Trace Metals Accumulation in Bacopa monnieri and Their Bioaccessibility

Abstract

Bacopa monnieri is commonly known as "Brahmi" or "Water hyssop" and is a source of nootropic drugs. Aboveground parts of plant samples collected from peri-urban Indian areas were analysed for total trace metal concentrations. Subsequently, three samples with high concentrations of Cd and Pb were subjected to in vitro gastrointestinal digestion to assess the bioaccessibility of the trace metals in these plants. The total concentrations of trace metals on a dry weight basis were 1.3 to 6.7 mg·kg⁻¹ Cd, 1.5 to 22 mg·kg⁻¹ Pb, 36 to 237 mg·kg⁻¹ Cu, and 78 to 186 mg·kg⁻¹ Zn. The majority of Bacopa monnieri samples exceeded threshold limits of Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn for use as raw medicinal plant material or direct consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate Bacopa monnieri collected in nature for their trace metal content prior to human consumption and preparation of herbal formulations.

In Quest of the Mysterious Holistic Vedic Herb Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell

“…The presence of trace components in Bacopa monnieri has been confirmed and recorded by several researchers as such, Lavu RVS et al, stated that, for use as raw medicinal plant material or direct use, aboveground parts of plant Bacopa samples exceeded the threshold limits of Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn. [144] Brahmi leaves are oxide scavenging, and superoxide radical scavenging behaviour were found to be concentration dependent. [152] In addition, an in-vitro study by Russo and researchers examined at how an ethanol extract of Bacopa caused hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity and DNA damage in human non-immortalized fibroblast cells.…”

Phytoextraction of potentially toxic elements by Indian mustard, rapeseed, and sunflower from a contaminated riparian soil

“…Phytoextraction is a subprocess of phytoremediation in which plants remove toxic elements from soil (Greipsson 2011;Ali et al 2013;Sessitsch et al 2013). Recently, using oil-producing crops for phytoremediation of PTE-contaminated soils is recommended because they are not for direct food consumption, and thus, bioaccessibility is hampered (Srikanth et al 2013). Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.), rapeseed (Brassica napus), and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) are traditional crops which can be used for the production of oil and also used in phytoremediation of soils polluted with PTEs (Chen and Cutright 2001;Grispen et al 2006;Suthar et al 2013).…”