Heavy metals, trace elements, minerals and ascorbic acid content of occasionally consumed eight indigenous fruits in Bangladesh

Abstract

Herein, a study was carried out to assess the nutritional potential of eight indigenous fruits namely sapodilla, stone apple, bilimbi, amla, litchi, strawberry, tamarind, elephant-apple particularly on the basis of heavy metal, mineral and ascorbic acid content along with the physicochemical properties. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) and atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) analysis were performed to determine the essential trace elements and heavy metals in the selected fruits, whereas sodium and potassium content was determined by flame-photometer. Even though the essential trace elements such as zinc, copper, manganese, selenium and cobalt were found in all the examined fruits, sapodilla, stone apple and tamarind were observed as a rich source of selenium and cobalt. The current research demonstrated the presence of toxic heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in elephant-apple, sapodilla, stone apple and tamarind in trace levels which are below the Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs). All the selected eight fruits are found as rich sources of macro-minerals for instance sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. Ascorbic acid was estimated by HPLC which ranged from 4.10 to 475.0 mg/100 g of edible portion and the highest amount was found in amla. In summary, these fruits could be potential sources of macro and microminerals and safe from toxic heavy metal contamination. The nutritional data observed in the present study would be played a promising role in dietary recommendation, nutritional education, training, research, and food supplementation.