Determination of metal contents in some green leafy vegetables in Marmara region of Turkey

Abstract

This study focused on the analysis of mineral and heavy metal contents of spinach, lettuce and parsley samples in different regions to investigate the risks of chronic exposure to heavy metal contamination. After the microwave digestion process, the metal contents of the samples (Na, Mg, Al, P, K, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd, Sn, Hg, Pb) were determined with the ICP-MS. Two parallel analysis samples were prepared from each sample, analyzed three times, and the mean values of the analyzes performed were reported. From the analysis, the order of finding heavy metals in the samples is Cu > Pb > Cd > As > Sn > Hg. The results were evaluated statistically and Cu, Pb, Cd, As and Sn values were found high in spinach samples (p < 0.05). According to the results of the analysis; the samples with the highest content of Cu, Pb and Cd in spinach samples are samples taken from Tekirdağ (5.1 ± 0.3 mg/kg), Edirne (0.106 ± 0.007 mg/kg) and Tekirdağ (0.080 ± 0.004 mg/kg), respectively. One of the important reasons for this is the increase in industrial areas in those regions. The results were compared with the certified reference materials, the quantities of analytes were determined to be compatible with the certificate values and the results of the analysis were proved to be correct.