Toxicologia Ambiental e Analítica

Quantitative Determination of the Heavy Metal Levels in the Wild Edible Plant Parts and their Corresponding Soils of the Central and Western Regions of the Oromia State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Adugna Boke, Negussie Megersa and Endale Teju

This study was designed to assess the levels of selected metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni, Cr and Ca) in wild edible plants and their corresponding soil samples by FAAS. A wet digestion procedure has been adopted to digest the plant and soil samples. The validity of the method was evaluated by spiking the sample with a standard of the selected metals. The levels of Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu and Cr were below detection limits in all the edible parts of the studied plants except in the root of Eriosema cordifolium where Ni and Cr were detected. Similarly, only Ni, Cu and Cr were detected in the soil samples of Eriosema cordifolium and Physalis peruviana plants. But, Zn, and Ca were detected in all the studied samples and varied in the range 31.3-157.5 and 24.4-6214.3 mg kg-1 in plants and 55.4-149.8 and 367.1-6032.3 mg kg-1 in soil samples, respectively. However, the value of selected metals in soils and plants sample were lower than the permissible limit recommended by European Union Standard and Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives respectively with the exception of Zn in tuber of Pachyeymbium sacculatium plant.