Abstract
The mineral compositions for two herbals plants grown in Libyan wilderness, namely Thymus Capitates and Rosmarinus Officinalis have been detected using four different digestion methods. plant samples were measured for calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, cobalt, chromium, nickel, lead and cadmium by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) technique. The macrominerals calcium, magnesium potassium and sodium were found to dominate species in the selected plants ranging from calcium which has the highest level to sodium with the lowest concentration. Iron, zinc, manganese and nickel concentrations were detected in minor levels while copper, lithium and lead were found in trace levels. Calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium were detected in water extraction of these plants at significant amount while other minerals were not detected in water extraction. Besides, chromium, cobalt and cadmium were not detected by any digestion methods.The findings from the study revealed that the water extract contains respectively the amount of Ca, Mg, K and Na that is equivalent to the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of these macronutrients which are important for human health. However, the water extract of Fe, Zn, Mn, Ni, Cu and Li is not enough to supple the RDA of these metals. Consuming enough amount to ground particles of these herbals may supply the RDA of these micronutrients. The very low level of Pb make these plants safe for disease treatment. The statistical analysis exhibited significant variance in yield between the water extraction method and other extraction procedures. The discrepancy that can be explained by the limited solubility of the corresponding water-soluble salts. On the other hand, there is a slight variance between ashing procedure and other two procedures (HNO3/H2O2 and HNO3/HClO4). In general, the concentration ranges obtained using (HNO3/HClO4) acid mixture is a bit higher compared to (HNO3/H2O2) and dry ashing procedures