Investigation of the Levels of Selected Metals in the Leaves of Thyme (T. Schimperi and T. Vulgaris) Grown in Ethiopia
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Date
2009-06
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Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
The contents of some selected metals Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Cu, Co and Cd
in different thyme leaf samples readily consumed in Ethiopia were
determined by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) after acid
digestion with 1:1 HNO3/HClO4 for 3 h at a temperature of 240 0C by a
Kjeldahl apparatus hot plate digester. The level of the nutrients in the four
samples ranged from 1239 – 2517 μg/g, Ca; 1524 – 1786 μg/g, Mg; 728 –
2517 μg/g, Fe; 37.7 – 114 μg/g, Mn; 8.7 – 52 μg/g, Zn; 9.83 – 14.2 μg/g, Ni;
7.69 – 9.3 μg/g, Cu; 2.59 – 4.3 μg/g, Co; and 0.87 – 1.3 μg/g, Cd;
respectively. The concentration of Ca was higher than the other metals in
the three samples and Cd was the least of all the metals in the analyzed
samples. The over all reproducibility of the method obtained from spiking
experiment was with in the range ± 10 % except for Fe (± 11.91 %), Cd (±
10.89 %) and Co (± 10.84 %). This result will complement available data on
food composition in Ethiopia.
Key words: Thyme leaves, Metals, Debresina, Wondogenet, Ethiopia, FAAS.
Description
Keywords
Thyme leaves; Metals; Debresina, Wondogenet; Ethiopia; FAAS