In this master thesis we wanted to evaluate the concentration of nickel in the
selected vegetables from the areas with the natural increased concentrations of this
metal in the ground. We also wanted to find out if the selected vegetables are
suitable for consumption. We measured the concentration of the metal in the
eatable parts of vegetables during the technological ripeness. We chose five
different locations in the area of Slovenian Istria and two locations in the area of
Vipava valley where the natural increased values of nickel are found on the ground.
Middle value (median) of Ni in vegetables is in the range from 0,82 mg/kg dw
(eggplant) to 12,30 mg/kg dw (mangold/chard), the average concentration of Ni is
3,06 mg/kg dw. We found out that the type of vegetable ha san effect on nickel
concentration in the edible parts of vegetables. Ni is accumulated in leafy
vegetables, the least in fruits. We also calculated the bioaccumulation factors and
made an assessment of exposure of general population to Ni through the
consumption of the studied vegetables from Slovenian Istria and the Vipava valley
we used the data about the use of vegetables in Slovenia from the year 2015 and the
data about the concentration of nickel in the selected vegetables. For the calculation
of exposure of the studied vegetables to nickel we recalculated the concentrations
of Ni to fresh substance, and the data of water content were obtained from the
extensive database for the nutritional values in foods. We compared the estimated
exposure to Ni through the consumption of selected vegetables from Slovenian
Istria and the estimated exposure of the consumption of the average European
vegetables. The exposure, because of eating selected types of vegetables from
Slovenian Istria, is 0,58766 μg Ni/kg b.w./day and it is for 26% bigger compared to
the exposure through the consumption of the same type of European vegetables.
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