Determination of Major and Trace Metals in Date Palm Fruit (Phoenix dactylifera) Samples Using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and Assessment of the Associated Public Health Risks

Table 8

Comparison of the mean concentration of metals in date palm fruit samples with literature-reported values.

Country	Metal concentration (mg/kg)					Method	Reference
	Na	Ca	Zn	Fe
Ethiopia (Afar), Iraq, and Saudi Arabia	134–320	205–299	9.27–27.9	38.8–115		FAAS	This study
Nigeria	912–914	372−371	16.0–19.0	11.50–61.5		FAAS	[47]
Malaysia	123–248	488–707	3.28–3.41	8.08–13.5		ICP-OES	[48]
Saudi Arabia	334–338	143–157	0.34–0.45	80.8–203		FAAS/ICP-MAES	[49]
Sudan	567–1318	222–2381	7.50–10.0	6.91–69.1		FAAS	[50]
Pakistan	83.5–103	75.4–93.4	—	0.8–0.82		FAAS	[51]
Libya	19.1–69.0	24.0–64.0	7.40–13.6	8.40–128		FAAS	[52]
Saudi Arabia	—	—	22.8–45.9	56.9–155		ICP-AES	[53]
Pakistan	—	—	—	0.84–1.9		AAS	[54]
Saudi Arabia	73.8–157	150–339	19.5–21.4	21.2–54.9		ICP-OES	[55]
Country	Metal concentration (mg/kg)					Method	Reference
	Ni	Cd	Cu	Mn	Pb
Ethiopia (Afar), Iraq, and Saudi Arabia	25.1–42.2	ND	0.002–1.15	6.66–16.3	ND	FAAS	This study
Nigeria	—	—	9.84–10.2	10.0–21.0	—	FAAS	[47]
Malaysia	0.149–0.194	—	4.47–5.04	1.62–3.36	—	ICP-OES	[48]
Saudi Arabia	9.60–55.6	0.09–28	1.15–1.26	53.4–53.9	—	FAAS/ICP-AES	[49]
Sudan	—	—	7.1–18.6	5.40–7.8	—	FAAS	[50]
Pakistan	—	—	—	—	—	FAAS	[51]
Libya	—	0.14–1.02	0.54–5.5	—	ND‒0.94	FAAS	[52]
Saudi Arabia	0.82–2.2	0.15–0.26	22.8–52.2	—	0.002–0.006	ICP-AES	[53]
Pakistan	—	0.01–0.02	0.1–0.26	0.09–0.14	0.21–0.29	AAS	[54]
Saudi Arabia	—	—	6.4–7.7	5.8–8.2	—	ICP-OES	[55]
Egypt	0.93–3.0	ND‒0.26	—	—	0.35–2.0	ICP-OES	[56]

ND, not detected.