Lead Exposure of Four Biologically Important Common Branded and Nonbranded Spices: Relative Analysis and Health Implication

Abstract

Bioactive compounds containing the four most common and often used powdered spices for food preparation have been studied concerning lead contamination and human health risk assessment, especially in branded and nonbranded categories. A total of 72 spice samples were analysed using Varian AA240FS flame atomic absorption spectrometry. A validated and optimized method using hot plate digestion was used for this study. Freshly prepared standards were used to construct a calibration curve. The overall range of lead levels in branded and nonbranded spice samples was found to be < 0.27–2.80, < 0.27–0.48, < 0.27–13.83, 0.28–8.19 and < 0.27–5.56, < 0.27–3.84, < 0.27–37.29, 0.29–0.65 for cumin powder, red pepper chili, turmeric powder, and coriander powder, respectively. The nonbranded item has shown slightly higher value than branded items except coriander powder. Approximately 90% of the spice samples were shown to be within the maximum allowable limit by the Bangladesh Standard. The studied Pb level was inconsistent in both categories of spices but did not have any health implications in the case of carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic studies. Overall, Pb concentrations in most common spices collected from Dhaka city were found to be slightly higher in nonbranded items. This shows us that it is of vital importance that the areas where spices are collected are clean, especially by means of Pb, because these spices can cause more benefits than harm they may provide in such a contamination.