Heavy metals content and health risk assessment of selected leafy plants consumed in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Today, there is widespread concern about the potential health effects on populations from consuming contaminated leafy plants and vegetables. In this study, heavy metal content is present in commonly consumed leafy plants (<i>Atriplex hortensis</i>, <i>Spinacia oleracea</i>, <i>Urtica dioica</i>, <i>Beta vulgaris</i>, and <i>Brassica oleracea</i>) from the mining area near Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina was determined. After the preparation of the samples by wet digestion with HNO3, the flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry was used. According to the results, the lowest concentration in leafy plants was obtained for Cr 0.08 mg/kg (<i>Brassica oleracea</i>) and the highest for Fe 539.15 mg/kg (<i>Spinacia oleracea</i>). The novelty of this study was to estimate health risk assessment for selected leafy plants. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of Pb, Mn, Zn, and Cd from consuming leafy plants was higher than the maximum tolerated daily intake. For adults, the total target hazard quotient (THQ) calculated based on EDI of the heavy metals was found to be > 1 for Pb and Cd due to all leafy plant consumption and for the children risk level of THQ was observed for most heavy metals. The hazard index due to the intake of toxic metals from ingesting leafy plants was much > 1. According to the total carcinogenic risk index for adults and children, the carcinogenic risks for all samples were higher than the tolerable range. Based on the results of this study, there is a significant non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risk to the population associated with the consumption of leafy plants cultivated in the mining area.