Analysis of Heavy Metals Found in Kenger (Gundelia tournefortii L.) and Soil at Different Locations in Sulaimani Region

The Sulaimani region is rich in wild plant species that are traditionally used as food and medicine. Due to their chemical compounds, some of these plants are toxic, even in very low doses. Gundelia tournefortii L. is one of the wild plant species that contains some toxic compounds like heavy metals. Therefore, the analysis of inductivity coupled plasma- optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) is important to determine heavy metals found in Gundelia tournefortii L. edible parts, seeds, and soil. Furthermore, the interaction effect between plants and soil are essential based on different locations. The protocol of heavy metals analysis was investigated using ICP-OES analysis to determine some metals, including arsenic (As), barium (Br), calcium (Ca), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), strontium (Sr), and zinc (Zn). The highest levels of Ba, Cr, and Ni were observed in all locations. The highest concentrations of Ba, Cr, and Ni were found in Mawat (75.432 mg kg-1, 89.520 mg kg-1, and 138.627 mg kg-1), respectively, while the minimum levels were found in Hazarmerd (38.522 mg kg-1, 68.188 mg kg-1, and 50.121 mg kg-1), respectively. It was also found that soil contains the highest amount of all three metals: Ba (145.617 mg kg-1), Cr (232.667 mg kg-1), and Ni (254.667mg kg-1), where Ni was the maximum. In addition, the low concentration of metals were found in kenger seeds compared to edible parts especially both Cr (0.356 mg kg-1) and Ni (8.593 mg kg-1).