**Abstract**

The main objective of this study is to determine the concentration of trace elements in selected medicinal plants which are used for the treatment of dermal diseases. The trace element analysis was carried out in *Trigonella foenum-graecum, Azadirachta indica, Vitex nigundo, and Argemone mexicana,* using ED-X-ray Florescence (XRF) technique. The experiments were carried out using 3MV pelletron accelerator. The elements K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr., and Pb were identified in the sample. The elements K and Ca were present in maximum quantities. The relative concentrations of different elements in these medicinal plants have been given. All four plants contain trace elements of different concentrations in medicinal plants selected for this study. It is believed that the various trace elements present in the plants play an important role in the management of skin diseases. The present information will be helpful to prescribe the type of extract, dose, and mixture of these plants. The results justify that usage of these plants in the traditional systems of medicine for the treatment of skin diseases contains appropriate amounts of Fe, Zn, Cu, etc.

**Keywords:** ED-XRF, *Argemone Mexicana* Linn,*Trigonella foenum-graecum*, *Azadirachta indica*, *Vitex nigundo*

#### **1. Introduction**

Many plants are well known for the medicinal value and are used in herbal formulations. These plants are taken for elemental analysis using XRF. The medicinal action of these medicinal plants totally depends on the chemical constituents present in these plants. Herbal drugs are being used as remedies for various diseases and disorders throughout the world [1].

Nowadays more interest has been focused on phytomedicines or Ayurvedic medicines as they are safe and cost-effective as well as more compatible with the human body. These plants are used for the manufacturing of various synthetic drugs. It has been reported that the trace elements present in the plants are responsible for the development of different chemical constituents. Also, plant nutrients, including potassium (K), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S), play an important role in regulating various processes, such as photosynthesis, carbon respiration, tissue building, etc [2]. However, most of the studies have been done on constituents present in plants like essential oils, vitamins, glycosides, and other organic components but very little has been reported about the elemental composition of the plants [3].

A literature survey revealed a significant role played by the trace elements in the treatment of various diseases and disorders. It has been documented that alteration of trace elemental in an organism has a direct relation with different pathological conditions. Hence, the screening of the bioactive elements present in the plants and determination of the elemental composition of widely used medicinal plants is highly essential and also in identifying potentially hazardous trace metals in plants. In this study, attention has been focused on the specific biological significance of these trace elemental compositions of plants, which is crucial for the development of new drugs based on natural sources. The present investigation is an attempt to gain insight into the trace elemental composition analysis of some medicinal plants [4, 5].

For this study, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis technique has been employed which is a fast technique for the identification and determination of elements. XRF is a powerful technique for nutrient plant analysis to estimate trace elemental concentrations.

XRF has been successfully applied in studies on the element composition analysis of plants, soil contamination, and agriculture out of which most of them applied pressed powder pellets to perform XRF analysis. The X-ray fluorescence method (EDXRF) uses loose powder, which decreases time and analysis costs [6, 7].

The main objective of this study is to determine the concentration of trace elements in selected medicinal plants, which are used for the treatment of dermal diseases by the tribal people. The four plants were selected for the present study mentioned here *Azardirachta indica, Vitex nigundo, Argemone mexicana,* and *Trigonella fornum graecum* [5, 6].
