A study of Heavy metals in Spinach(Spinacea oleracea Linn.) plants of Bhopal city
Sadhna Goyal
Department of Chemistry, Govt. M.L.B. Girls P.G. Autonomous College, Bhopal-462 002 (India) Email id- shalu2505@yahoo.co.in
ABSTRACT
Heavy metals are the elements having a density greater than 5 in their elemental form .Metals that are discharged by industry i.e. cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, lead, tin & zinc. Study of pollutants in vegetables has been a great importance. Industrialization and human activity for a better quality of life has always resulted in some impact on the environment leading to equilibrium imbalance of the natural system. The present study was aimed to determine the amount of toxic heavy metals ,chromium and cadmium in spinach (Spinacea oleracea Linn.) plants of Bhopal city. The plant belongs to the family Chenopodiaceae. These heavy metals are toxic in nature and have become a serious health problem. Analysis of heavy metals were carried out by atomic absorption spectrophotometrically. The paper also highlights the phytochemical constituents and medicinal efficacy of spinach.