Cadmium and Lead Contents of Rice (Oryza sativa) Grown in Khuzestan, Southwest of Iran

Background: Lead and cadmium as two of the main industrial pollutants can cause strong negative effect on humans and animals. Rice (Oryza sativa) is a plant of the grass family, which provides the bulk of the human diet throughout Asia, i.e. feeds more than half of the world’s human population. This study was conducted to determine cadmium and lead contents of cultivated rice grown in Khuzestan province. Material and methods: In this study, 252 seed samples from Champa and Anburi rice cultivated in three areas in Khuzestan, namely, Shavur, Baghmalek, and Dasht Azadegan were collected at harvest time. The samples were digested according to the standard method of association of analytical community (AOAC). As reported in the procedure, lead and cadmium contents were measured using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (GFAAS) Results: The mean Pb concentrations in Anburi and Champa rice cultivated in three different regions were 0.42±0.07 and 0.44±0.05 mg Kg-1 which are significantly higher than the permissible average level adjusted by the Iranian Food and Drug Administration (IFDO). However, the average Cd content of Anburi and Champa rice in the regions were 0.07 ±0.008 and 0.07 ±0.006 mg kg-1, respectively. The cadmium content is well below the permissible level. Conclusion: The results indicated that the mean concentration of lead in all the samples were considerably higher than the cadmium content. This is the extent of lead contamination in this province