Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
537973 
Journal Article 
Levels of essential and non-essential metals in leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.) and soil of Wushwush farms, Ethiopia 
Yemane, M; Chandravanshi, BS; Wondimu, T 
2008 
Yes 
Food Chemistry
ISSN: 0308-8146
EISSN: 1873-7072 
107 
3 
1236-1243 
English 
Five tea clones of the Camellia assamica variety grown in Wushwush tea plantation farms, Ethiopia, were analyzed for their contents of essential. non-essential and toxic metals (K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Na, Cd and Pb) by atomic absorption flame emission spectroscopy. Both the tea leaves and the soils of the study farms showed similar accumulation patterns in their contents of the studied macronutrients. Among the macronutrient metals, K was the most abundant element in the tea leaves (17.7-24.8 mg/g) and the soils (7.14-9.73 mg/g). Mn was the predominant micronutrient heavy metal in the tea leaf tissues ranging between 501 and 1281 mg/kg. Level of Fe (29.6-100 mg/kg) in the leaf tissue was found to be the second most abundant micronutrient next to Mn whereas concentrations of Cu and Co were relatively lower both in the soil and tea samples. The toxic heavy metals Pb and Cd in the leaf tissues were present at levels too low to be detected by the analytical technique used in this study. The soils were found to be acidic (pH 5.04-5.49) with high organic matter (5.48-6.02%). Fe was the most abundant metal followed by Mn, Na and Zn in the soils. Unlike the tea leaves, the soils were found to contain traces of the toxic metal, Cd (0.02-1.10 mg/kg). The levels of most of the metals determined in this study compared well with those reported for tea leaves from some other parts of the world. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 
tea clones; tea leaves; macronutrients; micronutrients; toxic metals; organic matter; atomic absorption flame emission spectroscopy; elements; spectrometry; fertilizer