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BACKGROUND: This study was carried out to survey the levels of heavy metals in perennial root vegetables and to assess dietary exposure and risk to the Korean population health. METHODS AND RESULTS: Perennial root vegetables (n=214) including Panax ginseng C.A mayer, Woodcultivated ginseng, Codonopsis lanceolata, and Platycodon granditloum were collected from markets or harvested from farmhouse in Korea. Lead(Pb), cadmium(Cd) and arsenic (As) analysis were performed with microwave device and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Limit of detection for heavy metals were 0.010~0.050 μg/kg, while limit of quantitation were 0.035~0.175 μg/kg. The recovery results were in the range of 76~102%. The average contents of heavy metals in perennial root vegetables were in the range of Pb 0.013(Panax ginseng C.A Mayer)~0.070 (Wood-cultivated ginseng) mg/kg, Cd 0.009(Panax ginseng C.A Mayer)~0.034(Codonopsis lanceolata) mg/kg, and As 0.002(Panax ginseng C.A Mayer)~0.004(Plafycodon grandiflorum) mg/kg, respectively. For risk assessment, daily intakes of heave metals were estimated and risk indices were calculated in comparison with reference dose. The dietary exposures of heavy metals through usual intake were Pb 0.070 μg/day, Cd 0.041 μg/day and As 0.008 μg/day, taking 0.03%, 0.08% and 0.0003% as risk indices, respectively. CONCLUSION: The risk level for Korean population exposed to heavy metals through intake of perennial root vegetables was far low, indicating of little possibility of concern.

Background: There are two methods for quantifying methylmercury (MeHg) in fish using GC–electron capture detection (ECD): AOAC INTERNATIONAL Official Method 988.11 and the Korean Food Code (KFC) method. Both of these methods consume a large amount of chemicals and require long pretreatment times because of several complicated MeHg extraction steps. Objective: In this study, a new method for the simple and rapid determination of MeHg in fish has been developed. The method is based on the investigation of oxygen combustion–gold amalgamation using a direct mercury analyzer (DMA) after the complete removal of MeHg by organic extraction and back-extraction to an aqueous medium. Methods: The DMA is suitable for the analysis of both solid and liquid materials and has a good detection limit. The developed method was validated by comparing the MeHg recoveries (%) of both certified reference materials and the market-purchased fish samples with the MeHg concentration obtained using the KFC method. Results: The following parameters pertaining to the developed method were established: detection limit, 1.02 μg/kg; LOQ, 3.09 μg/kg; linearity (r), 0.9998; range, 0.1–300 μg/kg; and recovery, 95–97%. Conclusions: Our method is a promising alternative by virtue of its much simpler and faster sample pretreatment procedure, with a MeHg recovery as high as that of the KFC method. Highlights: The developed method enables the simultaneous analysis of total Hg and MeHg with only DMA equipment.