Studies on Heavy Metals in Fruits of Samta Village of Jessore in Bangladesh

Abstract

Various fruits such as Mango (Mangifera indica L.), Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.), Guava (Psidiun guajava L.), Hog plum (Spondias dulcis L.), Carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.), Pomelo (Citrus grandis L.), Lemon (Citrus limon), Wax apple (Syzygium samarangense), Papaya (Carica papaya L.), Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) and Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) were collected from Samta village of Jessore district of Bangladesh, and screened for arsenic, manganese, lead, cadmium and chromium by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The average moisture contents in soil and fruits were found 11.90±0.19% and 80.10±12.92% respectively. The mean concentration of arsenic in irrigation water, soil and fruits were 0.51±0.17mg/L, 8.40±1.73mg/Kg and 0.206±0.14mg/Kg respectively. Maximum concentration of arsenic in irrigation water, soil and fruits were monitored 0.78mg/L, 11.31mg/Kg and 0.53mg/Kg respectively. Minimum concentration of arsenic in fruits was 0.10mg/Kg. In case of irrigation water, arsenic concentration was higher than that of standard (0.100mg/L) value of Bangladesh. The concentrations of arsenic in soil and fruits were observed somewhat less than that of standard value recommended by WHO. The average concentrations of manganese in irrigation water, soil and fruits were found 0.10±0.03mg/L, 269.14±20.71mg/Kg and 4.96±4.28mg/Kg respectively. The maximum concentration of manganese in soil and fruits were 296.82mg/Kg and 12.83mg/Kg respectively which were lower than that of standard value recommended by WHO, EU and BADC. The presence of lead, cadmium and chromium was not found in water, soil and fruits in this study area. In our research, 120 people were monitored for calculating the consuming of arsenic and manganese through daily intake of fruits and their health risk factor was analyzed. The average age, body weight and daily intake of fruits per person per day were 35.04±14.55 year, 60.77±8.62Kg and 263.20±166.73g respectively. Average 0.0018mg of arsenic and 0.055mg of manganese was consumed in each person (61Kg body weight) per day which was lower than WHO standard for arsenic (0.002mg/Kg body weight) and manganese (0.033mg/Kg body weight) intake for human body.