Determination of arsenic in Helianthus annuus l. by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

<p>This study represents new research on the sunflower (<em>Helianthus annuus</em> L.) including new data on arsenic contents in Ergene River Basin. In this study, the concentrations of arsenic in soil and sunflower plant have been investigated. The area has suffered significant pollution as a result of industrial and agricultural activities in Turkey. Sunflower are produced in this area that approximately %70 in Turkey. Arsenic concentrations in <em>H.annuus</em> L. plants collected from different regions in Turkey were determined by hydride-generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) after microwave-assisted acid digestion of samples. The accuracy of the techniques was evaluated by using certified reference materials; NIM-GBW07404 (GSS-4) for soil and WEPAL-IPE-168 for sunflower plant. The precision of the technique, expressed as relative standard deviation, was less than 8% for HGAAS. Concentrations of total arsenic in root, seed, and soil collected from different regions were in the range of 0.01–2.82 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> for <em>H. annuus </em>L. growing in Turkey in 2010 and 2011.</p>