Assessment of Potential Toxic Elements (PTEs) in wild Aesthetic plants (cosmos): Distribution, Concentration and Human Health Risk

Anthropological activities and fast industrial growth have an influence on PTE levels in the soil and food chain. Two types of wild cosmos plants ( C. bipinnatus and D. cosmos ) from Jiangsu City, were examined the contents of PTEs using chemical and AAS methods to determine the risk to human health. The highest mean concentrations of PTEs in plants showed statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences between diverse plant part and followed decreasing order as Mn (85.0 mgkg ^-1 in flower) > Zn (62.0 mgkg ^-1 in flower) > Cu (12.0 mgkg ^-1 in flower) > Cr (4.3 mgkg ^-1 in root) > Ni (0.97 mgkg ^-1 in root) > Cd (0.38 mgkg ^-1 in root) > Pb (0.03 mgkg ^-1 in shoot) > As (0.025 mgkg ^-1 in root). The highest Cr, Mn, Zn and Cd values in plant samples were exceeded the permitted limit. While the quantity of Cr in the soil sample was high, the transfer coefficients (K) for Zn and Mn were high. The high percentage of Mn in roots was 68% and 61%, respectively for C. bipinnatus and D. cosmos . The THQ value (THQ > 1) of Mn and HI value (HI > 1) in all plant parts were greater than one, with the exception of D. Cosmos shoot (S2) and flower (F2). The assessment revealed that they are indicating a potential non-carcinogenic risk to human health. The TCR values for Cd and Ni showed a potential carcinogenic risk to adult and child health. As a result, wild cosmos plants indicate levels of PTEs, Cd, and Ni, which pose a cancer risk to human health. This study indicates that eating polluted cosmos plants exposes individuals to metal contamination, which can have both carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic consequences.