Health Risk Assessment of Toxic Metals in Different Types of Lettuce Leafy Vegetables Consumption in Bangkok

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Zin Htoo Hlyan
Penradee Chanpiwat

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to: 1) determine the levels of toxic metals, such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in lettuce leafy vegetables sold in Bangkok; and 2) determine any potential health risks associated with exposure to As, Cd, and Pb through consumption of lettuce leafy vegetables. A total of 120 lettuce samples named "red coral (RC)", "green oak (GO)" and "coral lettuce (CL)", which are grown in soil and hydroponic systems, were randomly collected from local fresh supermarkets in Bangkok. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) was used to determine the overall amounts of hazardous metals. The lettuce vegetables which were grown in soil, the total As, Cd, and Pb concentrations in CL, RC, and GO ranged from 0.02 to 0.26 mg/kg, 0.03 to 2.49 mg/kg, and 0.02 to 0.53 mg/kg, respectively. Total As, Cd, and Pb concentrations in CL, RC, and GO for the hydroponically grown lettuce vegetables ranged from 0.01 to 0.09 mg/kg, 0.02 to 0.42 mg/kg, and 0.01 to 0.31 mg/kg, respectively. According to the analysis results, the HI values in adults were significantly higher than (p<0.05) those of adolescents and children. Moreover, the HI values of metals through consumption of lettuce vegetables were predominantly dominated by Cd exposure. The HI values of metals were in the following order in the adult population: 3.92 for RC, 2.63 for CL, and 2.04 for GO grown in soil. In contrast, the HI values of hydroponically grown vegetables were in the following order in the adult population: 1.37 for RC, 1.27 for GO, and 0.17 for CL. The present result showed that the HI of metals were higher than 1 (HI>1), indicating an unacceptable level of adverse non-carcinogenic health effects for the population.

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Research Articles

References

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