Chaidan Pachanon. A study of the elements in aloe vera powder by neutron activation analysis. Master's Degree(Radiological Science). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2009-07-27.
A study of the elements in aloe vera powder by neutron activation analysis
Abstract:
Aloe vera is a medicinal plant that has been used for a long time in traditional medicine
in several tropical countries. Aloe vera gel has several beneficial biological and
physiological properties, such as healing skin burns, inhibitory action against some bacteria
and fungi, and anti-ulcer activity. The gel is also used for manufacturing cosmetics. The
objective of this study was to find out the optimum formula for preparing Aloe vera powder
and to evaluate the elements in the Aloe vera powder by neutron activation analysis (NAA)
and by inductively coupled plasma atomic-emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).
In this study Aloe vera plants were collected from 10 different areas of a herbal garden
in Rayong province. The gel extraction was prepared in both freeze-dried and spray-dried
forms. Five elements, Na, Ca, Mg, Mn and K were found by both methods. The NAA
method showed high accuracy and precision.
The content of elements in the freeze and spray-dried samples as determined by NAA
were not different statistically at 0.05 level. These results indicate that the method of
extracted gel preparation has no significant effect on the measuring of elemental content.
In conclusion, NAA gives us another tool for simultaneously determining a number of
elements. The method is sensitive, non destructive and suitable for evaluating composition
of Aloe vera powder or other natural products for industrial, pharmaceutical or medicinal
uses.