Analysis of Some Medicinal Plants From Adamawa State, Nigeria Used in the Management of Diabetes Mellitus by Neutron Activation Analysis

Analysis of some medicinal plants from Adamawa State, Nigeria used in the management of diabetes mellitus was carried out by Neutron activation analysis (NAA) using Nigerian research reactor (NRR-1) facility, to determine the distribution of Calcium ( Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Iron (Fe), Cabolt (Co), Manganese (Mn), and Zinc ( Zn) in the various parts of medicinal plants . Samples were collected from three local Government Areas Mubi north, Mubi South and Maiha of Northern Adamawa State. The results showed that, the levels of elements in the plants parts ranged from, 6763.0±417.0 - 82750.0±993.0 (mg/kg) for Ca, 591.0±140.0 – 6012.0±331.0 (mg/kg) for Mg, 34.5±0.3 - 620.0±1.0 (mg/kg) for Na, 703.0±3.0- 80250.0±321.0(mg/kg) for K, 0.3±0.0 -3701.0±96.0 (mg/kg) for Fe , 0.1±0.0 - 51.0±8.0 (mg/kg) for Co , 25.9±0.2 - 1969.0±14.0 (mg/kg) for Mn and 8.2±1.9 - 64.0±4.0, (mg/kg) for Zn respectively. The result revealed that the medicinal plants contain the elements K, Ca, Mn, Mg and Zn which play vital roles in potentiating insulin, thereby aiding in management of diabetes mellitus. The elements analyzed could be useful in determining the quality of the plants and its medicinal values.