Comparative Assessment of the Phytochemical and Selected Heavy Metal Levels in Cucumis sativus L. and Solanum aethiopicum L. Fruit Samples Grown in South Eastern and North Central Regions of Nigeria Respectively
Studies were carried out to comparatively assess the phytochemical and
heavy metal levels in Solanum aethiopicum L. and Cucumis sativus L. fruit
samples grown in the South Eastern and North Central regions of Nigeria
respectively using standard analytical procedures and instrumentation. The
fruit samples were assayed for selected heavy metals (Pb, Cd and Cu) using
atomic absorption spectrophotometer after wet digestion of the samples. The
five detected phytochemicals (flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins and
glycosides) were present at varying amounts in the investigated fruit samples
from the South Eastern and North Central regions of Nigeria. The range of mean
values of flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins and glycosides in the S. aethiopicum L. fruit samples from the
two studied regions were 0.50 - 0.57, 0.53 - 1.26, 0.44 - 0.78, 1.12 - 1.93 and
0.40 - 0.50 mg/g respectively. The range of mean values of flavonoids, alkaloids,
terpenoids, saponins and glycosides in the C.
sativus L.fruit samples from the
two studied regions of Nigeria were 1.27 - 1.69, 0.53 - 0.55, 0.96 - 1.51, 0.41
- 0.83 and 0.90 - 1.74 mg/g respectively. The range of mean vales of Pb, Cd,
and Cu in the S. aethiopicum L. fruit
samples from the two studied regions were 0.15 - 0.24, 0 - 0.01, 0.78 - 1.12
μg/g respectively. 0.31 - 0.40, 0.02 - 0.05 and 0.62 -0.96 μg/g were the range of mean values of Pb, Cd
and Curespectively in the C. sativus L.fruit samples from the two studied regions of Nigeria. Of the
three investigated heavy metals, only Cd was at toxic levels in the C. sativus
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