Background: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of forty four traditional Chinese medicinal herbal extracts and to examine these activities in relation to their antioxidant content. Methods: The antioxidant activities were investigated using DPPH radical scavenging method and yeast model. The anti-inflammatory properties of the herbal extracts were evaluated by measuring their ability to inhibit the production of nitric oxide and TNF-α in RAW 264.7 macrophages activated by LPS and IFN- γ, respectively. The cytotoxic effects of the herbal extracts were determined by Alomar Blue assay by measuring cell viability. In order to understand the variation of antioxidant activities of herbal extracts with their antioxidant contents, the total phenolics, total flavonoids and trace metal (Mg, Mn, Cu, Zn, Se and Mo) quantities were estimated and a correlation analysis was carried out. Results: Results of this study show that significant levels of phenolics, flavonoids and trace metal contents were found in Ligustrum lucidum, Paeonia suffuticosa, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Sanguisorba officinalis, Spatholobus suberectus, Tussilago farfara and Uncaria rhyncophylla, which correlated well with their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Some of the plants displayed high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities but contained low levels of phenolics and flavonoids. Interestingly, these plants contained significant levels of trace metals (such as Zn, Mg and Se) which are likely to be responsible for their activities. Conclusions: The results indicate that the phenolics, flavonoids and trace metals play an important role in the antioxidant activities of medicinal plants. Many of the plants studied here have been identified as potential sources of new antioxidant compounds.

Appropriate sampling, sample preparation, choosing the right analytical instrument, analytical methodology, and adopting proper data generation protocols are essential for generating data of the required quality for both basic and applied geochemical research studies. During the last decade, instrumental advancements, in particular further developments in ICP-MS, such as the use of tandem ICP-MS, high-resolution mass spectrometry to resolve several interferences, and the use of the second path with a collision/reaction cell in multi-collector ICP-MS (MC-ICP-MS) to effectively resolve interferences, have brought in remarkable improvements in accuracy and precision in both elemental and isotopic analyses. The availability of a number of well-characterized geological certified reference samples having both elemental and isotopic data-enabled matrix-matching calibrations and contributed to the quality and traceability of the geochemical data in several cases. There have been some developments in the sample dissolution methods also. A range of quality issues related to sampling, packaging and transport, powdering, dissolution, the application of suitable instrumental analytical techniques, calibration methods, accuracy, and precision are addressed which are helpful in geochemical studies.

We present field and petrographical characteristics, zircon U–Pb ages, Nd isotopes, and major and trace element data for the magmatic epidote-bearing granitic plutons in the Bellur–Nagamangala–Pandavpura corridor, and address successive reworking and cratonization events in the western Dharwar Craton (WDC). U–Pb zircon ages reveal three stages of plutonism including: (i) sparse 3.2 Ga granodiorite plutons intruding the TTG (tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite) basement away from the western boundary of the Nagamangala greenstone belt; (ii) 3.0 Ga monzogranite to quartz monzonite plutons adjoining the Nagamangala greenstone belt; and (iii) 2.6 Ga monzogranite plutons in the Pandavpura region. Elemental data of the 3.2 Ga granodiorite indicate their origin through the melting of mafic protoliths without any significant residual garnet. Moderate to poorly fractionated REE patterns of 3.0 Ga plutons with negative Eu anomalies and Nd isotope data with ε _Nd (T) = 3.0 Ga ranging from −1.7 to +0.5 indicate the involvement of a major crustal source with minor mantle input. Melts derived from those two components interacted through mixing and mingling processes. Poorly fractionated REE patterns with negative Eu anomalies of 2.6 Ga plutons suggest plagioclase in residue. The presence of magmatic epidote in all of the plutons points to their rapid emplacement and crystallization at about 5 kbars. The 3.2 Ga intrusions could correspond to reworking associated with a major juvenile crust-forming episode, whilst 3.0 Ga potassic granites correspond to cratonization linked to melting of the deep crust. The 2.6 Ga Pandavpura granite could represent lower-crustal melting and final cratonization, as 2.5 Ga plutons are absent in the WDC.