Comparative studies of elemental composition in leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus growing in Bangladesh

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Main Authors: Shahin Aziz, Koushik Saha, Nasim Sultana, Husna Parvin Nur, Md. Aminul Ahsan, Shamim Ahmed, Md. Kamal Hossain
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2016
• Subjects: Bangladesh; Catharanthus roseus; Indigenous medicinal systems; Atomic absorption spectrophotometer; Elemental composition; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Arctic; Human health
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apjtb.2015.10.003; https://doaj.org/article/29dc1ab5b02c4c31961f9b4918943286

Objective: To investigate the elemental composition of the leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus (C. roseus) due to the plant's wide application in the indigenous medicinal system and its chemical constituents' importance. Methods: The atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used for quantitative analysis of various elements. Results: Total 13 important elements were analyzed in leaves and flowers of C. roseus. Results indicated the presence of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cr, Fe, Zn, Al, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd and Mn in both leaves and flowers. The most important finding of the work was that, leaves of C. roseus showed high concentration of all elements except K and Zn while flowers of C. roseus showed higher concentration of K and Zn. Conclusions: The elemental composition in both leaves and flowers of C. roseus were found to be different. Therefore, different parts of this medicinal plant are enriched in some micro and macro nutrients like Fe, Ca, Na, K, Zn, which are very important for biological metabolic system as well as human health.