Concentration of Heavy Metal in Selected Vegetables Sold in Pasar Siti Khadijah, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

Authors

  • Aweng E. R., Lim J. H., Arham Muchtar A. B., Sharifah Aisyah S. O., M. A. Salam, Liyana A. A.

Abstract

The use of chemical fertilizer and contamination of soil and water to some extent may affect the vegetables grown by farmers throughout the country. So far, there is no structured monitoring in terms of content of pollutants, especially heavy metals in vegetables sold in markets across the country in place. Therefore, consumers are exposed to the threat of heavy metals contained in vegetables consumed daily and largely purchased at wet markets. Siti Khadijah Market is the largest wet market in Kota Bharu which sells a variety of raw materials including vegetables. These vegetables come from various places, including Cameron Highland and even imported from the neighbouring country, Thailand. Thus, to assess whether the vegetables sold at Siti Khadijah Market are safe to consume, the study was conducted. The aim of this study is to determine the concentration level of heavy metals namely aluminium (Al), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), maganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in vegetables sold in Pasar Siti Khadijah. There were three types of leafy vegetables namely luffa (Luffa acutangula), water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and three types of fruiting vegetables namely cucumber (Cucumis sativus), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) and beansprout (Vigna radiata) were sampled. Wet digestion method was used to extract the samples and tested with the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results of the study showed that, Al and Cr were found in bitter gourd with the concentrations of 1.20 mgkg-1 and 0.01 mgkg-1 respectively.  On the other hand, Cu was found in all the vegetables sampled with the concentrations of 0.02 mgkg-1 in luffa, spinach and beansprout, 0.05 mgkg-1 in bitter gourd, 0.04 mgkg-1 in cucumber and 0.01 mgkg-1 in water spinach.  Fe was found in spinach (0.04 mgkg-1), beansprout (0.01 mgkg-1), bitter gourd (0.16 mgkg-1) and cucumber (0.06 mgkg-1). Mn was found in spinach (0.05 mgkg-1), bitter gourd (0.06 mgkg-1) and cucumber (0.01 mgkg-1).  Meanwhile, Zn was also found in all the vegetables sampled with the concentrations of 0.03 mgkg-1 in luffa, 0.12 mgkg-1 in spinach, 0.06 mgkg-1 in beansprout, 0.22 mgkg-1 in bitter gourd, 0.43 mgkg-1 in cucumber and 0.02 mgkg-1 in water spinach. Only cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are absence. The concentrations of heavy metals studied in these vegetables were far below the maximum level allowed by the Malaysian Food Act (1983) and Food Regulations (1985). The results of this study would give an initial overview of the quality of the vegetables sold in Pasar Siti Khadijah, Kota Bharu, Kelantan to the authorities in follow-up and long-term planning to protect the interests of consumers.

Published

2020-02-29

Issue

Section

Articles