Abstract

This paper is to determine the contents of zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cupper (Cu), chromium (Cr), Arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) in the stems, leaves and the flower ofMelicope patulinervia simultaneously by microwave-digestion and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The average sample-added recovery rate is between 98.14 - 103.37% and its relative standard deviation (RSD) is between 1.34 - 2.69%. The study shows that this method is simple, fast, sensitive and it is suitable for the simultaneous determination of the trace elements and the heavy metals in M. patulinervia. The experiment results indicate that in every part of M. patulinervia the contents of trace elements Mn, Fe, Zn which are beneficial to the human body are all very high. Among its heavy metals which are harmful to the human body, the contents of heavy metals Cu, Cr, As, Cd in every part of the plant are all lower than the standard amount restricted in Chinese pharmacopoeia and the import and export Green trade standard of the medicinal plants and their products, while the content of Pb is a little higher. This experiment result provides the scientific data for further study of the relationship between the content of the trace elements, the heavy metals and their medical therapy, and it is also useful to development and application of this natural medicinal resource.

Key words: Microwave digestion, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS),Melicope patulinervia, trace elements, heavy metals.