Heavy Metal Content Analysis and Risk assessment of Local and Imported Vegetables at the Erbil Market

Abstract

In this study, Four types of vegetables were collected from Erbil city of Iraq, some grown locally and some imported. The vegetables they studied were Pepper (Capsicum annuum), Eggplant (Solanum melongena), Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), and Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo), which are commonly found both locally and imported. Additionally, they looked at 3 local vegetables: Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), Cress (Lepidium sativum), and Parsley (Petroselinum crispum). They collected 12 samples of each vegetable from the Erbil market The heavy metals found in vegetables, such as silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and arsenic (As), were examined using inductively coupled plasma (ICP). To identify health problems, the following metrics were calculated: carcinogenic risks (CR), daily intake (DI), and target hazard quotient (THQ). The majority of veggies generally had metal levels that were under daily dietary guidelines. The amounts of cadmium and silver in imported pepper, local and imported eggplant, imported zucchini, imported tomatoes, radish, cress, and parsley were greater than those deemed safe for daily use. There may be health dangers associated with this. These veggies were determined to be unhealthy when we examined several health hazard indices.