Abstract

The contents of 22 essential mineral elements and trace, heavy and toxic metals in 14 herbal drugs collected from the local markets of the western province of Saudi Arabia have been determined. All investigated elements were detected using inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) after pretreatment of the tested samples with microwave digestion system. The levels of the most dangerous heavy metals Cd and Pb in the samples were below the maximum permitted levels reported by World health Organization (WHO) standards. K and Ca were present at high levels in samples 2 (Chamomile) and 11 (Becham), respectively. Ca and Mg were the most abundant mineral elements in all herbal samples. Moreover, it is observed that the concentrations of most of the tested toxic metals in the investigated herbal plants are found below the permitted levels reported by the international regulatory standards of the medicinal plants. 

Key words: Herbal drugs, mineral elements, toxic metals, inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES), microwave digestion.