Authors: Peshawa S. Osw1 & Faiq H.S. Hussain2
1Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Salahaddin University, Erbil, Iraq
2Medical Analysis Department, Faculty of Science, Tishk International University, Erbil, Iraq
Abstract: The Anchusa azurea Mill. (Boraginaceae) is naturally grown in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and one of those plants that are used by many Kurdish people for cooking especially in the villages. It is a perennial plant and represented in wild Iraq by 26 genera and about 93 species. The present study includes the estimation of elements in the seeds, stems, roots, and leaves of Anchusa azurea Mill. Firstly, the percentage of moisture and total ash were determined. After that, the concentration of twenty-one elements was determined from thirty-three elements in plant parts using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The determined elements were: (Ca, Mg, P, K, Na, S, Al, Ba, B, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Sr, Ti, V, Zn, and Zr); among them nine elements were very abundant (≥ 100 ppm) and said to be macro-elements (K, Ca, P, S, Mg, Na, Fe, Al, and Ba). The potassium has recorded the highest concentration in stems (68.9 g/kg), followed Ca (32.6g/kg), P (4.33 g/kg), S (3.98g/kg) and Mg (3.73g/kg) from leaves. The concentrations of eight micro-elements (Sr, Zn, B, Mn, Cu, Ni, Ti, and Cr) were between (1-100 ppm), and the other four trace elements (Co, V, Zr, and Cd) were at (< 1 ppm). On the other hand, the nitrogen percentage (N %) and crude protein percentage (CP %) were determined from the plant parts using the micro-Kjeldahl method. The highest level of (N %) and (CP %) was from leaves part (4.09 % and 25.56 %) respectively. The occurrence of these elements especially in the leaves in addition to the other bioactive compounds makes sure to show the importance of A. azurea for a human body reasonable meal.
Keywords: Anchusa azurea, heavy metals, Microwave digestion, ICP-OES
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