Mint, parsley and chamomile are aromatic and edible plants that are exported outside from Egypt; they contain many volatile compounds with biological properties that make them very important in food and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Egyptian exporters complain about contamination of water used to irrigate these plants. Therefore, the aim of current study was to assess the content of volatile components and heavy metals of those plants, which harvested from their planting locations (Bahariya oasis, Alfayoum and Benisuef). Obtained results reported that menthone, myristicine and bisabolol oxide A were the major components of Mint, parsley and chamomile essential oils, respectively. The maximum values of menthone (56.32%), myristicine (32.96%) and bisabolol oxide A (81.51%) were recorded with samples collected from Alfayoum, Bahariya oasis and Benisuef, respectively. Chamomile plants harvested from Bahariya oasis produced the greatest values of Cr (17.3 ppm), Pb (0.4 ppm) and Cd (0.2 ppm). Parsley samples harvested from Bahariya oasis gave the maximum value of Zn (27.6 ppm). Mint plants collected from Bahariya oasis resulted in the maximum values of Mn (202.3 ppm) and Ni (4.2 ppm). The highest value of Fe (1591.3 ppm) was recorded with mint samples collected from Benisuef. It may be concluded that planting locations resulted in variations of heavy metals and chemical constituents of mint, parsley and chamomile essential oils. To avoid the health risks resulting from contamination with heavy metals, some environmentally friendly methods should be used.
