Analysis of Minerals and Heavy metals content in Traditional vegetables in South Eastern Nigeria. (original) (raw)

Vegetables are important sources of minerals that are essential for life processes. Metal toxicity occurs when there is an elevated level of essential minerals or heavy metals in the body. Vegetables take up metals by absorbing them from contaminated soils and polluted environments. The mineral and heavy metal content were determined in ten (10) selected vegetables obtained from south eastern Nigeria. The vegetables include Telfairia occidentalis, Vitex doniana, Pterocapus santahnoides, Ceiba pentanda, Colocasia antiquorum, Curcurbita pepo, Corchorus olitorus, Mucuna Puriens, Amaranthus hybridus and Lecaniodiscus cupaniodes. The mineral content was analyzed using FS240AA agilent Atomic absorption spectrometer while the heavy metal analysis was done using varian AA240 Atomic absorption spectrophotometer. From the mineral analysis, the vegetables are rich in magnesium with appreciable levels of potassium, calcium and phosphate. Heavy metals such as Iron, Zinc, Selenium, Cobalt, Molybdenum and manganese were analyzed. Iron, Cobalt and Selenium content were found to be above the recommended levels while others are within the recommended daily limits. Iron was highest in Corchorus olitorus (61.674ppm) and lowest in Mucuna puriens (3.365ppm). The leaves of Amaranthus Hybridus posses the highest concentration of Zinc (15.380ppm) followed by Corchorus olitorus (10.915ppm) and the lowest was also found in Mucuna puriens leaves (3.010ppm). The highest concentration of Manganese (Mn) was found in Vitex doniana (13.058ppm) and the lowest in Lecaniodiscus cupaniodes (0.459ppm). The Selenium content ranged from 6.233 to 15.627ppm with the highest concentration found in Ceiba pentanda. Cobalt was detected only in Vitex doniana, Amaranthus hybridus and Telfairia occidentalis. The highest concentration was found in Vitex doniana (0.090ppm) and lowest in Telfairia occidentalis (0.011ppm). The highest concentration of Molybdenum was observed in Amaranthus Hybridus (26.050ppm) and was not detected in five vegetable samples. The results from this study indicate that these vegetables are excellent sources of minerals and could serve in alleviating malnutrition. However, care should be taken in consuming them as high intake could be a health risk due to contamination from heavy metals