Metal content and distribution in fenugreek cultivated in Pakistan

The metal contents in 42 fenugreek samples, cultivated in various agricultural areas of Pakistan, were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The concentrations of the metals-Cu, Mn, Cd, Ni, Co, Cr, Pb, Zn, Fe, Na and K-were found to be higher than those reported earlier. Particularly, the samples cultivated near the major industrial cities showed significantly higher levels of almost all the metals investigated in this study. The high concentration ranges of toxic metals, such as Cd 1.0-2.8, Pb 2.5-3.4, and Cr 17-19.8 mg kg -1 , in a fairly large number of samples suggest a possible increase of the overall intake of these metals to potentially harmful levels.