R. Saleh, M. Cheraghi, B. Lorestani
Mar 1, 2017
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0
Influential Citations
8
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Journal
Archives of Hygiene Sciences
Abstract
Fresh fruits and vegetables are considered as food because they have vitamins, mineral salts, water, calcium, iron, sulphur and potash (1). Citrus are the most important tropical and subtropical fruits in the world named scientifically as “Citrusspp.”, family “Rotaceae” and subfamily "Auranitideae”. They are rich in vitamins A, B, C, fiber, carbohydrate, calcium, potassium, niacin and folic acid. They also reduce blood cholesterol, prevent viral infections and reduce the risk of colon and stomach cancers (2). The vitamin C is in citrus increases iron absorption (3,4). They usually compose 8590 percent of water (5). They grow virtually in 50 countries around the world which are known for their good taste and quality. Their genus is about 60 species. Species such as orange, lemon, grapefruit and sour orange are important from an economic standpoint (6). Fruits are useful for human health in order to prevent and treat diseases. A-R-T-I-C-L-EI-N-F-O A-B-S-T-R-A-C-T Article Notes: Received: Sep. 26, 2016 Received in revised form: Jan. 16, 2017 Accepted: Feb. 24, 2017 Available Online: Feb 28, 2017 Background & Aims of the Study: Today, the environment pollution with heavy metals has increased. It is important to study various types of pollutions specially those regarding fruits. The effect of pollutions on food safety for human consumption is a global concern. This study was conducted for health assessment of heavy metals pollution (cadmium, lead, and arsenic) in citrus marketed in Tehran, Iran in 2015. Materials & Methods: After collecting and preparing 2 samples from each citrus species (tangerine, grapefruit, sweet lime, sour orange, orange) with acid digestion method, the citrus pulp and peel were surveyed. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICPOES) was used to determine the concentrations of heavy metals with three replications. Moreover, SPSS version 19 was employed to perform statistical analysis. Results: The results showed that the concentration average of Cadmium, Lead and Arsenic in citrus samples of the pulp parts were 19.73, 42.95 and 2.30 mg/kg and in peel parts were 20.09, 42.71 and 2.12 mg/kg, respectively. The average concentrations of heavy metals were higher than WHO maximum permissible limits. Conclusions: Based on these results, consumption of citrus species has no adverse effect on the consumers’ health (except Sweet lime, Orange, Tangerine and Grapefruit in lead is risky for adults and Sweet lime and Orange that Health Index in Lead and Arsenic and Sour Orange, Tangerine and Grapefruit that Health Index in Lead is more than 1 and is risky for children). Thus, individuals living in Tehran should be cautious about using these citrus fruits and researchers should try to obtain national standards in the field of entering these metals to food in environmental conditions that are in Iran.