Investigation of Naturally Occurring Radioactivity Materials in some Animal parts commonly used in Traditional Medicine in Zaria, Nigeria

Abstract

Animals and animal derivatives are one of the main components used in traditional medicines in managing health care in rural areas. These products are recognized, sold and have unique stores in the world including Nigeria. Animal products have been implicated to contain naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) and major health concern in the safety of the crude drug as medicines. This study focuses on investigating some of these animal parts commonly used in traditional medicines and their naturally occurring radioactivity levels for safety. Twelve animal and animal parts samples were collected from two major well-known herbal markets in Zaria. The local names were identified, prepared according to the international standard of radioactivity methods and preparation specification using a NaI (Tl) detector (76×76 mm) and crystal optically coupled to a photomultiplier tube (PMT). The data were analysed with Maestro software by Canberra Nuclear Products. The naturally occurring radioactive materials concentrations and radiation health hazard indices were compared with the world average permissible limits. The results showed significant radioactive concentrations in all the twelve animal samples when compared with the world average standards and pose further risks of utilization as medicines. The study concludes possible cautions on the use of animals as natural medicines to avoid increasing carcinogenic potentials among users. We recommend further investigation of animal and animal-derived products used in Nigeria as medicines and possible standardization of the radioactivity concentration levels.