ANALYSIS OF METAL CONTENT IN BLACK PEPPER POWDER AVAILABLE IN THE SRI LANKAN MARKET

Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), is a highly valued spice. It is one of the major items exported by Sri Lanka. In recent years, monitoring metal contamination in pepper has been a growing interest and it is reported to contain significant quantities of some metals which cause detrimental effects on human health. In this study concentrations of some macro, micro and toxic metals in five common brands and unbranded Black pepper samples available in the Sri Lankan market were determined. Three batches from each brand were subjected to analyze. Whole Black pepper samples were analyzed as a control to study the possible metal contaminations during the process of powdering. AOAC Official method of 975.03 (1996) was used to determine the metal content by Atomic absorption spectroscopy and X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy. The results were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA).The Study shows differences in metal concentrations of their mean values as Potassium> Calcium> Magnesium>Sodium>Iron> Manganese>Copper> Zinc> Cadmium> Lead. Cadmium was significantly above the WHO maximum permissible limit (MPL), inferring that the agricultural practices might be affecting cadmium contamination in pepper. The study highlighted possibility of wear and tear of machineries causing high Iron content in powdered pepper.