Heavy Metal Accumulation in Soybeans Cultivated in Iran, 2015-2016

Background: Due to environmental contamination in recent years,contamination of food chain by heavy metals is not far-fetched. The purpose ofthis study is to determine heavy metals in soybeans cultivated in Iran to monitorthe food chemical contaminants. Methods: To assess metal contamination, fourvarieties (Sahar, Katool, Williams, and M7) of soybean cultivated in Iran,were collected. Metal concentration of samples was analyzed by inductivelycoupled plasma-optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES). Results: Theconcentrations of Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Lead(Pb), and Zinc (Zn) in soybean samples were ranged from 0.008 to 0.21, 0.008 to0.16, 9.51 to 87.71, 4.08 to 22.37, 0.015 to 1.18, and 35.53 to 65.02 mg/kg,respectively. Taken together, findings of this study showed that heavy metalcontent of all taken samples, except Pb in M7 variety, were below the maximumlimits. So, there is no need to concern about the presence of heavy metal contentsin soybeans cultivated in Iran. Conclusion: Since soybeans are used inproduction of other soy-based products (such as soy milk, soy cheese, soysauce), regular monitoring of soybean in terms of heavy metals is necessary.