Annual Committed Effective Dose from Various Phytotherapeutic Preparations (due to ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ²²²Rn and ²²⁰Rn) Estimated for Adult Moroccan Patients

We use a nuclear technique based on the determination of the detection efficiencies of solid state nuclear track detectors CR-39 and LR-115 type II (SSNTDs) for alpha particles emitted from the series of uranium-238 and thorium-232 in a phytotherapeutic sample and the measurement of alpha track densities registered on these detectors to assess alpha activities due to uranium-238;thorium-232;radon and thoron in samples of phytotherapeutic preparations consumed by Moroccan adult patients. For modern preparations, the alpha activities due to 238U, 232Th and 222Rn range from 14.27 mBq/kg to 22.02 mBq/kg, from 6.27 mBq/kg to 9.64 mBq/kg and from 14.27 Bq/kg to 22.02 Bq/kg respectively. For classical preparations, the alpha activities due to 238U, 232Th and 222Rn range from 16.73 mBq/kg to 24 mBq/kg, from 7.34 mBq/kg to 10.82 mBq/kg and from 16.73 Bq/kg to 24.72 Bq/kg respectively. A dosimetric model for ingestion has been highlighted to determine committed equivalent dose to different compartments of human gastrointestinal system due to the ingestion of phytotherapeutic preparations by Moroccan adult patients. The maximum overall effective dose due to 238U, 232Th, and 222Rn after the ingestion of the studied phytotherapeutic preparations, was found equal to 38 × 10-8 S·vy-1 which is less than the dose limit given by the international commission for radiological protection in it publication 56.