Nickel Levels in Some Common Spices in Southeastern Nigeria

The levels of Nickel (Ni) were determined in fifty different samples of common spicespurchased from three major markets in Southeastern Nigeria using atomic absorptionspectrophotometer. Two grams of dried ground samples were digested using 2:1 HNO3 /Hclo4 mixture and analysis of Ni metal were carried out. Results showed that ranges ofdetectable values μg/g of the common food spices and processed spice samples for Nickel(Ni) were 1.40-5.50 μg/g and 2.20-11.50 μg/g respectively. One way analysis of varianceshowed that the mean concentration of Ni in each selected common spice are all the samesince P>0.05. The mean concentration of Ni in the various spices are the same with respect tolocation since P>0.05. The mean concentration of Ni in each processed food spices are thesame at P>0.05 while the mean concentration of Ni in the various processed food spices arealso the same with respect to location at P>0.05. The daily human intakes of Ni have beencomputed and was observed that the analyzed samples were below recommended values byFAO/WHO