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Determination of Heavy Metal Accumulation in Lycopersicon Esculentum Grown on Contaminated Sites

Renu Tyagi and S. Kalpana

A monitoring study has been carried out to assess the levels of toxic heavy metals in Lycopersicon esculentum, a vegetable widely used belonging to family solanaceae. Since the average daily intake of tomato is around 200 g in various forms, the presence of heavy metals would be a health hazard for human consumption and thus it is a matter of great concern. Five sites with high probability of metal contamination around the Kota city were chosen for the collection of samples. The levels of heavy metals in the aerial parts of the plant and the corresponding soils have been determined spectrophoto-metrically using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Metal transfer factors from soil to vegetable parts is found to be significant and the sequence of accumulation is in the order of leaf > stem > fruit.