Characterization of Indian Ayurvedic herbal medicines for their metal concentrations using WD-XRF spectrometry

This article describes the details of metal concentrations evaluated using wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) spectrometry. A total of 22 elements, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ti, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Ba, Au, and Sn from 16 Ayurvedic medicines were characterized. The method was validated by analyzing the six certified reference materials of soil standards [NIST SRM-2710, CRM 027-050 (US-EPA certified), PS-1, TILL-1 and TILL-4 (Canadian certified reference material, CCRMP) and JSO-1 (Japanese certified reference material)]. The elemental concentrations in all the standards are found to be within ± 10% of the reported values. Crystalline phases in the individual drug samples were explained by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Qualitative phase identification was done using the ICDD database. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.