Analysis of the Concentration of Heavy Metals in Khat Grown in Meru County and the Assessment of Their Associated Health Risks

Table 4

Concentration of heavy metal content in khat samples collected from Meru County.

Region in Meru County	Farm code	Metal concentration (mg/kg)
		Cr	Cd	Cu	Pb	Fe	Ni
Kangeta	A	16.40 ± 0.23	5.51 ± 0.11	17.00 ± 0.42	24.14 ± 1.26	92.90 ± 3.12	0.378 ± 0.03
	B	19.10 ± 0.12	5.58 ± 0.10	21.18 ± 0.61	31.11 ± 1.52	139.0 ± 3.64	0.386 ± 0.02
Laare	C	13.90 ± 0.14	9.72 ± 0.08	16.79 ± 0.32	36.29 ± 1.02	83.30 ± 2.11	0.361 ± 0.03
	D	17.60 ± 0.25	8.88 ± 0.13	14.67 ± 0.35	42.55 ± 2.45	180.5 ± 3.02	0.392 ± 0.02
Mutuati	E	14.60 ± 0.18	5.48 ± 0.05	13.03 ± 0.26	15.53 ± 0.33	86.80 ± 2.50	0.373 ± 0.01
	F	19.00 ± 0.31	8.53 ± 0.06	13.70 ± 0.18	25.92 ± 1.92	83.40 ± 2.10	0.367 ± 0.02
Maua	G	12.30 ± 0.15	9.23 ± 0.05	17.23 ± 0.43	48.10 ± 2.82	72.10 ± 2.13	0.352 ± 0.02
	H	18.00 ± 0.27	8.74 ± 0.12	14.06 ± 0.32	<0.001 ± 0.00	78.50 ± 2.13	0.399 ± 0.04
	I	15.60 ± 0.16	8.32 ± 0.23	14.43 ± 0.36	<0.001 ± 0.00	88.50 ± 2.09	0.371 ± 0.03
Kianjai	J	15.00 ± 0.13	7.67 ± 0.04	19.70 ± 0.52	30.10 ± 2.21	80.40 ± 1.89	0.349 ± 0.02
	K	14.30 ± 0.11	8.28 ± 0.05	12.08 ± 0.64	37.47 ± 2.02	85.50 ± 2.05	0.365 ± 0.03
Mean ± SD		15.98 ± 2.22	7.81 ± 1.56	15.81 ± 2.84	32.35 ± 9.95	97.35 ± 32.67	0.372 ± 0.016
RSD (%)		13.9	20.0	18.0	30.8	33.6	4.2

SD, standard deviation; RSD, relative standard deviation.