Evaluation of Heavy Metals in Vegetables and their Associated Health Risk through the consumption of Vegetables in the National Capital Region, India

Abstract

Evaluation of the heavy metals concentration in the vegetables growing in the national capital region ofIndia was done in the present study. A total of 96 samples of vegetables were collected from the selectedstudy area during the summer season and were analyzed for heavy metals contamination by atomicabsorption spectrophotometer. The relative abundance of heavy metal (mg/kg) in the vegetable sampleswas in the following order: Fe > Al >Mn> Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni >Pb> Cd > Co with the average concentrationsof 260.26, 149.70, 32.59, 29.10, 17.18, 3.97, 1.45, 1.38, 0.27, and 0.10 respectively. The statistical analysissupported the formation of two primary clusters i.e. Al-Fe-Cr-Ni and Pb-Zn, indicating their commonsource of origin. Most of the vegetable samples exceeded the permissible limit of heavy metals prescribedby the Food and agricultural organization/ World health organization (FAO/WHO) standards. The totaltarget hazard quotient was greater than 1 for all types of vegetables, indicating appreciable health risk dueto the consumption of these vegetables in the study area.