Heavy Metals Presence in the Soil and Their Content in Selected Varieties of Chili Peppers in Slovakia
Judita Lidiková,
Natália Čeryová,
Marek Šnirc,
Janette Musilová,
Ľuboš Harangozo,
Alena Vollmannová,
Jan Brindza,
Olga Grygorieva
Affiliations
Judita Lidiková
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Natália Čeryová
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Marek Šnirc
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Janette Musilová
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Ľuboš Harangozo
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Alena Vollmannová
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Jan Brindza
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agrobiotechnology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Olga Grygorieva
Department of Fruit Plants Acclimatisation, National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Timiryazevska 1, 04014 Kyiv, Ukraine
Capsicum chili peppers are popular vegetables in Slovakia. They provide a supply of health-promoting substances, but contaminated vegetables can pose a serious health risk to the people who consume them. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the content of heavy metals (Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Cd, Pb and Hg) in the soil as well as in selected varieties of the genus Capsicum grown in southern Slovakia. The results were compared with the limit values given by the Law no. 220/2004 (valid in the SR) as well as threshold values proposed by the European Commission (EC) (2006). The gained result showed that the total content of Cd (1.64 mg/kg) as well as the available mobile forms of Cd (0.12 mg/kg) and Pb (0.26 mg/kg) was exceeded on the soil on which Capsicum cultivars were grown. The limit values of other monitored heavy metals (Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Hg) were not exceeded. The studied species of the genus Capsicum did not accumulate monitored heavy metals. It can be stated that consumption of chili peppers does not pose any risk for human health.
