Abstract
Soil factors, especially metal elements in the soil, play a significant role in forming and accumulating secondary metabolites, which determine the medicinal properties of medicinal herbs. In this study, the concentrations of some metal elements (K, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Cr) in Cam Mountain and Tinh Bien Town, An Giang Province, Vietnam, were determined using the XRF method. We simultaneously determined the total phenolic and flavonoid content of some medicinal herbs collected from the collected soil sample areas, thereby assessing the influence of these elements on the formation of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. The results showed that K, Mn, and Cr were mainly concentrated in the topsoil and transition layers; Fe and Cu elements tended to concentrate in the transition layer and the subsoil when surveying the soil profile. K, Mn, Cu, and Cr concentrations were more focused in Tinh Bien area, while Fe and Zn had higher concentrations at Cam Mountain. Additionally, results from evaluating the relationship between the content of the elements in the soil and the content of two active compounds also showed the correlation regression model between Zn and flavonoid expression by level 4 at the 5% significance level. Thus, the nonlinear model is suitable for evaluating the relationship between the content of metal elements in the soil and the active compound in medicinal plants.
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Abbreviations
- CM:
-
Cam Mountain
- O. indicum :
-
Oroxylum indicum
- P. fruticosa :
-
Polyscias fruticosa
- R. nasutus :
-
Rhinacanthus nasutus
- S. octophylla :
-
Schefflera octophylla
- S. torvum :
-
Solanum torvum
- TB:
-
Tinh Bien
- Z. zerumbet :
-
Zingiber zerumbet
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We acknowledge the support of time and facilities from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT) for this study.
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Nguyen Minh Hien designed the experiments. Huynh Thi Kim Ngan, Nguyen Minh Hien, and Pham Tan Thi contributed to collecting soil and medicinal samples, preparing, and measuring soil samples as well as processing data. Nguyen Minh Hien and Pham Tan Thi contributed to the preparation of soil and medicinal samples and sample measurement. Nguyen Minh Hien and Huynh Thi Kim Ngan performed the statistical analysis. All authors participated in writing the manuscript and reviewed and approved the manuscript.
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Nguyen, H.M., Huynh, N.T.K., Ha, L.T. et al. Utilizing X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method to evaluate the content of metal elements in soil and their effects on the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of some medicinal plants. Environ Monit Assess 195, 963 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11585-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11585-z