MINERAL PROFILE OF DIFFERENT MEDICINAL PLANTS AND THEIR QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES COLLECTED FROM NORTH WEST OF PAKISTAN

Wild plants mainly used for medicinal purpose were collected from different areas of North West of Pakistan. Acorus calamus, Plantago sp., Psyllium ovata, Mentha longifolia, Taraxacum officinale, Bistata implexical, Sonchus sp., and Foeniculum vulgare were analyzed for proximate composition and mineral content to investigate their medicinal properties with their chemical composition. The crude protein content of wild medicinal plants ranged from 1.7 to 2.7%. The minimum protein content was observed in B. implexical (1.8%) while maximum protein content was found in M. longifolia and F. vulgare which was 2.7% for each. The ash content of the various plants ranged from 1.3 to 3.3%. Foeniculum vulgare contained the least while T. officinale contained the highest ash content. Moisture ranged from 82 to 93%. Acorus calamus and P. ovata contained the lowest amount of moisture (82%) while Sonchus sp. contained the highest amount of moisture content (93%). The fiber content of the plants was observed 3.2-7.3%. The least amount (32%) of fiber was present in M. longifolia and the highest amount of fiber was possessed by P. ovata which contained 7.3% fiber. Mineral content showed that all the plants contained lower amount of Na and Ni. However, all other mineral were present in considerable amount. Na content ranged in 1.1-8.0ug/g with highest amount observed in Sonchus sp. (8.0 ug/g Na), Ca content ranged in 234.0-408.4, Mg, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni and Zn in 72.5-95.0, 2.0-14.0, 4.85-90.45, 1.20-209.25, 18.8-81.2, 0.8-5.7, and 6.60-24.2ug/g, respectively. Higher Fe and Cu contents showed that plants might be helpful in restoring the Fe and Cu deficiency in the body when consumed regularly. The appreciable amount of Zn, Mg and Mn showed that the plants curing effect might be related to their mineral composition. However, the presence of heavy metals like Cr and Ni in large amounts might be dangerous if used in regular diets.