Determination of Toxic Elements Concentration and Radioactivity Levels in Fruit Juice in Jeddah,Saudi Arabia

Fruit juices have become a significant component of the diet of many households in Saudi Arabia. Essential minerals and trace minerals present in fruit juices play an important role in human growth and well being. A number of other chemical elements occur in fruit juices, e.g., aluminum, cadmium, lead, tin, mercury and many of them are toxic. In this study, three types of fruit juice (orange, apple, mango) of 15 different brands available in the market in and around Jeddah were analyzed for their contents of the toxic elements, aluminum (Al), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) using a Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. The mean (±SD) elemental concentration values in ppb of Al, Pb and Cd in apple juice are: (144.00±12.51); (2.64±0.97) and (1.07±0.44) respectively. The mean (±SD) concentration values in ppb of Al, Pb and Cd in orange juice are: (122.20±11.36); (2.00±0.93) and (1.13±0.48) respectively. Finally, the mean (±SD) concentration values in ppb of Al, Pb and Cd in mango juice are: (115.28±10.84); (2.50±0.95) and (1.57±0.60) respectively. These values are compared with tolerable daily intake values and also with the corresponding values of different countries available in the literature. Knowledge of radioactivity levels in human diet is of particular concern for the estimation of possible radiological hazards to human health. A total of 86 fruit juice samples were analyzed for radioactivity measurements. The mean radioactivity concentration values in (Bq/l) in apple, orange and mango juice are : (17.66±2.95), (19.85±3.15), (11.93±3.04) respectively. The reported values of activity concentrations of different countries compare reasonably well with the corresponding values obtained in the present study. The levels of trace elements and radioactivity are acceptably low and pose no threat to the health of the population. The sources of these contaminants are unclear and merit further investigation.