Comparative studies of elemental composition in leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus growing in Bangladesh

ObjectiveTo investigate the elemental composition of the leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus (C. roseus) due to the plant's wide application in the indigenous medicinal system and its chemical constituents' importance.MethodsThe atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used for quantitative analysis of various elements.ResultsTotal 13 important elements were analyzed in leaves and flowers of C. roseus. Results indicated the presence of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cr, Fe, Zn, Al, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd and Mn in both leaves and flowers. The most important finding of the work was that, leaves of C. roseus showed high concentration of all elements except K and Zn while flowers of C. roseus showed higher concentration of K and Zn.ConclusionsThe elemental composition in both leaves and flowers of C. roseus were found to be different. Therefore, different parts of this medicinal plant are enriched in some micro and macro nutrients like Fe, Ca, Na, K, Zn, which are very important for biological metabolic system as well as human health.