Table 4.
Total and inorganic arsenic contents and percentage of inorganic arsenic in Thai herbs, expressed as mean ± standard deviation (minimum–maximum).
| Herb | Total arsenic (ng/g) | Inorganic arsenic (ng/g) | % Inorganic arsenic∗ |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wet weight | Dry weight | Wet weight | Dry weight | ||
| Bird's eye chili (Capsicum frutescens) |
40.5 ± 14.9b (28.0–79.2) |
113 ± 39.7b (78.3–219) |
14.4 ± 3.72c (9.31–23.5) |
40.2 ± 10.2bc (24.9–63.8) |
36.6 ± 5.95ce (27.2–46.1) |
| Cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum) |
16.4 ± 2.21ef (13.3–19.9) |
62.7 ± 8.26de (47.2–81.9) |
7.83 ± 1.74d (6.15–13.3) |
29.9 ± 7.31ce (23.8–54.6) |
47.7 ± 7.39ac (35.7–66.7) |
| Celery (Apium graveolens) |
3.39 ± 0.940g (1.96–5.81) |
41.0 ± 11.8e (30.4–77.5) |
2.09 ± 0.566e (1.28–3.37) |
25.3 ±6.81de (17.2–39.6) |
62.1 ± 7.93a (48.8–75.4) |
| Garlic (Allium sativum) |
8.01 ± 2.06fg (6.49–13.1) |
59.9 ± 12.8de (42.6–79.8) |
3.15 ± 1.00e (/2.05–5.54) |
23.5 ± 6.60e (15.5–36.9) |
39.3 ± 6.46bc (30.7–48.8) |
| Holy basil (Ocimum sanctum) |
26.6 ± 7.13cd (13.2–44.9) |
128 ± 22.8ab (73.4–177) |
9.64 ± 2.61d (5.95–14.6) |
46.8 ± 9.97ab (31.4–66.1) |
37.0 ± 7.19ce (24.8–47.0) |
| Kitchen mint (Mentha cordifolia) |
10.5 ± 3.00eg (6.46–16.0) |
80.6 ± 16.1cd (49.0–96.8) |
4.00 ± 1.08e (1.95–5.77) |
31.0 ± 7.20ce (16.6–42.8) |
38.6 ± 5.65bcd (30.2–46.7) |
| Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) |
32.0 ± 5.38bc (23.4–43.3) |
100 ± 16.1bc (73.4–127) |
17.7 ± 2.81b (14.2–25.2) |
55.5 ± 8.12a (44.5–73.8) |
56.0 ± 8.43a (44.4–68.3) |
| Pepper (Piper nigrum) |
119 ± 19.0a (84.2–149.6) |
132 ± 21.0ab (92.4–166) |
26.9 ± 5.39a (13.9–33.5) |
29.7 ± 6.03ce (15.3–37.3) |
22.7 ± 4.30e (15.4–31.1) |
| Shallot (Allium cepa) |
12.6 ± 5.05eg (5.13–26.3) |
156 ± 52.2a (87.0–263) |
2.87 ± 1.07e (1.34–4.86) |
34.6 ± 7.42cd (22.7–50.1) |
24.1 ± 7.15de (10.5–32.5) |
| Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) |
18.6 ± 6.09de (10.0–35.4) |
102 ± 37.7bc (59.2–207) |
8.56 ± 3.40d (6.33–20.3) |
46.3 ± 16.6ab (30.8–104) |
52.2 ± 33.7ab (22.3–159) |
A total of 150 samples (15 samples for each herb) were determined for total arsenic and inorganic arsenic.
a,b,c,d,e,f,g = mean values with different superscripts in the same column are significantly different (p < 0.05).
∗ % inorganic arsenic = (concentration of inorganic arsenic × 100)/concentration of total arsenic.