Toxic and non-toxic role of some metals in human body

ABSTRACT

The metals included in this study were copper, iron, zinc, cadmium and lead. The copper, iron and zinc were selected because of their important biological role in human body while cadmium and lead were selected due to their toxic nature. During the past few years, the assessment of pollution of food resources has become a major subject of investigation all over the world. Human health may be directly affected by ingesting fruits and vegetables, if enhanced amounts of macro-or micro-nutrients are present in such edibles. In addition, the presence of toxic trace elements such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in general foodstuff can lead to the malfunction of organs and chronic toxicity in humans