Macro- and Trace Elements in Plants from Mauritania and Risk Assessment

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the content of elemental levels of eight plants species originating from Mauritania and used as medicinal plant and to assess their risk for human health. The range of elemental content in the studied plant parts of these plant species were 0.51–16.1 mg/g for Ca, 2.63–6.49 mg/g for Mg, 11.2–201 μg/g for Al, 6.5–28.2 μg/g for Zn, 5.6–453 μg/g for Fe, 1.1–6.4 μg/g for Ni, 11.0–302 μg/g for Mn and 0.7–9.0 μg/g for Cu. The Cr, Pb, Cd and Co levels were below the limits of detection in all samples. The estimated weekly intake (EWI) and target hazard quotient (THQ) were calculated. Except for Al the THQ values were below 1, so it could be concluded that these plant species have low probability of causing non-cancer health problems for the consumer.