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Agronomy
Volume 11
Issue 5
10.3390/agronomy11051011
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Article

Determination of the Elemental Composition of Aromatic Plants Cultivated Industrially in the Republic of Moldova Using Neutron Activation Analysis

by
Alexandru Ciocarlan
1,
Gergana Hristozova
2,3,
Aculina Aricu
1,
Ion Dragalin
1,
Inga Zinicovscaia
1,2,4,*,
Nikita Yushin
2,
Dmitrii Grozdov
2 and
Violeta Popescu
1
1
Department of Chemistry of Natural and Biologically Active Compounds, The Institute of Chemistry, 3 Academiei Str., 2028 Chisinau, Moldova
2
Department of Nuclear Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot-Curie Str., 1419890 Dubna, Russia
3
Faculty of Physics and Technology, Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”, 24 Tsar Asen Str., 2028 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
4
Department of Nuclear Physics, Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, 30 Reactorului Str. MG-6, 077125 Bucharest—Magurele, Romania
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agronomy 2021, 11(5), 1011; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11051011
Submission received: 13 April 2021 / Revised: 14 May 2021 / Accepted: 17 May 2021 / Published: 20 May 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air and Soil Pollution Effects on Agroecosystems)
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Abstract

The mineral contents of roots, leaves, stalks, and inflorescences of the aromatic plant species Anethum graveolens L., Coriandrum sativum L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Levisticum officinale W.D.J. Koch, and Salvia sclarea L. were studied by means of neutron activation analysis. The contents of 36 major and trace elements were determined and biological transfer coefficients were calculated. Among major and minor elements, K with a content in the range of 9230–59,600 mg/kg and Fe in the range of 69–3420 mg/kg were the most abundant elements in the studied plants. The content of the toxicant As ranged between 0.14–0.79 mg/kg; however, in the leaves (1.3 mg/kg) and inflorescences (1.0 mg/kg) of L. angustifolia there was found to be about 1 mg/kg, equal to the guideline maximal level recommended for food by the WHO. By comparing the data to Markert’s Reference Plant, “chemical fingerprints” were identified for each species. High contents of the elements Al, Hf, Se, Sc, Na, Ta, Th were determined in all studied plants. Collocated soil samples from the cultivation field were analyzed to calculate the biological accumulation coefficients for 35 of the elements determined in the plants. Considering the levels of chemical elements, the medicinal herb samples investigated are considered as relatively safe for human consumption.
Keywords: medicinal plants; aromatic plants; elemental analysis; biological coefficient; neutron activation analysis medicinal plants; aromatic plants; elemental analysis; biological coefficient; neutron activation analysis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ciocarlan, A.; Hristozova, G.; Aricu, A.; Dragalin, I.; Zinicovscaia, I.; Yushin, N.; Grozdov, D.; Popescu, V. Determination of the Elemental Composition of Aromatic Plants Cultivated Industrially in the Republic of Moldova Using Neutron Activation Analysis. Agronomy 2021, 11, 1011. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11051011

AMA Style

Ciocarlan A, Hristozova G, Aricu A, Dragalin I, Zinicovscaia I, Yushin N, Grozdov D, Popescu V. Determination of the Elemental Composition of Aromatic Plants Cultivated Industrially in the Republic of Moldova Using Neutron Activation Analysis. Agronomy. 2021; 11(5):1011. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11051011

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ciocarlan, Alexandru, Gergana Hristozova, Aculina Aricu, Ion Dragalin, Inga Zinicovscaia, Nikita Yushin, Dmitrii Grozdov, and Violeta Popescu. 2021. "Determination of the Elemental Composition of Aromatic Plants Cultivated Industrially in the Republic of Moldova Using Neutron Activation Analysis" Agronomy 11, no. 5: 1011. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11051011

APA Style

Ciocarlan, A., Hristozova, G., Aricu, A., Dragalin, I., Zinicovscaia, I., Yushin, N., Grozdov, D., & Popescu, V. (2021). Determination of the Elemental Composition of Aromatic Plants Cultivated Industrially in the Republic of Moldova Using Neutron Activation Analysis. Agronomy, 11(5), 1011. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11051011

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