Determination of Heavy Metals Concentration in Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) Collected from Selected Farms in Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study determined the concentrations of some heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Pb and Cr) in tomatoes collected from some selected farms (labelled TF-A-TF-E) in Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria using AAS. The result showed that the concentrations of all the heavy metals in the analyzed tomato fruits were within 0.003-0.100 mg/kg, and therefore within permissible limits of 40 mg/kg for Cu, 0.2 mg/kg for Cd, 0.3 mg/kg for Pb, and 2.3 mg/kg for Cr given by FAO/WHO. However, Cd was not detected in all the samples while Cu was not detected in sample TF-D and TF-E. The concentrations of Cu, Pb and Cr ranged from 0 to 0.100, 0.008 to 0.027 and 0.003 to 0.021 mg/kg, respectively with the highest concentrations observed in tomato fruits from farms A, B and C. Therefore, the monitoring of heavy metals in vegetables needs to be continued because these are the main sources of food for humans in many parts of the world and are considered as bio-indicators of environmental pollution. Consumers of vegetables products should be also screened for any incident of heavy metal contamination.