Evaluation of Pesticides and Trace Metal Contaminants in Grains, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables from Odoluwa Market Ile Oluji; Ondo State Nigeria

Abstract

Vegetables, fruits and grains are sources of food rich in vitamins, minerals, and fibers and also have beneficial ant oxidative effects Pesticides and trace metals typically contaminate these food products. Pesticides and trace metals are not biodegradable and have the potential for accumulation in different body organs, leading to unwanted side effects This study investigated the concentration of pesticide residues and some selected Trace metals in Vegetables, fruits and grains from Odolua market Ile-Oluji Ondo State. Samples were collected randomly from the market, representative portion of the samples was chopped into small pieces and blended using a blender..Quantitative determination of the pesticide for Herbicides, organochlorine and organophosphate was carried out using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer after liquid-liquid extraction. Trace Metal was determined using Inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results reveal the presence of pesticide residues in all the samples. The mean concentration of pesticides in the samples was below the maximum residue limits (MRs) value for World health organization (WHO) while some were higher. The results also shows that all the trace metals analyzed are present in the samples except for Cadmium which is below the detection limit while Lead and Cobalt are only detected in one sample each. Some concentrations of the trace metals were below the permissible limit for WHO while others were higher than the permissible limit.