Determination of some minerals and heavy metals, nitrate and nitrite of Salicornia europaea L. harvested from Urmia Lake in 2017

The halophyte Salicornia was recently introduced as a fresh vegetable crop that thrives in extreme salty conditions. In this study, the ash, minerals, heavy metal and nitric and nitrite anions in different parts (root, aerial parts and seeds) of Salicornia europaea L. were evaluated. The results showed that the ash content and sodium in the aerial parts was the highest and in the roots the lowest (P<0.05). But, potassium, copper and calcium between different organs and seed were not significant. While zinc and magnesium in seed and iron in root were higher, and zinc, manganese and magnesium content were lower in the root than other parts (p<0.05). Salicornia roots had the lowest arsenic and cobalt and the highest lead (p<0.05). The seeds containeed the lowest lead, cadmium, mercury and nickel. The aerial parts of this plant also had the least chromium and the highest levels of cadmium, mercury, nickel and cobalt. The mercury in different parts of the Salicornia was lower than the standard value. The lead in the root and cadmium in the aerial parts and chromium, arsenic and nickel in all parts were higher than the limit allowed. The highest nitrate content and the lowest nitrite content in aerial parts and the lowest nitrate content and the highest nitrite content were observed in the seeds (p <0.05). In all studied parts, the nitrate content was found in standard limit. According to the results, aerial parts of Salicornia can be used as a source of calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium.