ABSTRACT

Fruits are a natural source of antioxidants which inhibit the production and accumulation of high reactive oxygen species (ROS), whereas heavy metals may initiate the production of ROS. Therefore, the most commonly used fruits such as apple, apricot, banana, cherry, grapes, guava, lemon, mango, orange, peach and pomegranate were analysed for the most toxic heavy metals (Cr, Co, Ni, Cd and Pb). Acid digestion method was used for metal extraction. The metal analysis was carried out using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS) (Perkin Elmer AAS-700). The results showed that the observed concentrations of all the five metals are much lower than that of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s maximum permissible limits. Although the obtained values are lower than the WHO standards, the effect of prolonged exposure to sub-limital levels of toxic metals are not known, therefore close monitoring of heavy metals in fruit and other food commodities remains important.

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