Monitoring of nitrites and nitrates levels in leafy vegetables (spinach and lettuce): a contribution to risk assessment

Iammarino, Marco; Taranto, Aurelia Di; Cristino, Marianna

doi:10.1002/jsfa.6439

Cited by 74 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Absorption of nitrate occurs most often from natural sources, but vegetables accumulate a significant portion of nitrate from nitrogen-based fertilizers, which are used for fertilizing plants for faster and bigger growth (Shahid Umar, 2007). Leafy vegetables, such as lettuce or spinach, contain the highest concentrations of nitrate (Iammarino, 2014). Approximately 80% of dietary nitrates are derived from vegetable consumption.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrate in Leafy Green Vegetables and Estimated Intake

Brkić

Bošnir

Bevardi

et al. 2017

Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med

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Background: Vegetarian diets are rich in vegetables. Green leafy vegetables are foods that contain considerable amounts of nitrate, which can have both positive and negative effects on the human body. Their potential carcinogenicity and toxicity have been proven, particularly after the reduction of nitrate to nitrite itself or just serving as a reactant with amines and/or amides in the formation of N-nitroso compounds -N-nitrosamines and other nitrogen compounds which may have high levels of nitrate. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a significant difference, considering the location and seasonal sampling period, in the level of nitrate in certain types of green vegetables, all in order to be able to assess their intake, and possible impact on human health, especially knowing that exposure to nitrate can be potentially higher for vegetarian population group. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, the sampling of 200 different leafy green vegetables was conducted, all of which could be found in free sale in the Republic of Croatia. The sampling was conducted during two seasonal periods -the spring and autumn period. In the springtime, lettuce (sem), spinach (pinacho), kale (kale), chard (mangel) and cabbage (brassica) were sampled, and in autumn lettuce, spinach, kale, chard and arugula. Samples were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection. Results:The results from the spring sampling phase were in the range of 603 mg/kg for cabbage -972 mg/kg for chard, and for autumn phase of 1.024 mg/kg for chard to 4.354 mg/kg for the arugula. The results showed that there were significant differences (p <0.05) for most of the samples analyzed, considering the sampling locations and time period. Conclusion:The results indicate that the analyzed vegetables contain significant amounts of nitrate in their composition, which represents relatively significant, but still acceptable intake into the human body.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrate in Leafy Green Vegetables and Estimated Intake

Brkić

Bošnir

Bevardi

et al. 2017

Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med

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“…The concentration of nitrate in organic cultures was lower [43]. The study of Iammarino et al (2014) Spinach is highly regarded by farmers and nutritionists due to its resistance to contamination rooting rapid growth and nativeness. Spinach nitrate contamination has been reported in most Iranian cities [18,35].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should be noted nitrite and nitrate of 150 leafy vegetables and their risk assessment showed that nitrate in spinach and lettuce is higher than the standard limit. Nitrite levels also varied from 28.5 to 19.5/19 [44]. Investigating studies on lettuce and eggplant in Iran, nitrate pollution of these products was not exceeded by standards [16, 30, 35-36, 38, 40].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogenous Contamination in Iranian Vegetables: a Review

Almasi¹,

Mohammadi²,

Dargahi³

et al. 2018

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

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Vegetables are the main source of nitrate food contamination. More than 80% of nitrates are consumed by humans through vegetables. The present study was conducted to investigate the contamination of nitrite and nitrate vegetables in Iran. In this systematic overview we reviewed all internal and external databases for relevant articles. According to different studies, contamination was detected in different types of vegetables in different regions of Iran. Articles that examined nitrite values above the standard limit were not reported. Due to nitrate contamination in vegetables in some cities of Iran and the effects of this nitrogen combination on human health, it is necessary to find a solution in this regard.

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“…Nitrite is an essential component of a healthy diet as it reacts with hemoglobin and produces methemoglobin which enables transporting of oxygen at the cellular level . However, excess levels of nitrite in the presence of amines or amides in the stomach convert to nitrosamines which have been reported to be carcinogenic and potentially harmful to humans . Therefore, it is important for environmental reasons to monitor nitrite levels as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency has set limits for the total nitrite content that is allowable in water as well as WHO and EU Scientific Committee for Food recommendations on the amount of nitrite used in foods ,…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[36] However, excess levels of nitrite in the presence of amines or amides in the stomach convert to nitrosamines which have been reported to be carcinogenic and potentially harmful to humans. [37][38] Therefore, it is important for environmental reasons to monitor nitrite levels as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency has set limits for the total nitrite content that is allowable in water as well as WHO and EU Scientific Committee for Food recommendations on the amount of nitrite used in foods. [32,39] In this work, we investigate the influence of the in situ upd of lead and copper on the electrodeposition of nanostructured gold from gold bromide and chloride salts and investigate the influence that the structure of the deposit has on the electrochemical detection of nitrite.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Directing Nanostructure Formation of Gold through the In Situ Underpotential Deposition of a Secondary Metal for the Detection of Nitrite Ions

2017

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In this work, the underpotential deposition of metals such as copper and lead during the electrochemical deposition of gold is investigated to understand the influence that the incorporation of a second metal has on the morphology of gold nanostructures. The incorporation of Pb or Cu, even at concentrations as low as 0.2 %, significantly influences the morphology of the deposit, where the formation of elongated structures from a central gold structure is favored. These nanostructures are characterized by cyclic voltammetry, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and are tested for their suitability as a sensing layer for the electrochemical detection of nitrite ions in aqueous solution. A limit of detection of 0.3 μM is achieved with a linear range up to 1 mM, which is adequate for the determination of nitrite contained within food products.

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Monitoring of nitrites and nitrates levels in leafy vegetables (spinach and lettuce): a contribution to risk assessment

Abstract: Considering the non-negligible percentage of 'not-compliant' samples for nitrates (6.0%), control is needed. Moreover, it is possible to suggest the introduction in the Communities Regulations of a 'maximum admissible level' for nitrites in leafy vegetables.

Cited by 74 publications

References 9 publications

Nitrate in Leafy Green Vegetables and Estimated Intake

Nitrate in Leafy Green Vegetables and Estimated Intake

Nitrogenous Contamination in Iranian Vegetables: a Review

Directing Nanostructure Formation of Gold through the In Situ Underpotential Deposition of a Secondary Metal for the Detection of Nitrite Ions

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