4. Elemental analysis of medicinal plants and their impacts on human health

Abstract

The medicinal plants are the origin of biologically active elements, which are essential for both plants and animals. Trace elements help various biochemical mechanisms in the body of living organisms. The major reason for numerous medical issues in the human being is either a deficiency or toxicity of essential elements. Therefore, investigating the distinct biodynamic elements of medicinal plants and their evaluation is very much important. The therapeutic plants have been utilized in traditional drugs for the treatment of ailments, such as hypertension, minimizing cholesterol level, malignancy, fever, leprosy and eye problems. The most abundant necessary elements found in such plants are Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Selenium, Iron, Calcium, Sodium and Zinc which are known for their capability to treat different diseases. This review generally discusses the information related to the elemental composition of medicinal plants and their impacts on the living body. The outcomes increase the values of medicinal plants for the preparation of conventional drugs and pharmaceutical factories. This review explores the requirement of further research on therapeutic plants to prepare more effective medicines as different plants have variable values of elements.

Keywords: Essential elements; Human health; Medicinal plants; Prescription; Treatment

http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2020.90029