The content of nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) in five different types of green leafy vegetables viz., "Kangkung" (Ipomoea aquatica), "Mukunuwenna" (Alternanthera sessilis), "Thampala" (Amaranthus viridis), "Nivithi" (Basella alba) and "Kohila" (Lasia spinosa) collected from four randomly selected urban and sub urban market sites in and around Piliyandala area of Colombo District, Sri Lanka, were measured using atomic absorption spectrometry. The results showed significant differences in elemental concentrations among the green leafy vegetables analyzed. The average concentrations of heavy metals detected in green leafy vegetables ranged from 0.

Five types of green leafy vegetables ["Kankun" (Ipomoea aquatica), "Mukunuwenna" (Alternanthera sessilis), "Thampala" (Amaranthus viridis), "Nivithi" (Basella alba), and "Kohila leaves" (Lasia spinosa)] were randomly collected from six different locations (Wellampitiya, Kolonnawa, Kottawa, Piliyandala, Bandaragama, and Kahathuduwa) in and around Colombo District, Sri Lanka, and subjected to analysis of three heavy metals [nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), and copper (Cu)] by atomic absorption spectrometry. Soils from green leafy vegetable cultivation lands and irrigated water were also tested. The average concentrations of heavy metals Ni, Cd, and Cu in soils were 51.5 ± 45.5, 1.4 ± 1.1, and 66.5 ± 59.5 mg kg(-1), respectively. The highest Ni contamination was detected in the irrigated water samples from Wellampitiya (2.02 mg L(-1)) followed by Kolonnawa (1.02 mg L(-1)) and Kahathuduwa (0.25 mg L(-1)) areas. This has exceeded the WHO/FAO guideline (0.2 mg L(-1)). However, Cd and Cu contents in all tested irrigated water samples were well below the detection limits. Significant differences were observed in Ni, Cd, and Cu levels, between both production sites and green leafy vegetables analyzed (P < 0.05). The mean concentrations (mg kg(-1), dry weight basis) of heavy metals in all green leafy vegetable samples collected from six areas varied as 0.23 ± 0.15 for Cd, 12.60 ± 9.01 for Cu, and 7.62 ± 8.41 for Ni. Maximum Ni, Cd, and Cu contaminations were found in the green leafy vegetables collected from Kolonnawa area. Among the green leafy vegetables analyzed, "Kohila leaves" have the highest tendency to accumulate Ni, Cd, and Cu from the environment.

Grain legumes are widely used as high-protein contained crops that play a secondary role to cereal or root crops. In Sri Lanka various legume species are cultivated and often utilised in the whole grain boiled form. The objective of present study was to analyse and compare locally grown legumes varieties; Mung bean (MI 5, MI 6), Cowpea (Bombay, Waruni, Dhawal, MICP1, ANKCP1) and soybean (pb1, MISB1) for their morphological characteristics, proximate and mineral composition (Fe, Ca, Zn, K, P). Seed shape, seed coat texture and colour, seed size and 100 seed weight (g) were observed morphological characteristics in present study. Most of the characteristics of mung bean and soybean were similar within their species whereas characteristics of cowpea varieties largely differed. Values of 100 seed weight among the varieties of mung bean, soybean and cowpea were ranged from 5.8 - 6.5 g, 13.5 - 14.1 g and 13.4 - 17.2 g, respectively. The moisture content of all legume seeds ranged from 6.81% to 11.99%. Results were shown that the protein content significantly higher in soybean (36.56 - 39.70%) followed by mung bean (26.56 - 25.99%) and cowpea (25.22 - 22.84%) respectively. Range of total carbohydrate, crude fat, crude fibre and total ash contents of nine legume varieties varied from 15.29 - 62.97%, 1.25 - 22.02%, 3.04 - 7.93% and 3.43 - 6.35 respectively. potassium (K), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) ranged from 1000 - 1900, 360 - 669, 15.0 - 192.3, 2.26 - 11.6 and 1.67 - 4.26 mg.100g-1 respectively in all the species of studied legume varieties. The wide variation in the chemical and physical properties of observed nine legume varieties, suggesting possible applications for various end-use products.

M. longifolia is a plant with a seed rich of edible oil (more than 50%), but is still under-utilized for edible purposes in Sri Lankan context. It shows a wide distribution throughout the country representing several agro-climatic zones. No studies have done yet to discover variations of M. longifolia seed oil with respect to its different geographical locations. In this study, the content of β-carotene in M. longifolia seed oil samples obtained from four different agro-climatic zones in Sri Lanka was evaluated. The effect of heat on the stability of β-carotene in M. longifolia seed oil was also studied. Dried, fallen seeds were collected from randomly selected trees in four agro-climatic zones in Sri Lanka named low country dry zone (LD), low country wet zone (LW), low country intermediate zone (LI) and mid country intermediate zone (MI). Oil was extracted with a small scale, mechanical oil expeller (cold pressed method). β-carotene content in four samples was assessed with MPOB test method using Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometer and with High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) using Chase et al., (1994) method. A series of heat treatment (50 °C -300 °C) was given and the content of β-carotene was determined at each temperature with the above mentioned two methods. There were some differences in the content of β-carotene for two types of methods. β-carotene content varies from 17.69 to 13.51 ppm in four agro-climatic zones for HPLC method and 20.46 -27.69 ppm for spectrophotometric method. The reduction of β-carotene content up to 150 °C from the room temperature (30 °C) was not prominent. But after 150 °C, a sudden, sharp decrease was reported. Nutritional composition of seed cake varied significantly (p <0.05) among the different agro-climatic zones. Protein content, similar to Palm kernel was reported which ranged from 15.44 -17.76%.

Green Leafy Vegetables (GLV) are a key component of the Sri Lankan diet. However, GLV are identified as good heavy metal accumulators, which in turns causes potential health risks for consumers through food chain contaminations. The present study aimed to investigate the bioaccumulation, translocation and distribution patterns of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in five key Sri Lankan GLV ["Kankun" (Ipomoea aquatica), "Mukunuwenna (Alternanthera sessilis), "Thampala" (Amaranthus viridis), "Nivithi" (Basella alba) and "Kohila" (Lasia spinosa)] grown in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. The levels of Cd and Pb in different plant parts (roots, stems and leaves) and the soil underneath were determined using the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and the bioaccumulation and translocation factors of heavy metals from soil to different plants parts (roots, stems, leaves), were calculated to identify the hyper accumulative species.Irrespective of the species and the location, GLV showed the distribution pattern for Cd and Pb as: roots>stems>leaves. In all the analyzed GLV, roots have accumulated significantly higher concentrations (at P<0.05) of Cd and Pb compared with stems and leaves. Among the two heavy metals, Cd bioavailability was higher compared with Pb. Amaranthus viridis had the lowest capacity for metal enrichment. In contrast, Lasia spinosa showed the highest bioaccumulation factors for both elements and the accumulation factor obtained for Cd (1.04) was >1. Thus, Lasia spinosa has the potential to use in phytoextraction purposes in future, though it is not safe to consume as a day to day food item.