Heavy Metal Contamination of Vegetables

Abstract

In India, several (>50) vegetables are widely used as food due to their high nutrition values. However, vegetables in industrial area are getting contaminated with heavy metals by disturbing biological and biochemical processes in the human body. In present study, the risk of human health by heavy metals (Fe, As, Cr, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Hg) through the intake of common vegetables i.e. Solanum lycopersicum, Solanum melongena, Amaranthus tricolor L., Chenopodium album L., Spinacia oleracea and Coriandrum sativum obtained from the largest coal burning basin, Korba, India is described . The concentration of Fe, As, Cr, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Hg in the soils (n = 6) was ranged from 18,328 - 37,980, 85 - 105, 34 - 72, 314 - 760, 146 - 165, 126 - 164, 1.11 - 1.39, 116 - 148 and 0.11 - 0.21 mg/kg with mean value (p = 0.05) of 28,011 ± 6582, 96 ± 6, 57 ± 11, 597 ± 148, 153 ± 5, 145 ± 11, 1.26 ± 0.10, 133 ± 11 and 0.16 ± 0.03 mg/kg, respectively. The contamination, sources and bioaccumulation, pollution and health risk indices of the heavy metals i.e. As, Fe, Cr, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Hg in the plants are described.