A Comparison of Digestion Methods for the Estimation of Elements in Dodonaea Viscosa: A Native Flora of Wadh, Balochistan, Pakistan

Five different digestion techniques were employed on Dodonaea viscose, a native flora of Wadh, Khuzdar, Balochistan. Comparisons among these methods were made keeping in view the nature of element, oxidizing power of acids and average abundance of Ni, Co, Cr and Cu in plant ash. The purpose of the present study was to develop the most appropriate dissolution method for plants sample for the estimation of metals. The elements under study were estimated by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy using flame atomization. Results showed that digestion of sample by HCl had a slight edge over the other methods in the estimation of Ni, Co and Cu. Digestion with H2O2 showed effectiveness for the estimation of Cr. The selection of leaves or twigs as sampling media, for different elements is also made for biogeochemical prospecting of minerals. Statistical analyses, such as determination of mean, median and standard deviation were also taken in account to improve the interpretations.