HEAVY METAL ACCUMULATION IN SOYBEANS CULTIVATED IN SINGRAULI REGION

Due to environmental contamination in recent years, contamination of food chain by heavy metals is not far-fetched. The purpose of this study is to determine heavy metals in soybeans cultivated in Iran to monitor the food chemical contaminants. Metal concentration of samples was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES). The concentrations of Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn) in soybean samples were ranged from 0.008 to 0.21, 0.008 to 0.16, 9.51 to 87.71, 4.08 to 22.37, 0.015 to 1.18, and 35.53 to 65.02 mg/kg, respectively. Taken together, findings of this study showed that heavy metal content of all taken samples. So, there is no need to concern about the presence of heavy metal contents in soybeans cultivated in Singrauli region. Since soybeans are used in production of other soy-based products (such as soy milk, soy cheese, soy sauce), regular monitoring of soybean in terms of heavy metals is necessary.