Analysis of minerals and heavy metals in some spices collected from local market.

Abstract

Herbs and spices are sources of many bioactive compounds that can improve the taste of food as well as affect the digestion metabolism. Along with that they may also contain some substances as pesticides , heavy metals and which have harmful effect on the body. In this work, five of the most popularly used spices and herb were studied to determine Pb , Cd , As ,Hg , Mn , Cu , Co , Se , Ni , Cr content in them .This was analysed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer(AAS). The results were compared with the safety standards (WHO). The average concentration of heavy metals as Pb detected ranged from 3.3ppm-4.59ppm , Cd ranged from 0.04pm-0.4 ppm. concentration of As was from 0.7ppm-1.5ppm , concentration of Se ranged from Negligible to 2.26 ppm. Mn ranged from 28.73 ppm-562.6 ppm , Ni was found to range between 2.82 ppm-5.76 ppm , (Cu) was found to be in a range of 2.30 ppm-19.69 ppm in C.Zeylanicum , Myristica fragrans , Ocimum sanctum , Syzygium aromaticum and Cinnamomum tamala and most of them were well within the permissible limits.