Human health implications of trace metal contamination in topsoils and brinjal fruits harvested from a famous brinjal-producing area in Bangladesh

作者：Anika Bushra, H. M. Zakir, Shaila Sharmin, Quazi Forhad Quadir, Mohammad Rashid, Mohammad Sharifur Rahman, Supti Mallick · 发表于：Scientific Reports · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1038/s41598-022-17930-5 · 被引用次数：40 · 研究领域：Heavy metals in environment、Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity、Radioactivity and Radon Measurements

Abstract A study was undertaken to determine the contents of trace metals in 60 topsoils and 80 brinjal fruits samples from a famous brinjal-producing area of Bangladesh using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The study also looked at soil pollution levels, dietary intake of nutritionally important trace elements, and human health risks from toxic metals induced by dermal soil exposure and consumption of brinjal. The content of Pb, Ni, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in brinjal fruits harvested from farmer′s fields ranged from 0.204–0.729, 0.031–0.212, < 0.010–0.061, 1.819–2.668, 3.267–5.910, < 0.010–0.866 and 2.160–3.846 µg g -1 , respectively, while the amount of Cr was negligible. The calculated enrichment factors showed that 70, 50, and 25% of soil sampling sites had values in the 2.00–5.00 range for Pb, Zn, and Cd, respectively, while 30% of sites had values > 5.00 for Cd, indicating moderate to significant enrichment of these metals in the soil. The study also revealed that brinjal consumption provides a tiny amount of nutritionally important trace elements required for an adult human. Regarding the computed incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCR), the study revealed that the values for Pb and Ni in all samples and Cd in 40% of samples were several hundred times higher for males and females than the USEPA threshold level due to oral ingestion of brinjal fruits. In contrast, dermal exposures to soil trace elements were within an acceptable range. The PCA results reve...