Human health implications of trace metal contamination in topsoils and brinjal fruits harvested from a famous brinjal-producing area in Bangladesh

Abstract

A study was undertaken to determine the contents of trace metals in 60 topsoils and 80 brinjal fruits samples from a famous brinjal-producing area of Bangladesh using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The study also looked at soil pollution levels, dietary intake of nutritionally important trace elements, and human health risks from toxic metals induced by dermal soil exposure and consumption of brinjal. The content of Pb, Ni, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in brinjal fruits harvested from farmer′s fields ranged from 0.204–0.729, 0.031–0.212, < 0.010–0.061, 1.819–2.668, 3.267–5.910, < 0.010–0.866 and 2.160–3.846 µg g-1, respectively, while the amount of Cr was negligible. The calculated enrichment factors showed that 70, 50, and 25% of soil sampling sites had values in the 2.00–5.00 range for Pb, Zn, and Cd, respectively, while 30% of sites had values > 5.00 for Cd, indicating moderate to significant enrichment of these metals in the soil. The study also revealed that brinjal consumption provides a tiny amount of nutritionally important trace elements required for an adult human. Regarding the computed incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCR), the study revealed that the values for Pb and Ni in all samples and Cd in 40% of samples were several hundred times higher for males and females than the USEPA threshold level due to oral ingestion of brinjal fruits. In contrast, dermal exposures to soil trace elements were within an acceptable range. The PCA results revealed that the contents of Cd, Pb, Ni, and Cu in soils showed strong positive correlations with those elements present in brinjal. The current study suggests future traceability research, focusing on pinpointing potential entry routes for toxic elements into the vegetable food chain.

Pollution Characteristics, Source Identification, and Health Risk of Heavy Metals in the Soil-Vegetable System in Two Districts of Bangladesh

“…In 2020, fertilizer utilization for Bangladesh was 320.9 kg/ha, which is much more than different countries like Turkey (100.4 kg/ ha), China (301.5 kg/ha), Britain (287.5 kg/ha), Germany (205.4 kg/ha), France (180.1 kg/ha), the USA (160.8 kg/ ha), Italy (126.4 kg/ha), India (121.4 kg/ha), Greece (115.4 kg/ha), and Indonesia (106.9 kg/ha) [18]. Besides this, the excessive and improper use of traditional fertilizers has a widespread detrimental effect on the ecosystem [19,[21][22][23][24]. The commercial fertilizer also contained substantial amounts of toxic metals and could contribute to the accumulation of toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, chromium, and radioactive elements in the soil [17,18,21,23,25].…”

Source Investigations, Quality Indexing of Vegetable Farmland and Human Health Risk Implications

“…And it was comply with the report published by New Age, a daily newspaper in Bangladesh [52]. A different study in Bangladesh recommended that inorganic fertilizers and pesticides might contain heavy metals [25]. But the pesticides are produced locally with imported uncontrolled raw materials of low grade, with no speci c guidelines for production and use [25].…”

“…A different study in Bangladesh recommended that inorganic fertilizers and pesticides might contain heavy metals [25]. But the pesticides are produced locally with imported uncontrolled raw materials of low grade, with no speci c guidelines for production and use [25]. Thus, these metals could contaminate soils and vegetables.…”

“…In 2020, fertilizer consumption for Bangladesh was 320.9 kilograms per hectare which are much more than different countries like turkey (100.4 Kg/ha), China (301.5 Kg/ha), Britain (287.5 Kg/ha), Germany (205.4 Kg/ha) France (180.1 Kg/ha) US (160.8 Kg/ha) Italy (126.4 Kg/ha), India (121.4 Kg/ha), Greece (115.4 Kg/ha), and Indonesia (106.9 Kg/ha) [18]. Besides this, the excessive and improper use of traditional fertilizers has a widespread detrimental effect on the ecosystem [21][22][23][24]25]. The commercial fertilizer also contained substantial amounts of toxic metals and could contribute to the accumulation of toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, chromium, and radioactive elements in the soil [17,18,21,24,26].…”

Lead exposure dose-dependently affects oxidative stress, AsA-GSH, photosynthesis, and mineral content in pakchoi (Brassica chinensis L.)

“…Heavy metal stress can cause a mineral imbalance in humans, animals, and plants ( Lei et al., 2021 ; Xu et al., 2021 ; Bushra et al., 2022 ). In addition, Cd and As are known toxic mineral elements that easily accumulate in plants, and affect growth and development ( Dai et al., 2019 ; Irshad et al., 2021 ).…”