Detection of Heavy Metals in Some Seasonings Sold in Some Major Highways in Ogun State, South West, Nigeria
MAKANJUOLA1, Olakunle Moses1, OSINFADE2, Bashiru Gbolahan2
Citation : MAKANJUOLA, Olakunle Moses, et.a., Detection of Heavy Metals in Some Seasonings Sold in Some Major Highways in Ogun State, South West, Nigeria International Journal of Research Studies in Biosciences 2016,4(9) : 21-24.
The concentration of some heavy metals such as Iron (Fe), Zinc ( Zn), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni), Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), Manganese (Mn), Cadmium (Cd) present in five widely consumed seasonings sold along major highways in Ogun state, south west, Nigeria were evaluated using atomic absorption spectrophotometry methods. The study revealed differences in metal concentration in different seasoning samples. The concentration of Iron (Fe) ranged from 0.26mg/kg to 1.71mg/kg while Zinc (Zn) varied from 0.17mg/kg to 1.18mg/kg. The concentration of Copper (Cu) for all the five samples are 0.28mg/kg (onion), 0.56mg/kg (nutmeg), 0.76mg/kg (garlic), 0.40mg/kg (ginger) and 0.21mg/kg (Pepper) respectively. While Manganese (Mn) varied between 0.21mg/kg to 0.56mg/kg for all the samples, the concentrations of both Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) ranged from 0.001mg/kg to 0.01mg/kg. Nickel (Ni), Mercury (Hg),Chromium (Cr) and Arsenic (As) concentrations were not detected in all the samples under investigation. The results showed that the level of heavy metals present in these seasonings were lower than those of FAO/WHO limits of 50, 50,100, 300, 100 and 10mg/kg for heavy metals such as Cu, Ni, Zn, Fe, Pb, and Hg respectively. Hence, the consumption of these seasonings can not cause any known adverse effect on the consumers health.