Transfer of metals from soil to vegetables and possible health risk assessment

Abstract

Metal contamination in agricultural soils is of increasing concern due to food safety issues and potential health risks. Accumulation of Heavy and trace metals in vegetables occur by various sources but soil is considered the major one. Consumption of vegetables containing (heavy/trace) metals is one of the main ways in which these elements enter the human body. Once entered, heavy metals are deposited in bone and fat tissues, overlapping noble minerals and cause an array of diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the concentration of different metals in agricultural soil and vegetables grown on those soils and to evaluate the possible health risks to human body through food chain transfer. Contamination levels in soils and vegetables with metals were measured and transfer factors (TF) from soil to vegetables and its health risk were calculated accordingly. Results showed that concentration of Si, Ba, K, Ca, Mg Fe, Sc, V, Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Mn, Co, Ni, Se, Sr, Mo, and Cd in soil is higher than the World Average value and Al, Ti and Pb is lower than the World Average value whereas concentration of toxic elements like As, Co, Cu, Mn, Pb, Se, Ni, V and Zn in vegetable samples are below the World Average value. The intake of toxic metals (Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn Co, Cr, V, Ni, Pb and Cd) from vegetables is not high and within the permissible limit recommended by WHO, Food & Nutritional Board and US EPA. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) for Fe, Cu, Co, Cr, V, Ni, Pb, Mn, Zn and Cd were calculated which showed a decreasing order of Cd>Mn>Zn>Pb>Cu>Fe>Ni>V=Co>Cr. Highest HQ value found for Cd (2.543) which is above the safe value.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-385) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Accumulation of some heavy metals in plants and soils adjacent to Cairo – Alexandria agricultural highway

“…It is worthy to mention that the transfer of heavy metals from soil to plant is an important criterion in food safety issues (Jolly et al, 2013).…”

Hematotoxicity status of lead and three other heavy metals in cow slaughtered for human consumption in Jos, Nigeria

“…Sources of heavy metals are many and varied (Sanayei et al, 2009;Shirkhanloo et al, 2011;Adegbola et al, 2015). The food chain is an important source of heavy metals accumulation (Jolly et al, 2013), especially for plants grown on polluted soils (Pilarczyk et al, 2013). Sometimes, they become concentrated in soil, water or in air and they are taken up by plants (Ogabiela et al, 2011;Orisakwe et al, 2012) and ingested by humans when they eat animals grazed in areas of increased industrial activities or contaminated pastures (Okada et al, 1997;Salem et al, 2000).…”

Distribution et structure des communautés de vers de terre et leur corrélation avec des éléments traces métalliques (ETM) le long des bordures de l’autoroute du Nord en Côte-d’Ivoire

“…En effet, ces substances sont d'abord émises vers l'atmosphère le long des axes routiers et autoroutiers, puis retombent sous forme de dépôts secs ou humides sur la voie et ses alentours (Durand, 2003). Suite à la non biodégradabilité de ces ETM, ils s'accumulent dans le sol, altèrent les processus biologiques naturels (Trombulak et Frissell, 2000) et peuvent entrer, par l'intermédiaire des végétaux, dans la chaîne trophique (Baby et al, 2010 ;Kihampa et Mwegoha, 2010 ;Xiong et al, 2014) et constituer une menace pour la santé animale et humaine (Jackson, 2009 ;Singh et al, 2010 ;Jolly et al, 2013). Les études menées par Panisset et al (2003) ; WHO (2013) ont révélé que l'accumulation de ces substances dans l'organisme animal et humain entraîne de graves affections telles que, les maladies neurologiques, le cancer, l'ostéomalacie, l'hydrargyrisme, la néphrite tubulaire et les troubles de la croissance chez l'enfant.…”