Rapid Determination and Quantification of Nutritional and Poisonous Metals in Vastly Consumed Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine (Rejuvenator Shilajit) by Humans Using Three Advanced Analytical Techniques.

Shilajit is used commonly as Ayurvedic medicine worldwide which is Rasayana herbo-mineral substance and consumed to restore the energetic balance and to prevent diseases like cognitive disorders and Alzheimer. Locally, Shilajit is applied for patients diagnosed with bone fractures. For safety of the patients, the elemental analysis of Shilajit is imperative to evaluate its nutritional quality as well as contamination from heavy metals. The elemental composition of Shilajit was conducted using three advanced analytical techniques (LIBS, ICP, and EDX). For the comparative studies, the two Shilajit kinds mostly sold globally produced in India and Pakistan were collected. Our main focus is to highlight nutritional eminence and contamination of heavy metals to hinge on Shilajit therapeutic potential. In this work, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was applied for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the Shilajit. Our LIBS analysis revealed that Shilajit samples composed of several elements like Ca, S, K, Mg, Al, Na, Sr, Fe, P, Si, Mn, Ba, Zn, Ni, B, Cr, Co, Pb, Cu, As, Hg, Se, and Ti. Indian and Pakistani Shilajits were highly enriched with Ca, S, and K nutrients and contained Al, Sr, Mn, Ba, Zn, Ni, B, Cr, Pb, As, and Hg toxins in amounts that exceeded the standard permissible limit. Even though the content of most elements was comparable among both Shilajits, nutrients, and toxins, in general, were accentuated more in Indian Shilajit with the sole detection of Hg and Ti. The elemental quantification was done using self-developed calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) method, and LIBS results are in well agreement with the concentrations determined by standard ICP-OES/MS method. To verify our results by LIBS and ICP-OES/MS techniques, EDX spectroscopy was also conducted which confirmed the presence above mentioned elements. This work is highly significant for creating awareness among people suffering due to overdose of this product and save many human lives.

Behavior of uranium series in groundwater of the Wajid Formation, Wadi AdDawasir, Saudi Arabia.

The inventories and the possible mechanisms behind the relative deficiency of both radium and uranium release processes within an elevated gamma-anomalous rock were investigated. A field survey was performed on the highest radioactive anomalous zone that was recorded at Jabal Al Alam (20° 13' 10.06″ N and 44° 14' 32.13″), with the ferruginous sandstone, iron oxide band, and iron concretions (with uranium content and reaching up to1500 ppm). The chemical analyses and the laboratory's gamma-ray spectrometric measurements demonstrated high uranium levels in the analyzed rock samples of the Wajid Sandstone (up to 1000 ppm). The borehole geophysical logs further confirmed that the radioactive anomalies are attributed to the sandstone sequence of the Wajid Formation that is often found associated with elevated concentrations of uranium. The groundwater samples taken from the wells tapping the Wajid aquifer showed uranium concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 5.5 ppb (µg/L). The average 226Ra in groundwater samples was 0.2 Bq L-1. The majority of the 226Ra and 228Ra activities were below the lower limit of detection (LLD). The radiochemical analyses of water samples from the Wajid aquifer display low concentrations of both uranium and 226Ra, with relation to uranium content in host rocks. This was attributed to the fact that uranium is susceptible to form iron oxide complexes, causing them to precipitate in a more stable form. Furthermore, iron oxides coat the sand grains of the Wajid Formation and accordingly might act as a foundation for re-adsorption for both uranium and radium, resulting in their relative deficiency in the surrounding water. The coating might also act as a physical barrier resulting in hindrance of the recoil nuclei due to its significant thickness (several orders of magnitude) compared with that of the average (120 nm) whole alpha-recoil track (ART). The coating layer thickness was determined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and was found to be up to 180 µm.

Spectral analysis of Miracle Moringa tree leaves using X-ray photoelectron, laser induced breakdown and inductively coupled plasma -optical emission spectroscopic techniques.

The antioxidant Moringa oleifera (a medicinal plant) leaves (MOLs) containing diverse nutrients are highly beneficial for the human health. The MOLs upon consumption can lower the blood sugar, cure the heart diseases, and reduce the inflammation. In this perception, the "primary nutrients contents" in the dry MOLs (pellet samples) were evaluated for the first time using the XPS, LIBS and ICP-OES techniques. The XPS analysis of the MOLs showed the presence of vital elements like calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), phosphorous (P), sulfur (S) and zinc (Zn). The LIBS analyses of the MOLs revealed the atomic and ionic spectral lines corresponding to the essential nutrients such as the Ca, Na, K, Fe, Mg, Mn, Cu, P, S and Zn. The calibration free LIBS algorithm (CF-LIBSA) was developed to quantify the content of each element in the dry MOLs. In addition, the LIBS results were validated by the analysis using ICP-OES standard analytical technique. The elemental contents in the MOLs obtained from the CF-LIBS analyses were counter verified by the ICP-OES results. Present results are highly valuable for the development of a traditional herbal medicine using the miracle MOLs.

Stimulation of anthraquinone production in suspension cultures of Cassia acutifolia by salt stress.

Suspension cultures of Cassia acutifolia were established by transferring callus tissues derived from root, hypocotyl and cotyledon explants onto liquid MS-medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l 2.4-D and 0.1 mg/l kinetin and containing increasing levels of NaCl. The stress induced by salt NaCl raised anthraquinone content and reduced growth of cultures. The levels of anthraquinones and their glycosides as sennosides showed distinct changes in cells and media as well as in the different cultures initiated from various explants. Furthermore, the salt stress tended to affect more drastically the productivity of anthraquinones in hypocotyl and cotyledon cell cultures than in root cultures.