Oral bioaccessibility and human exposure assessment of cadmium and lead in market vegetables in the Pearl River Delta, South China

Abstract

A systematic investigation into cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) concentrations and their oral bioaccessibility in market vegetables in the Pearl River Delta region were carried out to assess their potential health risks to local residents. The average concentrations of Cd and Pb in six species of fresh vegetables varied within 0.09–37.7 and 2.3–43.4 μg kg−1, respectively. Cadmium and Pb bioaccessibility were 35–66 % and 20–51 % in the raw vegetables, respectively, and found to be significantly higher than the cooked vegetables with 34–64 % for Cd and 11–48 % for Pb. The results indicated that Cd bioaccessibility was higher in the gastric phase and Pb bioaccessibility was higher in the small intestinal phase (except for fruit vegetables). Cooking slightly reduced the total concentrations and bioaccessibility of Cd and Pb in all vegetables. The bioaccessible estimated daily intakes of Cd and Pb from vegetables were far below the tolerable limits.