Determination of metals in three different ulams using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) / Nur Syazwani Mohd Yusof

Most of countries were exposed to environmental risk and human health which comes from contamination of metals. In this study, the concentration of metals (Cu, Fe and Ca) in three different ulams was determined using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Dry ashing method has been selected using 65 % nitric acid and 37 % hydrochloric acid. The results obtained were compared with the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) set by Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). The average value of Cu were 0.825 mg/L, 0.406 mg/L and 0.320 in pucuk paku, ulam pegaga, ulam raja respectively. For Fe, 0.779 mg/L, 0.446 mg/L and 0.488 mg/L were observed in pucuk paku, ulam pegaga and ulam raja. Different with Ca, high average value were obtained which were 0.753 mg/L, 1.000 mg/L, and 0.905 mg/L in pucuk paku, ulam pegaga, and ulam raja respectively. The concentration of metals in all samples were below the PTWI value and the correlation coefficient (R2) over 0.995 were obtained.Therefore, all three samples of ulam were fit for human consumption.