Director Research, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2012 May;63(3):310-7. doi: 10.3109/09637486.2011.627842. Epub 2011 Oct 21.
Three important medicinal fruits generally used by the people of Pakistan for the treatment of different diseases have been studied for their mineral contents. Twenty-two major and minor trace elements (essential, toxic and non-essential) were identified in Punica granatum (pomegranate), Ziziphus jujuba (jujube) and Piper cubeba L. (cubeb) by employing instrumental neutron activation analysis technique. The studied medicinal herbs are a good source of the essential elements while toxic elements are found in trace amounts. K is detected as a major element in pomegranate, jujube and cubeb with respective values of 1.20%, 1.18% and 2.01%. Pomegranate has significant concentrations of Na, Zn, Cr and Se; jujube has high Cl, Zn, Mn and Co contents while cubeb is a good source of K and Fe. The baseline data presented in this work can be used in understanding the role of mineral elements in nutritive, preventive and therapeutic properties of medicinal herbs.
三种被巴基斯坦民众广泛用于治疗各种疾病的药用水果，其矿物质含量已通过仪器中子活化分析技术进行了研究。番石榴、枣和荜茇中检测到 22 种常量和微量元素（必需、有毒和非必需）。这些药用植物是必需元素的良好来源，而有毒元素的含量则很低。石榴、枣和荜茇中均检测到大量的 K，含量分别为 1.20%、1.18%和 2.01%。石榴中含有大量的 Na、Zn、Cr 和 Se；枣中含有高浓度的 Cl、Zn、Mn 和 Co，而荜茇则是 K 和 Fe 的良好来源。本研究提供了基础数据，有助于理解矿物质元素在药用植物的营养、预防和治疗特性中的作用。
