NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION, MULTI-ELEMENTAL PROFILING AND HEAVY METAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF COMMERCIAL ROOT VEGETABLES IN DISTRICT KHAIRPUR MIR'S, PAKISTAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71146/kjmr978Keywords:
Root vegetables, ICP-OES analysis, Khairpur Mir’s, Proximate compositionAbstract
This study evaluated the biochemical composition, essential mineral profiles and heavy metal safety of five commercial root vegetables species potato (Solanum tuberosum), radish (Raphanus sativus), carrot (Daucus carota), onion (Allium cepa), and turnip (Brassica rapa) procured from five retail markets across district Khairpur Mir's Pakistan. A total of 25 composite samples were analyzed for proximate constitute using standard AOAC procedures and for 11 target elements via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) following wet acid digestion (HNO3:HCL04). Quality assurance protocols verified method relibility, yielding relative standard deviation below (5.0%) and spike recoveries between (90%) and (110%). Proximate results demonestrate high fresh weight moisture retention (70%-79%) , neglibible crude fat (0.01%-0.04% DW) and a carbohydrates dominant energy profile (up to 53%DQ), supported by total ash (2.8%-5.2%DW) and crude fiber (up to 2.78%DW).
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mushtaque Ali Jakhrani, Pooja Bai, Shahid Ali Jakhrani (Author)
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