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. 2013 Apr 11;2(1):157.
doi: 10.1186/2193-1801-2-157. Print 2013 Dec.

Natural radioactivity levels of some medicinal plants commonly used in Ghana

Lordford Tettey-Larbi  1 , Emmanuel Ofori Darko, Cyril Schandorf, Alfred Ampomah Appiah
Affiliations

Natural radioactivity levels of some medicinal plants commonly used in Ghana

Lordford Tettey-Larbi et al. Springerplus. .

Abstract

Natural radioactivity levels in some selected medicinal plants commonly used in Ghana from the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine were investigated to determine the activity concentration and the annual committed effective dose due to naturally occurring radionuclides of (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K. The activity concentration was determined using gamma-ray spectrometry. The results of the analysis indicated an average activity concentration of (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K in the medicinal plants to be 31.8±2.8 Bq kg(-1), 56.2±2.3 Bq kg(-1) and 839.8±11.9 Bq kg(-1) respectively. Khaya ivorensis recorded the highest activity concentration of (238)U and (232)Th while Lippia multiflora recorded the highest activity concentrations of (40)K. The total annual committed effective doses ranged from 0.026±0.001 to 0.042±0.002 mSv a(-1) with an average value of 0.035±0.001 mSv a(-1). The average annual committed effective dose due to ingestion of the natural radionuclides in the medicinal plant samples were far below the world average annual committed effective dose of 0.3 mSv a(-1) for ingestion of natural radionuclides provided in UNSCEAR 2000 report. Therefore, the radiological hazard associated with intake of the natural radionuclides in the medicinal plants is insignificant. The results provide baseline values which may be useful in establishing rules and regulations relating to radiation protection as well as developing standards and guidelines for the use of medicinal or herbal plants to the appropriate authorities.

Keywords: Annual committed effective dose; Gamma-ray spectrometry; Medicinal plants; Natural radioactivity.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of the activity concentration (Asp) of238U,232Th, and40K in the various species of the medicinal plant samples.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The average annual committed effective dose (Eave) distribution in the various species of the medicinal plant samples.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of the annual committed effective doses (Eave) due to the natural radionuclides in the medicinal plant samples.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of the average annual effective dose (Eave) due to NORMS in each medicinal plant sample with Herbal tea from Serbia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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