ACCUMULATION OF HEAVY METALS IN VEGETABLES GROWN ON CONTAMINATED SOILS

Vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, fibers and also have antioxidative effects. Heavy metal concentrations in edible parts of plants are directly associated with their concentrations in soils, but their levels differ significantly with plant species, and sometimes with the genotypes within the same plant species. Heavy metal uptake and translocation are key aspects of plants' ability to accumulate and cope with high concentrations of heavy metals. The objective of the present study was to investigate heavy metal accumulation in four vegetable species. Two leafy vegetables (parsley, spinach) and two root vegetables (radish, carrot) were cultivated in greenhouses on soil contaminated with heavy metals mixture (Cu, Pb, Zn) with four concentrations (c(1)= 1.5 %; c(2)= 3.0 %; c(3)= 4.5 %, c(4)= 6.0 %). The vegetables were grown in a greenhouse until the end of the vegetation period, afterwards being harvested and the concentration of each heavy metal for each plant was determined. Clear differences were found in the concentrations of heavy metals in edible parts of the different vegetables. The concentrations of heavy metals decreased in the sequence as leafy vegetables > root vegetables. Data suggest that growing of vegetables on contaminated soils may pose considerable health risks due to the possible heavy metal ingestion.