Study of the Chelating Ability of Hexane, Chloroform, Ethyl acetate and Methanolic Root Extracts from Algerian Phragmites australis Species

Introduction: Heavy metals that enter organisms can cause illness and disease. Chelation therapy is a solution that uses chelating agents to protect these organisms by high accumulation. Materials and methods: The objective of this study is to evaluate the capability of different roots extracts from reed or EDTA (as standard) to complexate iron using, ferrozine-ferrous reducing assay or Zn and Cu using the murexide-Zn or Cu reducing assay in vitro. Results: the results proved that the organic phase of the first extract and EDTA (standard chelator), have the strongest chelation activities with respective rates of 70% and 97% for iron, 55% and 56% for zinc and 47% and 88% for copper compared to the control groups considered to be 100% of the complexation. Finally, the HPLC analysis showed the presence of six organic acids, which are probably responsible for this effect. Conclusion: The hexane extract and EDTA (standard), have the strongest chelation activities. Keywords: Phragmites australis, Chelation, Heavy metals, Organic acids, Ferrozine, Murexide.