Determination of Copper, Iron, Cadmium and Lead Contents of the Oils from Sunflower Seeds (Helianthus annus L.) Grown Trakya Region, Turkey

The aim of this study was to determine the copper (Cu), iron (Fe), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) contents of the oils from sunflower seeds which were grown in the Trakya region, Turkey. For this reason, the samples of sunflower seed were collected from three different provinces (Tekirdag, Edirne and Kirklareli) which are located on the Trakya region. A total of 90 sunflower seed samples from 2007 harvest seasons were collected from these different provinces. The contents of these metals in the crude oils obtained by soxhlet extraction with n-hexane from sunflower seed samples were determined by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer method. Preparing sample stage was made by using microwave analyze system in close container. According to the analysis results, the average amounts in the oil samples from three different provinces (Tekirdag, Edirne and Kirklareli) were for Cd 0.11, 0.23 and 0.12 ppm; for Cu 0.12, 0.15 and 0.11 ppm; for Pb 0.23, 0.15 and 0.24 ppm; for Fe 4.83, 4.30 and 4.27 ppm, respectively. According to the analysis of variance, the differences among the provinces were statistically significant (P<0.01) with respect to Cd and Fe contents. The obtained these results were compared between the values reported in literatures. Potential sources of metal contamination of the oils from sunflower seeds were also discussed.