Toxic Metals Uptake by Spinach (Spinacea oleracea) and Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) Cultivated in Sokoto: A Comparative Study

Authors

  • Hannatu A. Sani Department of Chemistry, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Nigeria
  • A.I. Tsafe Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria
  • B.U. Bagudo Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeriac
  • A.U. Itodo Department of Chemistry, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2011.572.576

Keywords:

Heavy metals, kalambaina, lettuce, spinach

Abstract

Potentially toxic metals (Pb, Fe, Mn, Cr, Cd, Zn and Cu) concentration in selected vegetables namely; lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and spinach (Spinacea oleracea) was investigated alongside their harvesting site soil samples using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Some physicochemical parameters viz; pH, moisture and ash contents of the plant were also determined. The estimated metal concentrations for the vegetables ranges from 1.59-2.07 ug/g, 211-364 ug/g, 7.0-7.5 ug/g, 5.00-5.25 ug/g, 0.01 ug/g, 20.4-24.12 ug/g, 0.8-1.1 ug/g for Pb, Fe, Mn, Cr, Cd, Zn, Cu respectively. The result showed that soils in industrial site are higher in heavy metals and that vegetable grown in the industrial sites is considerably higher in metal content than those grown in normal agricultural soils. It is also observed that vegetables differ in their ability for heavy metal uptake. Highest metal concentrations were observed in lettuce and lowest in spinach.

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Published

15.05.2011

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 6 (2011)

Section

Research Article

License

Copyright (c) 2011 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

How to Cite

Sani, H. A., Tsafe, A., Bagudo, B., & Itodo, A. (2011). Toxic Metals Uptake by Spinach (Spinacea oleracea) and Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) Cultivated in Sokoto: A Comparative Study. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 10(6), 572–576. https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2011.572.576