Determination of Cadmium in Organic and Non-Organic Lettuce Using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)

Cadmium is a heavy metal that, though it has many everyday uses, is toxic to a variety of tissues within the human body. It is commonly found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach and lettuce at levels ranging from 30–150 PPB. Our study looked to see if cadmium levels were different in butterhead and romaine lettuce grown organically and non-organically. Samples of each type of lettuce were prepared according to Stafilov’s procedure and subsequently analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Results indicated that there was no difference between organically and non-organically grown lettuce; interestingly enough, butterhead lettuce had a higher cadmium content than romaine lettuce.