Determination of Selected Heavy Metal Concentrations in Water Spinach (<i>Ipomea aquatica</i>)

Vegetables are essential in human diet but unfortunately it may also contribute to heavy metals’ consumption. High consumption of water spinach may cause harmful health effects due to contamination by heavy metals. Two different parts of water spinach ( Ipomea aquatica ), namely: i) leaves and, ii) stem were collected from markets around Bandar Pusat Jengka and UiTM area to determine and compare selected metals’ (Mn, Cu, Zn and Pb) concentrations to the standard permissible limit set by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO). The samples were prepared by wet digestion using a mixture of HNO 3 and H 2 O 2 and then analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). Heavy metals’ concentration ranges were recorded as follow; 0.130 – 9.410 mg/kg for Mn, 0.120 – 0.330 mg/kg for Cu, 0.200 – 2.470 mg/kg for Zn and 0.003 – 0.210 mg/kg for Pb. Concentration of Mn was higher than other metals. All concentrations of selected metals were below the maximum standard set by FAO/WHO except for leaves in sample A. Nevertheless, it should be noted that consuming the I. aquatica for a long time with excess amount of heavy metals may contribute to health effects.