Levels of selected metals in Ficus sur Forssk fruit and soil of the plant grown in different parts of Ethiopia

Abstract

Ficus sur Forssk is one of the wild edible plants in Ethiopia. Its fruits are commonly used in different parts of Ethiopia. Ficus sur fruits and the soil of plant were collected from three different region of Ethiopia. Levels of selected metals (K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb) in the fruit and soil were determined by microwave plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. The validity of the optimized procedure was evaluated by the analysis of spiked samples whose recoveries were in the range of 90.5-108%. The concentration range of metals (mg/kg) in Ficus sur fruit samples were K (12372-13687), Ca (3261-5389), Mg (744-785), Fe (418-479), Zn (23.9-25.4), Mn (9.13-18.0), Cu (6.78-7.97), Pb (2.45-6.23) and Cd (0.76-1.42), respectively and in the soil were in the range of 1406-5566 (K), 1248-1453 (Mg), 3140-9403 (Ca), 1186-2421 (Mn), 89763-96704 (Fe), 7.33-13.4 (Pb), 41.4-73.4 (Cu), 123-157 (Zn) and not detected Cd). Ficus sur fruit contains all the essential metals to human. However, it also contains toxic metals Cd at trace level and Pb at higher level than World Health Organization permission level.