| Title |
Natural radioactivity levels of some medicinal plants commonly used in Ghana
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
SpringerPlus, April 2013
|
| DOI | 10.1186/2193-1801-2-157 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Lordford Tettey-Larbi, Emmanuel Ofori Darko, Cyril Schandorf, Alfred Ampomah Appiah |
| Abstract |
Natural radioactivity levels in some selected medicinal plants commonly used in Ghana from the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine were investigated to determine the activity concentration and the annual committed effective dose due to naturally occurring radionuclides of (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K. The activity concentration was determined using gamma-ray spectrometry. The results of the analysis indicated an average activity concentration of (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K in the medicinal plants to be 31.8±2.8 Bq kg(-1), 56.2±2.3 Bq kg(-1) and 839.8±11.9 Bq kg(-1) respectively. Khaya ivorensis recorded the highest activity concentration of (238)U and (232)Th while Lippia multiflora recorded the highest activity concentrations of (40)K. The total annual committed effective doses ranged from 0.026±0.001 to 0.042±0.002 mSv a(-1) with an average value of 0.035±0.001 mSv a(-1). The average annual committed effective dose due to ingestion of the natural radionuclides in the medicinal plant samples were far below the world average annual committed effective dose of 0.3 mSv a(-1) for ingestion of natural radionuclides provided in UNSCEAR 2000 report. Therefore, the radiological hazard associated with intake of the natural radionuclides in the medicinal plants is insignificant. The results provide baseline values which may be useful in establishing rules and regulations relating to radiation protection as well as developing standards and guidelines for the use of medicinal or herbal plants to the appropriate authorities. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 75 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 75 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 12 | 16% |
| Student > Bachelor | 12 | 16% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 10 | 13% |
| Student > Master | 8 | 11% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 6 | 8% |
| Other | 10 | 13% |
| Unknown | 17 | 23% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Physics and Astronomy | 13 | 17% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 11 | 15% |
| Environmental Science | 8 | 11% |
| Chemistry | 7 | 9% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 3 | 4% |
| Other | 15 | 20% |
| Unknown | 18 | 24% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 20 June 2013.
All research outputs
#14,166,906
of 22,705,019 outputs
Outputs from SpringerPlus
#769
of 1,852 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#113,596
of 199,477 outputs
Outputs of similar age from SpringerPlus
#45
of 137 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,705,019 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 35th percentile – i.e., 35% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,852 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 55% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 137 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 65% of its contemporaries.