Ghana Standards Authority, Analytical Laboratory, Accra, Ghana.
Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Biosciences, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
ScientificWorldJournal. 2024 Oct 24;2024:3168279. doi: 10.1155/2024/3168279. eCollection 2024.
Spices enhance food's colour, aroma and palatability. The main objective of this study was to assess the levels of heavy metals in the most common spices used in Ghanaian and worldwide cuisines. Ninety samples were obtained directly from local marketplaces in the Accra Metropolis (Madina, Kaneshie and Makola). After microwave digestion, the samples' levels of arsenic, iron, lead, cadmium and zinc were measured using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Iron, zinc, arsenic, cadmium and lead levels in specified natural spices varied from 0.022 mg/kg to 5.814 mg/kg, 0.056 mg/kg to 0.895 mg/kg, not detected to 14.012 mg/kg, 0.02 mg/kg to 0.45 mg/kg and not detected to 3.583 mg/kg, respectively. The toxic metals arsenic and lead in turmeric powder, whole rosemary and garlic, as well as lead in ginger, were slightly above the Codex, but below the FAO/WHO permissible level. All spices in this study had THQ and HI values of less than one, indicating that consumers will experience no potential health hazards from consuming specific metals through spices. However, continual scrutiny should be maintained over time due to bioaccumulation in humans.
香料能增强食物的色泽、香气和口感。本研究的主要目的是评估加纳和世界各地烹饪中常用香料中的重金属含量。从阿克拉都会区（麦地那、卡内希和马科拉）的当地市场直接采集了 90 个样本。经过微波消解后，使用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪（ICP-MS）测量样品中的砷、铁、铅、镉和锌含量。指定天然香料中的铁、锌、砷、镉和铅含量分别在 0.022 毫克/千克至 5.814 毫克/千克、0.056 毫克/千克至 0.895 毫克/千克、未检出至 14.012 毫克/千克、0.02 毫克/千克至 0.45 毫克/千克和未检出至 3.583 毫克/千克之间。姜黄粉、整枝迷迭香和大蒜中的有毒金属砷和铅，以及生姜中的铅，略高于食典委标准，但低于粮农组织/世卫组织允许的水平。本研究中的所有香料的 THQ 和 HI 值均低于 1，这表明消费者通过香料摄入特定金属不会产生潜在的健康危害。然而，由于人类的生物累积，应该随着时间的推移持续进行监测。
