Analysis of minerals and heavy metals in some spices collected from local market.

Abstract

Herbs and spices are sources of many bioactive compounds that can improve the taste of food as well as affect the digestion metabolism. Along with that they may also contain some substances as pesticides , heavy metals and which have harmful effect on the body. In this work, five of the most popularly used spices and herb were studied to determine Pb , Cd , As ,Hg , Mn , Cu , Co , Se , Ni , Cr content in them .This was analysed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer(AAS). The results were compared with the safety standards (WHO). The average concentration of heavy metals as Pb detected ranged from 3.3ppm-4.59ppm , Cd ranged from 0.04pm-0.4 ppm . concentration of As was from 0.7ppm -1.5ppm , concentration of Se ranged from Negligible to 2.26 ppm . Mn ranged from 28.73 ppm-562.6 ppm , Ni was found to range between 2.82 ppm - 5.76 ppm , (Cu) was found to be in a range of 2.30 ppm - 19.69 ppm in C.Zeylanicum , Myristica fragrans , Ocimum sanctum , Syzygium aromaticum and Cinnamomum tamala and most of them were well within the permissible limits. Although a few spices are of global importance, many are used as condiments locally in the regions of their natural occurance. The addition of spices that may be contaminated with trace and heavy metals to food as a habit may result in accumulation of these in human organs and lead to different health problems. The widespread contamination of spices and herbs with heavy metals in last two decades has increased the scientific interest as it has the harmful effect on human health..T his has lead the researchers to study the effect of heavy metals on food , air and water and to determine their permissibility for human consumption.(10). Several studies were done to determine the concentration of heavy metals in spices .(11) and to study their harmful effects. Heavy metals beyond the permissible limits affects the human health and my lead to illness of human foetus ,preterm labour and mental retardation in children. Adults may suffer from fatigue, high blood pressure and kidney troubles. The objective of this work is to estimate the levels of heavy metals that is Lead , Cadmium ,Arsenic , Selenium , Manganese , Nickel and Copper that may be present in the selected spices available in local markets of Nagpur region. The levels of investigated heavy metals were compared with the recommended levels by the international organizations as FAO and WHO.