Abstract
In this study, the longtime dietary exposure of insulin supporting elements in anti-diabetic plants are investigated with a view to establish their essentiality in the management of diabetes mellitus (DM) and potential health risk on consumption. Ten anti-diabetic plants were analyzed for manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn) and vanadium (V) using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and their respective concentrations were used to estimate their daily intake (EDI) levels. The EDI of Mn was found to be above the reference dose (RfD) of 0.014 mg/kg/day. The highest EDI was found in Hymenocardia acida (HA) (40.43 mg/kg/day). The EDI for Fe shows Ageratum conyzoide (AC) containing the highest EDI of 84.42 mg/kg/day. This value in addition to the EDI of the other species all falls above the RfD for Fe (0.007 mg/kg/day). The EDI for Co in most of the anti-diabetic plants investigated falls below the RfD levels (0.03 mg/kg/day) except for Jatropha gossypiifolia (JG) (0.603 mg/kg/day), Sarcocephalus latifolius (SL) (0.855 mg/kg/day) and Sclerocarya birrea (SB) (0.472 mg/kg/day) respectively. Furthermore, all the EDI recorded for chromium (Cr) in the respective anti-diabetic plants falls below the RfD (1.5 mg/kg/day) levels except in Sarcocephalus latifolius (LH) (8.66 mg/kg/day). The EDI for Zn in all the respective anti-diabetic plants were found to be above the RfD (0.30 mg/kg/day). The results shows the highest EDI of 2.43 mg/kg/day in Balamites aegyptiacae (BA). Furthermore, the highest EDI for V was found in the extract of SL (0.673 mg/kg/day. However, not all the anti-diabetic plants shows a target hazard quotient (THQ) value less (<1) than one. A THQ greater (>) than one for Cr was observed in LH (12.95). The health index (HI) further shows a high level of concerns in LH (13) and in JG (1.36) due to the cumulative effects of the respective metals. Based on the THQ and HI values, it will suffice to conclude that these plants are more or less considered safe for human consumption except from Cr in LH whose THQ and HI values signal potential health risk.
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