ACCUMULATION OF CHEMICAL ELEMENTS BY MEDICINAL PLANTS IN THE NERCHINSK STEPPE (TRANS-BAIKAL TERRITORY)

Abstract

A number of valuable medicinal plants will grow in the Trans-Baikal Territory, but there is not enough information on the content of chemical elements in them, including vital and toxic ones. The aim of the work was to study the content of chemical elements in medicinal plants in one of the districts of the Trans-Baikal Territory. The concentration of 43 chemical elements in the roots of Saposhnikovia divaricata, Paeonia lactiflora and Phlojodicarpus sibiricus growing in the Nerchinsk steppe (Eastern Transbaikalia) was studied. Soil samples were taken at the plant growth sites to analyze the granulometric composition, pH, content of mobile forms N, P, K, and a number of trace elements. The ecological conditions of the habitat were noted: the height above sea level, the exposure and steepness of the slope, the type and floral composition of the plant community. The roots of the plants, after being released from the ground, were placed in cloth bags and dried. At each site, a mixed sample of 5–15 roots was taken, depending on the weight of the root. Chemical analysis of the soil and plants was carried out in certified laboratories in Moscow. Kostroma and Khabarovsk. In the roots of plants, the concentration of Ti, Cr, Sc, La, Ce, Li, Nb and a number of other elements was found to be high relative to the Clark of terrestrial plants, and the content of Mn, Tl, Se, Cd and other elements was relatively low. The concentration of toxic elements Pb, Cd and Hg did not exceed the MPC in the medicinal raw materials, and the accumulation of As exceeded the MPC in the medicinal raw materials by 4–6 times. The studies conducted in this area were conducted for the first time, they allow us to judge the quality of medicinal raw materials, and in the future, to compare the results with other areas of plant growth.