HEALTH RISK OF SELECTED INORGANIC CONTAMINANTS IN SOME FOOD SPICES SOLD IN MARKETS WITHIN PORT ..

The study looked at the levels of inorganic pollutants including copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) in some commonly used food spices in Port Harcourt, as well as the health risks. After wet digestion, this was done using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Metal concentrations in various spices samples were found to vary in the tests. Copper had the highest concentration (15.455.09 mg/kg) in tomatoes, according to the mean concentration and standard deviation of heavy metals in food spices across the samples.Curry (10.302.03 mg/kg), garlic (8.652.08 mg/kg), onions (6.502.52 mg/kg), and uda (6.115.75 mg/kg) are the most popular spices. Just curry (2.751.0 mg/kg), pepper (0.650.02 mg/kg), and salt (0.050.00 mg/kg) contained chromium. Tomatoes (6.904.89 mg/kg), curry (4.091.90 mg/kg), salt (6.153.70 mg/kg), and onions (3.092.10 mg/kg all had high nickel detection levels. Uda (3.082.87 mg/kg), tomatoes (3.801.28 mg/kg), curry (2.861.34 mg/kg), and salt (2.600.76 mg/kg) were the foods with the highest levels of lead.The results show that no cadmium was found in any of the food spices, and thatnone of the heavy metals checked for were present in the chilli spices. All of the Metal Pollution Index (PI) values were less than one (1). The daily intake cap was estimated and compared to the ATSDR's MRL (minimum risk level) values (2001). The results revealed that the Pb concentrations in some of the spices under investigation were far higher than the MRL values. As a result, consuming these spices will lead to an accumulation of toxins in the body.

Please see the link - https://ikprress.org/index.php/AJRiB/article/view/5159