The lead level in rice plant leaves planted in Sukawening Village, Jatinangor District, West Bandung Regency, West Java

Abstract

Lead (Pb) is the most common heavy metal contaminant in plants. It occurs as organic and inorganic salts in plants. Lead is harmful when its amounts in food are higher than the optimum. Rice plants with high levels of lead may trigger the generation of reactive oxygen species and eventually cell death. Our study aimed to assess lead levels in rice plant leaves planted in Sukawening Village, Jatinangor District, West Bandung Regency, West Java. The rice plant leaves were collected each month until four months. The samples were dried and wet-destructed using concentrated sulfuric acid and nitric acid. The qualitative analysis of lead in the samples was carried out using visible spectrophotometry with the addition of xylenol orange. The lead level was measured using a standard addition photometric titration method. Our results indicated that lead was present in the samples since the plant was 1 month old, as proven by the lead-xylenol orange peak at 580 nm. Lead content in the rice plant leaves was as follows, in the 1st-month plants = 0.4118 mg/kg, 2nd-month = 0.5232 mg/kg, 3rd-month = 0.6206 mg/kg, and 4thmonth = 0.5264 mg/kg. We concluded that the lead level in the rice plants is in the range of that required by the Verdict of the Director General of the National Agency of Drug and Food Control No. 03725/B/SK/89 about the Maximum Limit of Heavy Metal Contamination in Food, which is 2.0 mg/kg calculated as the dried samples