ASSESSMENT OF QuEChERS, DLLME AND WET DIGESTION FOR HEAVY METAL DETERMINATION IN SWEET POTATO TUBER
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2025-0912-4027Keywords:
QuEChERS, DLLME, Wet Digestion, Sweet Potato, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS)Abstract
This study compares three sample preparation techniques—QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe), Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction (DLLME), and conventional wet digestion— for the determination of heavy metals (Nickel, Cobalt, Chromium, Cadmium, and Lead) in sweet potato tubers (Ipomoeabatatas) from Bakori, Katsina State, Nigeria. The extracted metals were quantified using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The results revealed distinct performance differences among the methods. QuEChERS yielded the highest recovered concentrations for Cr (4.480 ± 0.0021 ppm), Co (0.271 ± 0.0009 ppm), Ni (0.300 ± 0.0014 ppm), and Cd (0.032 ± 0.0008 ppm). Wet digestion produced the highest value for Pb (9.59 ± 0.0012 ppm) but lower results for the other four metals compared to QuEChERS. DLLME consistently provided the lowest extraction efficiencies for all metals except Pb, where it was intermediate. The elevated levels of certain metals, particularly Cr and Pb, highlight potential public health concerns, as concentrations exceeding safe limits may pose risks through dietary exposure. The modified QuEChERS method is superior by its efficient disruption of the sample matrix. Its advantages including speed, ease of use, safety, minimization of loss, reduced reagent consumption and effective chelation—make QuEChERS a highly effective and practical technique for routine monitoring of heavy metals in food crops like sweet potato.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Aminu Akilu, Abubakar Lawal, Nura Suleiman Gwaram, Abubakar Sani
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