Incidence of Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel and Cobalt in Basil, Rosemary and Peppermint Seasonings from Romanian Market

The use of seasonings is important in food industry because the bioactive compounds contained in these dried aromatic plants improve the taste and the flavor of food. These dried aromatic plants can often be contaminated with some heavy metals, polycyclic carbohydrates residues and pesticides which may occur during the cultivation operation, drying process, manufacture and conditioning. The aim of this study is to determine the contamination with heavy metals (lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel and cobalt) of basil (B), rosemary (R) and peppermint (M) seasonings used in Romanian cuisine. The concentration of lead ranged 0.058 0.643 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.209 0.493 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.077 0.139 mg.kg-1 (B). The concentration of cadmium varied: 0.004 0.035 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.004 0.007 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.002 0.009 mg.kg-1 (B). The concentration of chromium ranged 0.304 0.403 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.450 0.457 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.208 0.336 mg.kg-1 (B). The concentration of nickel varied from 0.376 0.848 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.354 0.427 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.230 0.334 mg.kg-1 (B). The concentration of cobalt ranged 0.037 0.167 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.065 0.137 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.112 0.156 mg.kg-1 (B).