Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Zataria multiflora Boiss. is one of the valuable and endangered medicinal plants used in food and medicine industries. A study was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications in four habitats of Isfahan, Fars, Yazd and Hormozgan provinces to investigate some of the mineral elements of Zataria multiflora Boiss. (Shirazian thyme) and also for comparing the accumulation of heavy metals in some natural habitats of the country. The mineral elements of this medicinal plant including micronutrients and a number of essential and high-consumption elements such as iron, zinc, manganese, copper, magnesium, sodium, calcium, potassium and a number of metals such as chromium, cobalt, silicon, lead, arsenic, nickel, cadmium, vanadium, totally 17 elements, were measured by using an inductively coupled plasma measuring apparatus (ICP-OES). The results of analysis of variance showed a significant difference among habitats for all elements except arsenic, cadmium and mercury (P <0.01). The three mentioned metals were not detected by the ICP apparatus and were, therefore, considered negligible. The results of this research also showed that the habitat affected the qualitative attributes of the study species. The plants grown in Yazd had the maximum amount of sodium, magnesium, iron and the minimum amount of calcium and cobalt, while the plants grown in Isfahan had maximum amount of zinc, manganese, copper, potassium and minimum amount of sodium and magnesium, indicating the significant effect of habitat on the qualitative attributes on this medicinal plant. Comparison of the amount of heavy elements accumulated in collected plants with permissible limit, reported by the World Health Organization, indicated that these elements were not toxic. This research was aimed to study the possibility of introducing ionomic indicators for identification of Zataria multiflora Boiss. populations as well as comparison of product health among different habitats.
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