{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T01:13:16Z","timestamp":1782177196468,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["SpringerPlus"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2013,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n          <jats:p>The increasing prevalence of environmental pollution, especially soil contamination with heavy metals has led to their uptake in the human food chains through plant parts. Accumulation and magnification of heavy metals in human tissues through consumption of herbal remedies can cause hazardous impacts on health. Therefore, chemical profiling of nine heavy metals (Mn, Cr, Pb, Fe, Cd, Co, Zn, Ni and Hg) was undertaken in stem and leaf samples of ten medicinal plants (<jats:italic>Acacia nilotica<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Bacopa monnieri<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Commiphora wightii<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Ficus religiosa<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Glycyrrhiza glabra<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Hemidesmus indicus<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Salvadora oleoides<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Terminalia bellirica<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Terminalia chebula<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Withania somnifera<\/jats:italic>) collected from environmentally diverse regions of Haryana and Rajasthan states in North-Western India. Concentration of all heavy metals, except Cr, was within permissible limits in the tested stem and leaf samples. Leaf samples had consistently more Cr compared to respective stem samples with highest concentration in leaf samples of <jats:italic>Bacopa monnieri<\/jats:italic> (13.19\u2009\u00b1\u20090.0480 ppm) and stem samples of <jats:italic>Withania somnifera<\/jats:italic> (4.93\u2009\u00b1\u20090.0185 ppm) both collected from Bahadurgarh (heavy industrial area), Haryana. This amount was beyond the permissible limit of 2.0 ppm defined by WHO for raw herbal material. Other two most perilous metals Pb (2.64\u2009\u00b1\u20090.0260) and Cd (0.04\u2009\u00b1\u20090.0274) were also recorded in Bahadurgarh region, although below permissible limits. Concentration of Hg remained below detectable levels in all the leaf and stem samples tested. These results suggested that cultivation of medicinal plants and other dietary herbs should be curtailed near environmentally polluted especially industrial areas for avoidance of health hazards.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1186\/2193-1801-2-676","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,17]],"date-time":"2013-12-17T16:01:21Z","timestamp":1387296081000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":96,"title":["Investigation of heavy metals in frequently utilized medicinal plants collected from environmentally diverse locations of north western India"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"2","author":[{"given":"Alpana","family":"Kulhari","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arun","family":"Sheorayan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Somvir","family":"Bajar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susheel","family":"Sarkar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ashok","family":"Chaudhury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rajwant K.","family":"Kalia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"750_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2300","DOI":"10.1021\/jf990508p","volume":"48","author":"AA Abou-Arab","year":"2000","unstructured":"Abou-Arab AA, Abou Donia MA: Heavy metals in Egyptian species and medicinal plants and the effect of processing on their levels. J Agric Food Chem 2000, 48: 2300-2304. 10.1021\/jf990508p","journal-title":"J Agric Food Chem"},{"key":"750_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2003.06.004","volume":"85","author":"MA Ajasa","year":"2004","unstructured":"Ajasa MA, Bello OM, Ibrahim OM, Ogunwande AI, Olawore ON: Heavy trace metals and macronutrients status in herbal plants of Nigeria. Food Chem 2004, 85: 67-71. 10.1016\/j.foodchem.2003.06.004","journal-title":"Food Chem"},{"key":"750_CR3","first-page":"25","volume":"2","author":"MO Akinola","year":"2008","unstructured":"Akinola MO, Njoku KL, Ekeifo BE: Determination of Lead, Cadmium and Chromium in the tissue of an economically important plant grown around a textile industry at Ibeshe, Ikorodu Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. Adv Environ Biol 2008, 2: 25-30.","journal-title":"Adv Environ Biol"},{"key":"750_CR4","first-page":"1492","volume":"6","author":"A Ali","year":"2012","unstructured":"Ali A, Akhtar N, Khan BA, Khan MS, Rasul A, Zaman SUZ, Khalid N, Waseem K, Mahmood T, Ali L: Acacia nilotica : a plant of multipurpose medicinal uses. J Med Plant Res 2012, 6: 1492-1496.","journal-title":"J Med Plant Res"},{"key":"750_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.4103\/0974-8490.60579","volume":"2","author":"K Annan","year":"2010","unstructured":"Annan K, Kojo AI, Cindy A, Asare-Nkansah S, Tunkumgnen BM: Profile of heavy metals in some medicinal plants from Ghana commonly used as components of herbal formulations. Pharmacognosy Res 2010, 2: 41-44. 10.4103\/0974-8490.60579","journal-title":"Pharmacognosy Res"},{"key":"750_CR6","volume-title":"Official methods of analysis of AOAC International","author":"AOAC","year":"1995","unstructured":"AOAC: Official methods of analysis of AOAC International. 16th edition. AOAC International, Arlington, USA; 1995.","edition":"16"},{"key":"750_CR7","first-page":"467","volume":"11","author":"I Baranowska","year":"2002","unstructured":"Baranowska I, Srogi K, W\u0142ochowicz A, Szczepanik K: Determination of heavy metal contents in samples of medicinal herbs. Pol J Environ Stud 2002, 11: 467-471.","journal-title":"Pol J Environ Stud"},{"key":"750_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1111\/j.0105-1873.2003.00149.x","volume":"49","author":"DA Basketter","year":"2003","unstructured":"Basketter DA, Angelini G, Ingber A, Kern PS, Menn\u00e9 T: Nickel, chromium and cobalt in consumer products: revisiting safe levels in the new millennium. Contact Dermatitis 2003, 49: 1-7. 10.1111\/j.0105-1873.2003.00149.x","journal-title":"Contact Dermatitis"},{"key":"750_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"197","DOI":"10.1007\/s00128-009-9916-0","volume":"84","author":"H Baye","year":"2010","unstructured":"Baye H, Hymete A: Lead and Cadmium accumulation in medicinal plants collected from environmentally different sites. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 2010, 84: 197-201. 10.1007\/s00128-009-9916-0","journal-title":"Bull Environ Contam Toxicol"},{"key":"750_CR10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1007\/s12161-009-9107-y","volume":"3","author":"R Bhat","year":"2010","unstructured":"Bhat R, Kiran K, Arun AB, Karim AA: Determination of mineral composition and heavy metal content of some nutraceutically valued plant products. Food Anal Methods 2010, 3: 181-187. 10.1007\/s12161-009-9107-y","journal-title":"Food Anal Methods"},{"key":"750_CR11","first-page":"1457","volume":"5","author":"S Gajalakshmi","year":"2012","unstructured":"Gajalakshmi S, Iswarya V, Ashwini R, Divya G, Mythili S, Sathiavelu A: Evaluation of heavy metals in medicinal plants growing in Vellore District. Eur J Exp Biol 2012, 5: 1457-1461.","journal-title":"Eur J Exp Biol"},{"key":"750_CR12","first-page":"287","volume":"3","author":"S Gupta","year":"2004","unstructured":"Gupta S, Porwal MC, Roy PS: Indigenous knowledge on some medicinal plants among the Nicobari Tribe of Car Nicobar Island. Indian J Tradit Know 2004, 3: 287-293.","journal-title":"Indian J Tradit Know"},{"key":"750_CR13","first-page":"353","volume":"24","author":"B Hina","year":"2011","unstructured":"Hina B, Rizwani GH, Naseem S: Determination of toxic metals in some herbal drugs through atomic absorption spectroscopy. Pak J Pharm Sci 2011, 24: 353-358.","journal-title":"Pak J Pharm Sci"},{"key":"750_CR14","first-page":"8517","volume":"42","author":"I Hussain","year":"2011","unstructured":"Hussain I, Ullah R, Khurram M, Ullah N, Baseer A, Khan FA, Khan N, Khattak MR, Zahoor M, Khan J: Heavy metals and inorganic constituents in medicinal plants of selected districts of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Pakistan. Afr J Biotechnol 2011, 42: 8517-8522.","journal-title":"Afr J Biotechnol"},{"key":"750_CR15","first-page":"159","volume":"87","author":"K Joshi","year":"2004","unstructured":"Joshi K, Chavan P, Warude D, Patwardhan B: Molecular markers in herbal drug technology. Curr Sci 2004, 87: 159-165.","journal-title":"Curr Sci"},{"key":"750_CR16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-69314-4_7","volume-title":"Changing Metal Cycles and Human Health","author":"A Kloke","year":"1984","unstructured":"Kloke A, Sauerback DR, Vetter H: The contamination of plants and soils with heavy metals and the transport of metals in terrestrial food chains. In Changing Metal Cycles and Human Health. Edited by: Nriagu JO. Springer-Verlag, Berlin; 1984:113-141."},{"key":"750_CR17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"243","DOI":"10.1093\/jac\/dkh287","volume":"54","author":"R Krausse","year":"2004","unstructured":"Krausse R, Bielenberg JBW, Ullmann U: In vitro anti- Helicobacter pylori activity of extractum liquiritiae, glycyrrhizin and its metabolites. J Antimicrob Chemother 2004, 54: 243-246. 10.1093\/jac\/dkh287","journal-title":"J Antimicrob Chemother"},{"key":"750_CR18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1223","DOI":"10.1007\/s10722-012-9854-2","volume":"59","author":"A Kulhari","year":"2012","unstructured":"Kulhari A, Sheorayan A, Kalia S, Chaudhury A, Kalia RK: Problems, progress and future prospects of improvement of Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari, an endangered herbal magic, through modern biotechnological tools: a review. Genet Resour Crop Evol 2012, 59: 1223-1254. 10.1007\/s10722-012-9854-2","journal-title":"Genet Resour Crop Evol"},{"key":"750_CR19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.5897\/IJBC11.163","volume":"4","author":"OF Kunle","year":"2012","unstructured":"Kunle OF, Egharevba HO, Ahmadu PO: Standardization of herbal medicines-a review. Int J Biodivers Conserv 2012, 4: 101-112.","journal-title":"Int J Biodivers Conserv"},{"key":"750_CR20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1169","DOI":"10.5012\/bkcs.2002.23.8.1169","volume":"23","author":"SM Lee","year":"2002","unstructured":"Lee SM, Lee WY: Determination of heavy metal ions using conductometric biosensor based on sol-gel-immobilized urease. Bull Kor Chem Soc 2002, 23: 1169.","journal-title":"Bull Kor Chem Soc"},{"key":"750_CR21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"174","DOI":"10.1080\/03601230903472249","volume":"45","author":"RS Maharia","year":"2010","unstructured":"Maharia RS, Dutta RK, Acharya R, Reddy AVR: Heavy metal bioaccumulation in selected medicinal plants collected from Khetri copper mines and comparison with those collected from fertile soil in Haridwar, India. J Environ Sci Health B 2010, 45: 174-181. 10.1080\/03601230903472249","journal-title":"J Environ Sci Health B"},{"key":"750_CR22","first-page":"171","volume":"1","author":"IK Makhija","year":"2010","unstructured":"Makhija IK, Sharma IP, Khamar D: Phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of Ficus religiosa : an overview. Ann Biol Res 2010, 1: 171-180.","journal-title":"Ann Biol Res"},{"key":"750_CR23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"657","DOI":"10.1007\/s10661-009-1264-3","volume":"170","author":"AK Meena","year":"2010","unstructured":"Meena AK, Bansal P, Kumar S, Rao MM, Garg VK: Estimation of heavy metals in commonly used medicinal plants: a market basket survey. Environ Monit Assess 2010, 170: 657-660. 10.1007\/s10661-009-1264-3","journal-title":"Environ Monit Assess"},{"key":"750_CR24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"753","DOI":"10.1089\/acm.2009.0342","volume":"16","author":"A Morgan","year":"2010","unstructured":"Morgan A, Stevens J: Does Bacopa monnieri improve memory performance in older persons? Results of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. J Altern Complement Med 2010, 16: 753-759. 10.1089\/acm.2009.0342","journal-title":"J Altern Complement Med"},{"key":"750_CR25","first-page":"96","volume":"3","author":"SN Motamarri","year":"2012","unstructured":"Motamarri SN, Karthikeyan M, Kannan M, Rajasekar S: Terminalia bellerica Roxb\u2013a phytopharmacological review. Int J Res Pharma 2012, 3: 96-99.","journal-title":"Int J Res Pharma"},{"key":"750_CR26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"730","DOI":"10.1007\/s002530051457","volume":"51","author":"DH Nies","year":"1999","unstructured":"Nies DH: Microbial heavy metal resistance. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 1999, 51: 730-750. 10.1007\/s002530051457","journal-title":"Appl Microbiol Biotechnol"},{"key":"750_CR27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"959","DOI":"10.3923\/pjn.2011.959.964","volume":"10","author":"CO Nwoko","year":"2011","unstructured":"Nwoko CO, Mgbeahuruike L: Heavy metal contamination of ready-to-use herbal remedies in south eastern Nigeria. Pakistan J Nutr 2011, 10: 959-964.","journal-title":"Pakistan J Nutr"},{"key":"750_CR28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.4314\/bcse.v17i1.61724","volume":"17","author":"AA Olajire","year":"2003","unstructured":"Olajire AA, Ayodele ET: Study of atmospheric pollution levels by trace elements analysis of tree bark and leaves. Bull Chem Soc Ethiop 2003, 17: 11-17.","journal-title":"Bull Chem Soc Ethiop"},{"key":"750_CR29","first-page":"1","volume-title":"Report of the Task Force on conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. Planning Commission, Government of India","author":"Planning Commission Report","year":"2000","unstructured":"Planning Commission Report: Report of the Task Force on conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. Planning Commission, Government of India. 2000, 1-194."},{"key":"750_CR30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"618","DOI":"10.3923\/pjn.2011.618.624","volume":"10","author":"IL Princewill-Ogbonna","year":"2011","unstructured":"Princewill-Ogbonna IL, Ogbonna PC: Heavy metal content in soil and medicinal plants in high traffic urban area. Pakistan J Nut 2011, 10: 618-624. 10.3923\/pjn.2011.618.624","journal-title":"Pakistan J Nut"},{"key":"750_CR31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1273","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fct.2006.02.004","volume":"44","author":"AM Radwan","year":"2006","unstructured":"Radwan AM, Salama AK: Market basket survey for some heavy metals in Egyptian fruits and vegetables. Food Chem Toxicol 2006, 44: 1273-1278. 10.1016\/j.fct.2006.02.004","journal-title":"Food Chem Toxicol"},{"key":"750_CR32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6882-6-17","volume":"6","author":"NK Rao","year":"2006","unstructured":"Rao NK, Srinivas N: Antidiabetic and renoprotective effects of the chloroform extract of Terminalia chebula Retz. seeds in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. BMC Compl Alternative Med 2006, 6: 17. 10.1186\/1472-6882-6-17","journal-title":"BMC Compl Alternative Med"},{"key":"750_CR33","first-page":"107","volume":"61","author":"MR Rao","year":"2004","unstructured":"Rao MR, Palada MC, Becker BN: Medicinal and aromatic plants in agro-forestry systems. Agroforestry Syst 2004, 61: 107-122.","journal-title":"Agroforestry Syst"},{"key":"750_CR34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"229","DOI":"10.1179\/135100007X200290","volume":"12","author":"N Saravanan","year":"2007","unstructured":"Saravanan N, Nalini N: Impact of Hemidesmus indicus R.Br. extract on ethanol-mediated oxidative damage in rat kidney, Redox report. Free Radic Res Comm 2007, 12: 229-235.","journal-title":"Free Radic Res Comm"},{"key":"750_CR35","volume-title":"Iron toxicity in emergency medicine","author":"CS Spanierman","year":"2011","unstructured":"Spanierman CS: Iron toxicity in emergency medicine. 2011. http:\/\/emedicine.medscape.com\/article\/815213-overview#showall"},{"key":"750_CR36","first-page":"41","volume":"14","author":"M Szeto","year":"2007","unstructured":"Szeto M: Coriolus versicolor extracts: relevance in cancer management. Curr Oncol 2007, 14: 41-47.","journal-title":"Curr Oncol"},{"key":"750_CR37","first-page":"1067","volume":"375","author":"G Weber","year":"2003","unstructured":"Weber G, Konieczy\u0144ski P: Speciation of Mg, Mn and Zn in extracts of medicinal plants. Anal Biochem 2003, 375: 1067-1073.","journal-title":"Anal Biochem"},{"key":"750_CR38","first-page":"70","volume-title":"Herbs that Heal","author":"MA Weiner","year":"1994","unstructured":"Weiner MA, Weiner J: Ashwagandha (Indian ginseng). In Herbs that Heal. Quantum Books, Mill Valley, CA; 1994:70-72."},{"key":"750_CR39","volume-title":"Guidelines for assessing quality of herbal medicines with reference to contaminants and residues","author":"WHO","year":"2007","unstructured":"WHO: Guidelines for assessing quality of herbal medicines with reference to contaminants and residues. World Health Organization, Geneva; 2007."},{"key":"750_CR40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.4103\/0253-7613.40485","volume":"40","author":"JP Yadav","year":"2008","unstructured":"Yadav JP, Saini S, Kalia AN, Dangi AS: Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity of ethanolic extract of Salvadora oleoides in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Indian J Pharmacol 2008, 40: 23-27. 10.4103\/0253-7613.40485","journal-title":"Indian J Pharmacol"},{"key":"750_CR41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jep.2011.05.017","volume":"137","author":"K Yamada","year":"2011","unstructured":"Yamada K, Hung P, Park TK, Park PJ, Limb BO: A comparison of the immunostimulatory effects of the medicinal herbs Echinacea, Ashwagandha and Brahmi. J Ethnopharmacol 2011, 137: 231-235. 10.1016\/j.jep.2011.05.017","journal-title":"J Ethnopharmacol"},{"key":"750_CR42","first-page":"1","volume":"78","author":"Y Zhang","year":"2009","unstructured":"Zhang Y, Rodionov DA, Gelfand MS, Gladyshev VN: Comparative genomic analyses of nickel, cobalt and vitamin B12 utilization. BMC Genomics 2009, 78: 1-26.","journal-title":"BMC Genomics"}],"container-title":["SpringerPlus"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/2193-1801-2-676.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,2]],"date-time":"2021-09-02T02:33:38Z","timestamp":1630550018000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/springerplus.springeropen.com\/articles\/10.1186\/2193-1801-2-676"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2013,12]]},"references-count":42,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2013,12]]}},"alternative-id":["750"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/2193-1801-2-676","relation":{},"ISSN":["2193-1801"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2193-1801","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2013,12]]},"assertion":[{"value":"3 October 2013","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"11 December 2013","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"17 December 2013","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}}],"article-number":"676"}}