Volume :

4

Issue :

4

Abstract :

In Ethiopia, up to 80% of the population uses traditional medicines. The common sources of these medicines are plants. However, medicinal plants are contaminated with environmental pollutants especially heavy metals, which pose a great health risks upon long term exposures. Hence, this work was done to determine the level of three most common and toxic metals (Arsenic, Cadmium and Lead) in ten medicinal plants commonly used in Gondar area district. The concentrations of selected heavy metals were determined in medicinal plant samples using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer and Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (for Cd and Pb) and Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (for As) after they were digested following the already developed method. The accuracy of the analytical procedures was evaluated by performing spike recovery tests. The percentage recoveries were from 85 - 105%.The result showed that the concentrations of the metals detected in the samples range from 0.03 – 2.06, 0.001 – 6.75, and 0.002 – 35.97 mg of metal per kg of sample for As, Cd, and Pb, respectively. Over all, out of each ten samples analyzed two for Arsenic (20%), seven for cadmium (70%) and three for Lead (30%) were found to contain concentrations above maximum WHO permissible limit (1, 0.3 and 10 mg/kg, respectively) which showed possible risk of toxic effects of the studied metals in the medicinal plants used.