Fikadu, Yared2021-07-292023-11-092021-07-292023-11-092019-12-08http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/27474The toothbrush is an oral hygiene instrument used to clean the teeth and gums that consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles mounted on a handle, which facilitates the cleansing of hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. Traditional toothbrush is used by the vast majority of people who cannot afford to buy the commercial toothbrush and toothpaste. The traditional toothbrushes are important for the oral and dental hygiene of the users and hence are useful in decreasing dental caries. The main purpose of this study was to determine the essential and non essential metals in traditional toothbrushes which are extensively used in the cleaning of teeth and take care of the oral health. Essential and non essential metals like Ca, Fe, Mg, Al, Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Mn, Pb, and Cd were quantified in selected traditional toothbrushes from plants including Ligustrum vulgare, Phoenix reclinata and Olea africana samples collected from three different areas of Addis Ababa (Kotebe, Arat Kilo and Ferensay) by using microwave plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (MP-AES) after wet digestion. The volume of reagents used, digestion temperature and digestion time was optimized for each plant type using the mixtures of HNO3 (69.5%) and HClO4 (70%). The optimized conditions were found to be a volume ratio of 4:1 (v/v), 4:1 (v/v), and 3:1 (v/v) and temperature 270 oC, 240 oC and 210 oC for 2:15, 2:45 and 2:00 hours for Olean africana, Ligustrum vulgare and Phoenix reclinata, respectively. The accuracy of the optimized procedure was evaluated by analyzing the digest of the spiked samples with standard solution. Recoveries of the spiked samples varied from 90.4–107%. The overall mean concentrations determined (mg/kg, dry weight) were in the ranges of Ca (4267–36514) > Fe (131–318) > Al (81.6–224) > Mg (46–122) > Zn (27.2–175) > Mn (20.1–29) > Cu (6.6–20.3) > Cr (6.7–8.9) > Ni (2.6–7.9). The results indicate that the selected three traditional toothbrushes are good sources of essential metals and the selected toothbrushes were free from toxic metals such as Pb and Cd. A statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 95% confidence level indicated that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the mean values of Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr, Al, Ca, and Fe in the Olea africana sample collected from the three sites. Whereas, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the mean values of Mg and Ni in the samples collected from the three sites. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) for Cu, Zn, Ni, Mg, Cr, and Fe in the Ligustrum vulgare ix sample collected from the three sites whereas, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the mean values of Ca, Mn and Al, the samples collected from the three sites. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) for Cu, Zn, Mn, Ni, Mg, Al, Ca, and Fe in the phoenix Reclinata sample collected from the three sites whereas, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the mean values of Cr the samples collected from the three sites. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the mean values of for Zn, Mg, Al, and Mn between Ligustrum vulgare, Phoenix reclinata and Olea africana samples whereas, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the mean values of Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe and Ni between the three samples. The Pearson correlation was used to predict the dependence of metal levels on one another. The correlation done for selected metals in Ligustrum vulgare, Phoenix reclinata and Olea africana and between the three plants mostly showed strongly positive correlation between some metals while strongly negative correlation between other metals.enTraditional ToothbrushLigustrum VulgarePhoenix Reclinata and Olea AfricanaEssential MetalsNon-Essential MetalsMicrowave Plasma-Atomic Emission SpectroscopyThesis