Essential and toxic elements in three Pakistan's medicinal fruits (Punica granatum, Ziziphus jujuba and Piper cubeba) analysed by INAA.

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.