Determination of heavy metals in apricot (Prunus armeniaca) and almond (Prunus amygdalus) oils

Background and purpose: Determination of heavy metals in oils is necessary to establish quality standards on a country level. This study aimed to determine of heavy metal contents (Cr, Ni, As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Sb, Sn, Sr, Al) in 12 seed oil samples in Iran by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Materials and Methods: The concentrations of heavy metal were determined by wet acid digestion methods with nitric acid (65%) and 4 ml peroxide hydrogenate on same samples using ICP-OES. Results: Results showed that the average of most important toxic metals detected in apricot oil samples was as follows 721.72 &mu;g/kg for Al 15 &mu;g/kg for Cd, 18 &mu;g/kg for Pb, 14 &mu;g/kg for As and <1 &mu;g/kg for Hg. Furthermore, The average of heavy metals detected in almond oil samples were as follows 1019.73 &mu;g/kg for Al, 10 &mu;g/kg for Cd, 21 &mu;g/kg for Pb and 11 &mu;g/kg for As and <1 &mu;g/kg for Hg. Also in the studied samples, Al was the highest concentrations among all metals. Conclusion: Most of the samples of oils were found to be contaminated with notable amounts of toxic metals which could be a threat to oil quality and human health.