Effects of Heavy Toxic Metals on Human Health and Methods of Determining their Content in Tea Sheets and Vegetables Grown in the Lankaran-Astara Region of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of heavy toxic metals on human health. It has been shown that the long-term accumulation of heavy metals in the body can lead to a slowdown in the development of physical, muscle and neurological degenerative processes that mimic certain diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. The transfer of heavy metals from ecosystem to human is also analyzed. It is noted that some heavy metals generate free radicals, which can lead to oxidative stress and cause other cellular damage, a carcinogenic effect, affecting a number of proteins. As a result of the measurement of mass concentrations of zinc, cadmium, lead and copper by inversion voltammetry after preliminary preparation of samples by wet mineralization, it was found that the content of concentrations of Zn, Cd, Pb, Cu in tea flashes was 3.50 ± 1.40 mg/kg, 0.03 ± 0.038 mg/kg, 0.370 ± 0.130 mg/kg, 3.20 ± 1.10 mg/kg, respectively Low Zn and Cd 0.56 ± 0.22 mg/kg and 0,0012 ± 0,0048 mg/kg, respectively, were found in fresh tomatoes, and Pb and Cu 0,013 ± 0,0045 mg/kg and 0.57 ± 0.21 mg/kg, were found in fresh cucumbers respectively. The content of mass concentrations of toxic metals Cd, Pb in all analysed samples of tea leaves and vegetables (tomatoes and cucumbers) is less than their permissible levels specified in regulatory documents in force in the Republic of Azerbaijan.