Analysis and health risk assessment of heavy metals in some onion varieties

Being a global concern, the current scenario of food chain contamination is one of the major threats to human health. Unrestrained human population, industrialization, urbanization, and extensive use of agrochemicals are among the major causes of heavy metals (HMs) contamination in the food chain. T...

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Main Authors: Nusrat Bibi, Munir H. Shah, Nadeem Khan, Qaisar Mahmood, Ali Abdullah Aldosari, Arshad Mehmood Abbasi
פורמט: Article
שפה:English
יצא לאור: Elsevier 2021-10-01
סדרה:Arabian Journal of Chemistry
נושאים:
גישה מקוונת:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878535221003798
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author Nusrat Bibi
Munir H. Shah
Nadeem Khan
Qaisar Mahmood
Ali Abdullah Aldosari
Arshad Mehmood Abbasi
author_facet Nusrat Bibi
Munir H. Shah
Nadeem Khan
Qaisar Mahmood
Ali Abdullah Aldosari
Arshad Mehmood Abbasi
author_sort Nusrat Bibi
collection DOAJ
description Being a global concern, the current scenario of food chain contamination is one of the major threats to human health. Unrestrained human population, industrialization, urbanization, and extensive use of agrochemicals are among the major causes of heavy metals (HMs) contamination in the food chain. The present study was intended to quantify some HMs and to evaluate their sources and health risks in different varieties of onion using standard analytical approaches. Overall, nine HMs were quantified in the bulbs and leaves of nine varieties of onion. Ascending order of HMs’ concentration was as follow: Fe > Zn > Mn > Co > Pb > Cu > Cr > Cd > Li (bulbs) and Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Cr > Pb > Co > Li > Cd (leaves). Most of the measured levels were found to be relatively higher in the leaves than bulbs. Red Flame (V4), Super Sarhad (V3), Red Orb (V2), White Pearl (V7) and Zeus (V9) varieties showed elevated levels of Cu, Fe, and Zn; Cr and Mn; Co and Pb; Cd and Li, respectively in the bulbs. Likewise, Red Orb (V2) and White Pearl (V7) revealed elevated levels of the metals, while Golden Orb (V6) exhibited relatively lower metal levels. Highly significant positive correlations (≥90% at p ≤ 0.01) were found between Zn-Cu and Zn-Fe (in bulbs) and Cu-Co (in leaves), indicating their common origin. Principle component analysis indicated substantial anthropogenic contamination of the HMs in onion. In addition, hierarchal clustering revealed associations of different varieties based on similarities in the metal levels. The calculated values of health risk index (HRI), target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI), and target cancer risk (TCR) in the bulbs and leaves of all varieties were within the safe limit for both adults and children. Therefore, human consumption of these onion varieties is considered safe with respect to the HMs. However, currently used remediation approaches should focus on the reduction of health risks associated with HMs contamination in the food crops.
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spelling doaj.art-568a70335d0a4a378fee19eba3ea901b2022-12-21T22:01:43ZengElsevierArabian Journal of Chemistry1878-53522021-10-011410103364Analysis and health risk assessment of heavy metals in some onion varietiesNusrat Bibi0Munir H. Shah1Nadeem Khan2Qaisar Mahmood3Ali Abdullah Aldosari4Arshad Mehmood Abbasi5Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus 22060, PakistanDepartment of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, 45320, PakistanDepartment of Breeding and Genomics, Magnus Kahl Seeds (Pty), 6A Dairy Drive Coburg North, Victoria 3058, AustraliaDepartment of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus 22060, PakistanGeography Department, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author.Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus 22060, Pakistan; Corresponding author.Being a global concern, the current scenario of food chain contamination is one of the major threats to human health. Unrestrained human population, industrialization, urbanization, and extensive use of agrochemicals are among the major causes of heavy metals (HMs) contamination in the food chain. The present study was intended to quantify some HMs and to evaluate their sources and health risks in different varieties of onion using standard analytical approaches. Overall, nine HMs were quantified in the bulbs and leaves of nine varieties of onion. Ascending order of HMs’ concentration was as follow: Fe > Zn > Mn > Co > Pb > Cu > Cr > Cd > Li (bulbs) and Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Cr > Pb > Co > Li > Cd (leaves). Most of the measured levels were found to be relatively higher in the leaves than bulbs. Red Flame (V4), Super Sarhad (V3), Red Orb (V2), White Pearl (V7) and Zeus (V9) varieties showed elevated levels of Cu, Fe, and Zn; Cr and Mn; Co and Pb; Cd and Li, respectively in the bulbs. Likewise, Red Orb (V2) and White Pearl (V7) revealed elevated levels of the metals, while Golden Orb (V6) exhibited relatively lower metal levels. Highly significant positive correlations (≥90% at p ≤ 0.01) were found between Zn-Cu and Zn-Fe (in bulbs) and Cu-Co (in leaves), indicating their common origin. Principle component analysis indicated substantial anthropogenic contamination of the HMs in onion. In addition, hierarchal clustering revealed associations of different varieties based on similarities in the metal levels. The calculated values of health risk index (HRI), target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI), and target cancer risk (TCR) in the bulbs and leaves of all varieties were within the safe limit for both adults and children. Therefore, human consumption of these onion varieties is considered safe with respect to the HMs. However, currently used remediation approaches should focus on the reduction of health risks associated with HMs contamination in the food crops.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878535221003798Heavy metalHealth riskBulbLeavesOnionPakistan
spellingShingle Nusrat Bibi
Munir H. Shah
Nadeem Khan
Qaisar Mahmood
Ali Abdullah Aldosari
Arshad Mehmood Abbasi
Analysis and health risk assessment of heavy metals in some onion varieties
Arabian Journal of Chemistry
Heavy metal
Health risk
Bulb
Leaves
Onion
Pakistan
title Analysis and health risk assessment of heavy metals in some onion varieties
title_full Analysis and health risk assessment of heavy metals in some onion varieties
title_fullStr Analysis and health risk assessment of heavy metals in some onion varieties
title_full_unstemmed Analysis and health risk assessment of heavy metals in some onion varieties
title_short Analysis and health risk assessment of heavy metals in some onion varieties
title_sort analysis and health risk assessment of heavy metals in some onion varieties
topic Heavy metal
Health risk
Bulb
Leaves
Onion
Pakistan
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878535221003798
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AT nadeemkhan analysisandhealthriskassessmentofheavymetalsinsomeonionvarieties
AT qaisarmahmood analysisandhealthriskassessmentofheavymetalsinsomeonionvarieties
AT aliabdullahaldosari analysisandhealthriskassessmentofheavymetalsinsomeonionvarieties
AT arshadmehmoodabbasi analysisandhealthriskassessmentofheavymetalsinsomeonionvarieties