Determination of Concentration of Metals in Grapes Grown in Gonabad Vineyards and Assessment of Associated Health Risks

Metals are considered major public health hazards, and they are known to accumulate in fruits, which are consumed by humans because of their unique sweet taste and potential health benefits. Therefore, the aims of this study were to determine the concentration of ten metals, namely arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in red grape samples grown in Gonabad vineyards and to estimate the associated health risks of metals in terms of chronic daily intake (CDI), carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks by hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), and cancer risk (CR) for children, teenagers, and adults. The overall concentrations of the metals in red grapes were in the range 0.07-0.5 (mean 0.14), 0.08-0.13 (mean 0.10), 0.07-0.13 (mean 0.09), 0.06-1.49 (mean 0.29), 0.52-4.12 (mean 1.65), 6.43-42.17 (mean 19.01), 0.89-4.04 (mean 1.89), 0.07-9.23 (mean 0.71), 0.07-0.37 (mean 0.18), and 0.40-4.13 (mean 1.05) mg/kg dry weight for As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn, respectively. Based on the results, As in 11.76% and Zn in 5.88% of the samples exceeded the FAO/WHO permissible limits. The estimated non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk indices for children, teenagers, and adults showed that the results were lower than the critical value (1) and were in acceptable range. Therefore, red grape is safe for consumption with no impact on the human health. However, red grape consumption was just one part of fruit consumption, and the potential health hazards for inhabitants might actually be higher than in this research when other routes of heavy metal intake and also other fruits are considered.