ANALYSIS OF METAL CONTENT IN TURMERIC POWDER AVAILABLE IN THE SRI LANKAN MARKET

Tur meric ( Curcuma longa L ) powder is a yellow coloured powder made by grinding of dried mature turmeric rhizomes. Turmeric is used in culinary preparations, cosmetic industries and medicinal preparations. It is available in Sri Lankan market both as branded and unbranded powders. This study was carried out to assess the levels of macro, micro and toxic heavy metals in some of those widely used branded and unbranded turmeric powders available in Sri Lankan market. Three batches from five different brands and a n unbranded turmeric powder and a pure turmeric rhizome were subjected to the analysis. AOAC Official method of 975.03 (1996) was carried out to determine the metal content using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). X - Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) m ethod was also carried out. The results were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). According to the results, Potassium was the most abundant macro metal in turmeric. Except Iron the other micro metals were present in very low level in turmeric. Iron and Cadmium contents in some brands were significantly exceeded the maximum limit recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). There were significant differences among all the brands and unbranded turmeric powder in metal contents. The v ariation among batches in same brand for all the metals was not significant.