Trace Metals Distribution in Some Common Tuber Crops and Leafy Vegetables Grown in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

The main sources of trace metals to plants are the air and soil media from which trace elements are taken up by the root or foliage. Understanding the distribution of some trace metals in some common leafy vegetables and tuber cops is important for establishing baseline concentrations from which anthropometric effects can be measured. The trace metal distribution in some selected leafy vegetables and tuber crops in our study area were determined in samples that were dried, milled and digested. All the minerals investigated were found present in all the components of the selected vegetables and tuber crops. Iron was the most abundant mineral in the vegetables with concentrations ranging between 0.32mg/kg in Ocimum gratissum root to 9.7 mg/kg in Telfaria occidentalis roots. In the root tubers, zinc was the most abundant mineral ranging from 0.62 mg/kg in Manihot esculenta stem to 1.97 mg/kg in Manihot esculenta leaf. The bioconcentration factor indicates that the roots of the food crops concentrate most of the metals than the stems and leaves.