Analysis of bioaccumulation of multi-elements in commonly consumed medicinal plants with functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles using flame atomic spectroscopy

Herbal medicines and medicinal plants are widely used worldwide. In this Study, thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HS-MSNs) were used as adsorbents for the extraction of metal composition in four medicinal plants by the micro solid-phase extraction method (µ-SPE). The metal concentration was determined using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (F-AAS) and a flame atomic-emission spectrophotometer (F-AES) after a digestion procedure was applied to all medicinal plants. Concentrations of eleven potentially toxic (Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn) and essential elements (Ca, Na, Li, K) in samples from Maysan Governorate, Iraq, were measured using the proposed method. The relative standard deviation (RSD%), extraction recovery (R%), and preconcentration factor were obtained at less than 5%, more than 95%, and 5, respectively (linear range and LOD for Cd (0.1-0.4 µg mL-1; 0.03 µg mL-1) and Pb (0.4-1.6 µg mL-1; 0.11 µg mL-1). The study aims to determine the presence of various metals in herbal medicines and medicinal plants, including Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, Cinnamomum cassia, and Cuminum cyminum. The validation method was verified using spinach leaves (Certified Reference Material CRM 1570a), which showed acceptable agreement with the values of the spinach leaves CRM sample for Cd, Cu, and Zn. The results showed that a quick, efficient, simple, reliable, and straightforward method for estimating multiple elements in herbal medicines and medicinal plants was obtained using the HS-MSNs adsorbent and the µ-SPE procedure.