Exposure to Trace Elements Through <i>Rauwolfia vomitoria</i> and <i>Argemone Mexicana,</i> Two Medicinal Plants at Hahotoé-Kpogamé, a Polluted Area in Southern Togo

Background: Herbal drugs and mineral elements are well established for their therapeutic benefits against diseases and nutritional importance in human health. Medicinal plants contain toxic metabolites which, once consumed, become a formidable source of disease. Accumulation of toxic industrial effluents in soil, air and water is continuously increasing due to fast urbanization and intensive environmental pollution. Elements like lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), uranium (U), arsenic (As) which are not used by the plants directly but accumulate in the plants are detrimental to human health when consumed. This study aims to investigate the level of trace elements through the use of two medicinal plants in a polluted area in southern Togo. The trace elements analysis in the powder of the <i>Rauwolfia vomitoria</i> and <i>Argemone Mexicana</i> leaves, was carried out by the method and protocol described by Acme Laboratory using PerkinElmer ELAN 9000 Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP- MS). The result of trace elements concentrations (ppm) ranges revealed, as follows: Cadmium (0.8-1.5), Antimony (0.17-0.9), Arsenic (10.85-15.25), Lead (11.31-13.33), Iron (21.02-25.13), Manganese (84.5-140), Calcium (22.39-31.81), Zinc (73.1-82.6), Uranium (0.01-0.04) and Thorium (0.15-1.05) are significantly higher than the World Health Organization maximum permissible limit. These results suggested that the leaves of the two medicinal plants have contaminated by the trace elements. More toxicological activities need to be conduct in the area to find out the toxicity level of contaminants in herbal raw materials in the area.