Ca and Fe) were observed.
Conclusion: The biomass from medicinal weeds R. palustris, E. rothiana and S. articulata featured very high K, Ca and Fe contents. Other nutrients (polyphenols, flavonoids, P, S, Cl and Mg) were identified at moderate levels. These species may hold promise as bioindicators.
Keywords: Flavonoid, medicinal weeds, mineral elements, phenolic, XRF