O. L. A. D. Zucchi

Analysis of Medicinal Plants and Crude Extracts by Synchrotron Radiation Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence

Abstract Plants and aqueous extracts of Alternanthera maritima (aerial parts and roots), Alternanthera brasiliana and Alternanthera tenella colla (total plant) were selected for analysis of metals bioaccumulation. The synchrotron radiation total reflection X-ray fluorescence (SRTXRF) was used for excitation of the samples and a Si(Li) detector for the detection of the characteristic X-rays emitted by the sample elements. The elements P, S, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Rb, and Sr were detected in all samples. Further-more Al, Si, Cl, Ni, Br, Rb, Cd, Sn, Sb, Hg, and Pb in Alternanthera maritima samples; Si, Co, Cd, Sn, Sb, and Ce in Alternanthera brasiliana and Al, Si, Co, Ni, Br, Cd, Sn, Sb, and Ce in Alternanthera tenella colla were found. The concentration obtained in the samples for K-shell lines varied from 1.63 µg g−1 for Ni to 3.34 × 105 µg g−1for K, and for L-shell the values ranged from 1.64 x 101 µg g−1 for Cd to 6.71 × 102 µg g−1 for Sn.

APPLICATION OF X-RAY FLUORESCENCE TO DETERMINATION OF METALS IN COMMERCIAL TABLETS CONTAINING DIGOXIN

ABSTRACT With the aid of the analytical energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique with radioisotope excitation, the concentrations of metals in commercial tablets containing 0.25 mg of digoxin were estimated. Concentrations ranging from 2.99 to 10.70 µg of Fe; 1.59 to 2.30 µg of Ni; 0.94 to 5.48 µg of Cu and 0.11 to 5.72 µg of Zn were found per tablet analyzed. The experimental detection limits for these elements varied from 13.03 to 22.57 µg l−1, while the relative errors made in the quantification of these metals were lower than 15%.

Heavy Metals in Groundwater using Synchrotron Radiation Total Reflection X-Ray Analysis

Abstract The environmental pollution problem has increased due to industrial and population growth. São Paulo and Campinas are examples of large urban centers that have grown in a disorderly manner and, today, present contamination problems which have also reached the groundwater. In order to obtain information about levels of heavy metals in groundwater, analyses were carried out with samples from well monitoring at Landfill Pirelli in Campinas and in some supplying wells in the Campinas region which are, in their majority, wells of industrial supply. The analytical technique used for achievement of the analysis is total reflection X‐ray fluorescence with synchrotron radiation. All measurements were performed at Synchrotron Light Source Laboratory, located in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The determined elements in this research were Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Ba, and Pb. The results were compared with the maximum permitted values (MPV) established by the Brazilian Health Department and, for Landfill Pirelli, the concentrations were higher than the permitted values for Ba and Pb, as was expected, because this landfill received residues during many years without control. In well supply, as in State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), elements such as Cr and Pb were not expected, so the monitoring of these wells is necessary in order to verify if these elements continue to be detected with values above the permitted values. The same elements were also detected in other supplying wells in the Campinas metropolitan region. For lead (Pb), values above the maximum were observed in 15 wells. The detection limits obtained varyied from 0.10 µg · L−1 to 7.91 µg · L−1 and were in agreement with the values presented by other analytical techniques.

Inorganic elements in the fat bodies of Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) larvae parasitized by Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

Koinobiont parasitoids use several strategies to regulate the hosts physiological processes during parasitism. Although many aspects of host-parasitoid interactions have been explored, studies that attempted to assess the effects of parasitism on the availability of inorganic elements in the host are virtually nonexistent. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effects of parasitism on the concentrations of inorganic elements in the fat bodies of larvae of Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) during the development of the parasitoid Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), by using total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF). TXRF analysis allowed comparisons of the changes in the availability of the elements P, S, K, Ca, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn in the fat body tissues of D. saccharalis larvae parasitized by C. flavipes. Overall, the concentration of inorganic elements was higher early in parasitoid development (1 and 3days after parasitism) compared to non-parasitized larvae, but much lower towards the end of parasitoid development (7 and 9days after parasitism). Ca, K, and S were reduced after the fifth day of parasitism, which affected the total abundance of inorganic elements observed in the fat bodies of the parasitized hosts. The regulatory mechanisms or pathological effects related to the observed variation of the host inorganic elements induced by the parasitoid remain unknown, but there might be a strategy to make these elements available to the parasitoid larvae at the end of their development, when higher metabolic activity of the host fat body is required to sustain parasitoid growth. The observed variation of the hosts inorganic elements could also be related to the known effects of parasitism on the hosts immune response.

Characterization of hypoglycemiant plants by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry.

In this work, synchrotron radiation total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (SRTXRF) was used to determine trace elements in eight hypoglycemiant plants (Trigonella foenum graecum, Panax ginseng, Pfaffia paniculata, Myrcia speciosa, Zea mays, Harpagophytum procumbens, Syzygium jambolona, and Bauhinia forficate). The elements P, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Rb, and Sr were detected in all medicinal plants investigated, whereas Si, S, Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Se, Nb, Mo, Sn, Sb, Ba, Hg, and Pb were detected only in some of the samples. The concentration of elements in hypoglycemiant plants varied from 0.15 μg/g of Co to 3.0×104 μg/g of K and the mean of experimental limit of detection for these elements were 0.14 and 3.6 μg/g, respectively.