Intake Of Toxic Metals Research Articles

Assessing Leaching of Potentially Hazardous Elements from Cookware during Cooking: A Serious Public Health Concern.

The intake of toxic metals from cooking utensils through food is of growing concern to the medical community. This intake poses serious risk to human health. In many developing countries, different types of contaminated metals scraps are used to make cooking utensils. The leaching of both nutritionally essential and toxic metals in significant quantities from cookware during the cooking process results in food contamination and poses a substantial health risk. In the present study, the leaching of some toxic and potentially toxic metals from cooking utensils into different solutions and food was investigated. A preliminary survey indicated that the majority of individuals tend to use aluminum cookware due to its affordability, overlooking the potential health risks associated with these inexpensive and lower-quality cooking utensils. XRF analysis revealed that aluminum, steel, and copper cookware had K, Ca, Pb, Cd, Ni, V, Sn Mo, Zn, Bi, and Tb as contaminants. In addition, aluminum (3.2 ± 0.25 to 4.64 ± 0.20 g/kg) and copper cookware (2.90 ± 0.12 g/kg) were highly contaminated with lead. The time and pH-dependent study revealed that leaching of metals (Al, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, Cu, and Fe, etc.) into food was predominantly from anodized and non-anodized aluminum cookware. More metal leaching was observed from new aluminum cookware compared to old. Acidic food was found to cause more metals to leach during cooking. Blood metal analysis of the local population revealed the presence of high concentrations of Al, Pb, Cd, and Ni. In conclusion, leaching of toxic or potentially toxic metals from cookware into food, especially from anodized and non-anodized aluminum cookware, poses a potential public health risk. Practical applications: Cooking utensils are routinely used for the preparation of food. However, the harmful impact posed by these essential items is largely unknown. The current research briefly explains the toxic metals leaching from cookware in a pH-dependent manner and leaves a message to the public, especially in developing countries like Pakistan, regarding the type of cookware suitable for cooking purposes.

Intake of toxic metals through dietary eggs consumption and its potential health risk assessment on the peoples of the capital city Dhaka, Bangladesh

Around the world, hen meat and eggs are very widely consumed in dishes like curries, processed cuisine, and fast food. The ingestion of contaminated eggs poses a biochemical risk from the perspective of food safety due to the presence of heavy metal and trace element residues in hen eggs. The purpose of this study was to examine the concentrations of heavy metals in eggs from commercial chicken farms from capital city and hens from local area in order to identify the most significant heavy metal concentration in hen eggs. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Ni, Fe, Zn, Co and As in samples of hen eggs collected from different locations were measured in the present study and concentrations of these selective metals were found to be between < 0.001, 0.01–0.89, 0.81–0.015, 0.81–58.8, 0.32–1.9, 0.05–1.03, 0.04–0.38, 10.6–104.02, 2.41–48.46, 0.04–0.5 mg/kg-fw and BDL respectively. The findings showed that Cu, Pb, Fe and Zn had levels over the dietary food's maximum permissible limit (MPL). Multivariate statistical studies showed that human activity was the main contributor to the presence of heavy metals in the sampled diets. Estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ) of individual heavy metals, and carcinogenic risk (CR) for lifetime exposure were used to evaluate the risks to human health associated with dietary intake of these metals through consumption of hen eggs. Provisional tolerable daily intake values (PTDI) for Pb, Cu, Zn, and Fe were higher, indicating that these metals might be harmful to human health if consumed in eggs by both children and adults. The evaluated foodstuffs can be consumed with low or less risk of exposure to heavy metals because the computed values of THQ and CR were below their respective allowed thresholds.

Assessment of the Mineral Composition and the Selected Physicochemical Parameters of Dietary Supplements Containing Green Tea Extracts.

Our aim was to assess the mineral composition as well as the physicochemical quality of green tea-based dietary supplements (capsules and tablets) with respect to average weight, size and shape, friability, breaking force and disintegration time. Products were analysed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry for Ca, K, Mg, Na, Cr, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, Pb and Cd. Approximately 60% of the analysed supplements met the requirements of European and Polish regulations. The dietary supplements passed weight variation tests, but not all products had compliant capsule sizes. One product in tablet form failed the friability test, and eleven dietary supplements in tablet form failed the disintegration test. The supplements were characterised by a varied elemental composition, with the highest values found for Ca, Fe, Zn and Mn. The recommended daily allowance realisation for Fe and Zn in two dietary supplements (capsule form) exceeded 100%. As a result of the estimation of the monthly intake of toxic metals, it was concluded that the tested products do not pose a risk to consumer health. Significant relationships (p &lt; 0.001) were found for K, Mg, Na, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn. The application of factor and cluster analyses allowed the verification of the similarity of green tea extracts contained in dietary supplements to the natural raw material, green tea leaves, used as a reference material.

Estimation of Target Hazard Quotients and Potential Health Risks for Toxic Metals and Other Trace Elements by Consumption of Female Fish Gonads and Testicles.

The aim of this study was to assess the risk to consumers associated with the intake of toxic metals and other trace elements in diets that include the female gonads, testicles, and muscles of four popular freshwater fish species in Poland—common bream (Abramis brama L.), European perch (Perca fluviatilis L.), common roach (Rutilus rutilus L.), and northern pike (Esox Lucius L.). The following methods were used to determine the elements: GF-AAS (Pb, Cd); CV-AAS (Hg); ICP-AES (Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, Ni, Li, Cr, Al). The concentration of toxic elements (Hg, Cd, Pb) in the female gonads and testicles ranged from 0.004 ± 0.006 mg/kg (Cd) to 0.028 ± 0.018 mg/kg (Pb). Of the other elements, the lowest content was noted for Cr (0.122 ± 0.182 mg/kg) and the highest for Al (46.98 ± 31.89 mg/kg). The study confirmed that female gonads and testicles are a valuable source of essential trace elements (Zn, Fe). Considering the content of toxic elements, the raw material of female gonads and testicles posed no health risks (THQ < 1).

Exposure to Metals from Artisanal Cheeses Made with Goat's Milk

Cheeses are an important source of essential elements. Nevertheless, the level of some metals could pose a health risk. Therefore, the concentration of trace elements and toxic metals (Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Sr, Pb, Cd, and Al) has been determined in artisanal cheeses from different geographical locations, and the intake of these metals from cheese consumption has been evaluated. The metal concentration was determined in a total of 90 cheese samples from different locations by using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The highest concentration of Al (35.1 ± 4.42 mg/kg, wet weight) was found in artisanal cheeses from Zamora (Spain), followed by Sr (6.85 ± 0.35 mg/kg, wet weight) in artisanal cheeses from Cadiz (Spain). A daily consumption of 23.2 g of cheese provides a significant dietary contribution for Al of 0.82% of its tolerable weekly intake of 1 mg/kg of body weight per week. Canary Islands cheeses have a higher metal content than the non-Canary cheese, which could be because of the volcanic characteristics of the island soils. The intake of toxic metals and trace elements poses no risk to the health of adults.

Metal Contents in the Most Widely Consumed Commercial Preparations of Four Different Medicinal Plants (Aloe, Senna, Ginseng, and Ginkgo) from Europe.

Medicinal plants like Aloe barbadensis, Ginkgo biloba, Panax ginseng, and Cassia angustifolia are being increasingly used but self-medication is a major public health challenge because of their numerous interactions. Furthermore, dietary exposure to metals through the consumption of these commercial preparations should be evaluated. Some of these metals may have a nutritional interest but others are metals of toxicological relevance. The content of essential and toxic metals has been analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) in 80 samples of both organically and conventionally grown aloe, senna, ginseng, and ginkgo pharmaceutical formats to establish their metallic profile, to evaluate their nutritional value and to assess the toxic metal risk resulting from their consumption. Ca (9181mg/kgww) in senna, Fe (30.0mg/kgww) in ginseng, and Al (15.7mg/kgww) in ginseng are noteworthy. The consumption of 9g/day of ginkgo represents 6.44% of the RDI set for Ca. The consumption of 25mL/day of aloe syrup is 3.06% (men) and 1.52% (women) of the RDI of Fe. Al exposure from 25mL/day of aloe consumption is 2.71% of its TDI. Considering the dosages recommended by the manufacturers, the intake of toxic metals does not pose a health risk but the intake of essential metals is worth mentioning.

Microbial and toxic metal contamination in well drinking water: potential health risk in selected areas of Kohat, Pakistan

In this study, the load of microorganisms and concentration and daily intake of toxic metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb) in drinking water sources (wells) of three towns, Mian Khail (MK), Mer Ahmad Khail (MAK) and Gari Banurian (GB), in Kohat city of Pakistan were investigated. Multifactorial analysis was conducted to determine the microbial and toxic metals load in drinking water of the investigated towns. The obtained results revealed that the fecal coliform bacteria (FCB), Salmonella, Shigella and Staphylococci were the highest in MAK followed by MK and GB. The toxic metals concentrations and their intake load in the study area was in the order: Cd > Pb > Cu > Zn. However, the concentrations of toxic elements were within the permissible limits set by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (PAK EPA). The study area had a higher load of enteric pathogens such as the Shigella sp., fecal coliform and Staphylococci in the potable water wells. The redundancy analysis (RDA) illustrated that total viable count TVB, Cu, Staphylococci and FCB were higher in MAK, fungi and Shigella sp. in GB and the Pb concentration was higher in MK. It is concluded that water in the study area is fecally contaminated and can cause health hazards. It is recommended that there should be a proper monitoring of water quality in the area to improve the existing quality and prevent further contamination of drinking water in the study area.

Transfer of metals from soil to vegetables and possible health risk assessment.

Metal contamination in agricultural soils is of increasing concern due to food safety issues and potential health risks. Accumulation of Heavy and trace metals in vegetables occur by various sources but soil is considered the major one. Consumption of vegetables containing (heavy/trace) metals is one of the main ways in which these elements enter the human body. Once entered, heavy metals are deposited in bone and fat tissues, overlapping noble minerals and cause an array of diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the concentration of different metals in agricultural soil and vegetables grown on those soils and to evaluate the possible health risks to human body through food chain transfer. Contamination levels in soils and vegetables with metals were measured and transfer factors (TF) from soil to vegetables and its health risk were calculated accordingly. Results showed that concentration of Si, Ba, K, Ca, Mg Fe, Sc, V, Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Mn, Co, Ni, Se, Sr, Mo, and Cd in soil is higher than the World Average value and Al, Ti and Pb is lower than the World Average value whereas concentration of toxic elements like As, Co, Cu, Mn, Pb, Se, Ni, V and Zn in vegetable samples are below the World Average value. The intake of toxic metals (Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn Co, Cr, V, Ni, Pb and Cd) from vegetables is not high and within the permissible limit recommended by WHO, Food & Nutritional Board and US EPA. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) for Fe, Cu, Co, Cr, V, Ni, Pb, Mn, Zn and Cd were calculated which showed a decreasing order of Cd>Mn>Zn>Pb>Cu>Fe>Ni>V=Co>Cr. Highest HQ value found for Cd (2.543) which is above the safe value.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-385) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Atmospheric Deposition and Heavy Metal Contamination in an Organic Farming System in a Seasonally Dry Tropical Region of India

Increased consciousness about agricultural sustainability and health risks associated with agrochemicals has lead organic farming to be a globally emerging alternative farm practice. We report the effect of atmospheric deposition on soil quality and heavy metal contamination of agricultural produce under an organic farming system using wheat and corn as test crops. Data obtained in the open field (OFO) were compared with a plastic-covered glass-house-grown system (OFG). The results showed that depositions of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn increased with time. Soil porosity, water holding capacity, microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), alkaline phosphatase, and FDAase activity decreased, whereas the bulk density and contents of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn increased over time in open plots receiving atmospheric deposition. Concentrations of metals in grains in OFO crops exceeded the safe limits of Indian standards and were three to sixfold higher than those recorded in OFG plots. These results indicate that atmospheric deposition of heavy metals can have a destabilizing effect on soil fertility in organic farming and can greatly increase the dietary intake of toxic metals. This may have long–term implications for human health as well as for agricultural sustainability. The data presented here have particular concern for developing countries, where unprecedented urban–industrial growth and consequently increased input fluxes of heavy metals will continue for decades to come.

Role of rice and cereal products in dietary cadmium and lead intake among different socio-economic groups in south India.

A study was conducted to evaluate the concentration of cadmium and lead in rice and cereal products commonly consumed in South India. Samples from retail outlets were purchased and analysed for cadmium and lead using graphite tube atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results indicated varying concentrations of these metals in different rice and cereal products. The daily dietary intake of cadmium and lead varied among different socio-economic groups, based on occupation, and choice of consumption. The findings suggest that rice is the major source of cadmium and lead among the rural population and economically-deprived class. The source of intake of toxic metals appears to be more diverse in the case of the urban middle class and the economically privileged class of South India.