Assessing the concentration and potential health risk of selected heavy metals (lead, nickel, chromium, arsenic and cadmium) in widely consumed vegetables in Kashan, Iran

Vegetables are an essential part of our diet and a major dietary exposure route to heavy metals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the concentration and potential health hazards of heavy metals in the vegetables sold in Kashan markets.

4 types of widelyraw-consumed vegetables, including parsley, coriander, basil, and fresh chives, were investigated in this study. Questionnaires were randomly given to individuals to determine vegetable consumption rate. Heavy metal were quantified using inductively coupled plasma- optical emission spectroscopy. Monte-Carlo Simulation was utilized to identify the associated health risks.

Among tested heavy metals, Pb showed the highest concentration in parsley (4.8 ± 0.98 µg/g), coriander (3.8 ± 1.3 µg/g) and basil (3 ± 0.94 µg/g). Cr levels in fresh chives (2.8 ± 1.6 µg/g) was higher than other heavy metals. Also, the highest total hazard quotient values among examined heavy metals (Taking into account 95% confidence interval) were found for Pb (0.7), Cr (0.39), and Pb (1.034) in coriander, basil, and fresh chives, respectively.

Cr and Pb concentrations were generally beyond WHO/FAO guidelines in the samples. The THQ value for Pb in parsley was greater than 1, suggesting elevated adverse health effects due to parsley consumption.