Lead and cadmium contents in cereals and pulses in north-eastern China.
It is known that, unlike Japanese, Koreans or southern Chinese who depend on rice as a major source of energy for daily life, people in north-eastern China rely not only on rice, but on wheat and other cereals and to a lesser extent also on pulses. Cereal and pulse samples were collected from open markets in north-eastern China, and analyzed by inductively-coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP-MS) for two potentially hazardous heavy metals--lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). The average Pb level in cereals (31.3 ng Pb/g as a geometric mean) and that of pulses (25.7 ng Pb/g) were similar to each other with no significant difference. Among the cereals, Pb contents were higher in foxtail millet (54.3 ng/g) and lower in maize (35.4 ng Pb/g; grain and flour in combination), wheat flour (28.8 ng Pb/g) and rice flour (22.7 ng Pb/g). Lead levels in two important types of pulses, kidney bean and soybean (24.6 and 30.8 ng Pb/g, respectively), were comparable to the levels in rice and wheat. In contrast, Cd levels were substantially higher in pulses (55.7 ng Cd/g) than in cereals (9.2 ng Cd/g), and among the pulses, Cd in soybean (55.7 ng Cd/g) was significantly higher than that in kidney bean (23.8 ng Cd/g). The possible public health implication of the Pb and Cd levels, especially the high Pb level in foxtail millet (54.3 ng Pb/g) and the high Cd level in soybean (73.5 ng Cd/g), is discussed.
Zhang
Z W
ZW
Department of Public Health, Kyoto University, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Watanabe
T
T
Shimbo
S
S
Higashikawa
K
K
Ikeda
M
M
D002104:Cadmium / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D004032:Diet; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry*; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011634:Public Health; D013025:Glycine max / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry; D014908:Triticum / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry; D003313:Zea mays / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry
D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead