Trace heavy metal contents of some spices and herbal plants from western Anatolia, Turkey

Overview

Divrikli and colleagues measured copper, cadmium, lead, nickel, chromium, iron, manganese, and zinc in eleven spice and herbal plant species collected from farms in western Anatolia, Turkey. The study is occurrence evidence for herbs-and-spices and botanical raw materials, with values reported for the plant parts selected to match local consumption. Results are dry-weight total elemental measurements; chromium is total chromium (Cr), not hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI).

Key numbers

All values are from Tables 2 and 3 and are reported as mean +/- SD in µg g−1 on a dry-weight basis. The extracted text renders the microgram unit as lg g)1; the unit is preserved here as micrograms per gram without conversion. ND means the paper reports “not determined.”

The abstract summarizes the same table ranges as Cu 3.8-35.4 µg g−1, cadmium (Cd) 0.2-2.7 µg g−1, lead (Pb) 0.1-2.8 µg g−1, nickel (Ni) 1.4-11.3 µg g−1, Cr 0.1-9.7 µg g−1, Fe 30.0-945.3 µg g−1, Mn 7.9-152.5 µg g−1, and Zn 5.2-83.7 µg g−1.

Methods (brief)

The authors collected rosemary, basil, laurel, chard, marjoram, sheep sorrel, centaury, yarrow, marshmallow, lavender, and mullein from farmers in western Anatolia from June to October 2003. Four samples and 2 kg per species were collected, then the consumed roots, leaves, or flowers were washed, cut, dried at 25 °C for 3 days, oven-dried at 80 °C for 12 h, ground, and sieved. One-gram portions were digested with HNO3-HClO4-H2O2, followed by H2SO4 and additional acid mixture, and diluted to 25 mL with 1 M HNO3. Cu, Fe, Ni, Cd, Mn, Pb, Cr, and Zn were measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry on a Perkin Elmer AAnalyst 700; spike recoveries were reported as greater than 95%.

Related evidence

• Spices
• Ingredient class — botanicals/herbs/traditional formulas
• Herbs And Spices
• Spices
• Herbal botanicals
• Dried Herbs
• Copper
• Cadmium
• Lead
• Nickel
• Chromium
• Iron
• Manganese
• Zinc

Update history

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