Investigation of Nitrate Contents of Some Vegetables and Cucurbits Offered in Zahedan Fruits and Vegetables Market, 2020

Background: Nitrate is an essential nutrient for the growth of plants. The presence of it in vegetables, water and other foods, is a serious threat for human health. Human body receives about 80% of nitrate from fruits and vegetables. The purpose was to determine the amount of nitrates in some vegetables and cucurbits (basil, mint, radish and tomato) that are sold in fruit and vegetable market of Zahedan city in 2020 year. Methods: Hundred and twenty samples were selected and their nitrate content were measured by HPLC method. The significance level was less than 5%. Results: Mean of nitrate in, tomato, mint, radish and basil were 20.55, 515.76, 585.73 and 591.7mg/kg respectively. The mean of nitrate in basil was slightly higher than the radish but difference wasn’t statistically significant. There was statistically significant difference among mean of nitrate in investigated vegetables (p value < 0.05). Mean of nitrate in basil was higher than others (p value < 0.05). A statistically significant difference was observed among mean of nitrate in vegetables namely tomato, mint, radish and basil in the investigated stalls (p value < 0.05). Conclusion: Amount of nitrate in samples were lower than the national standard limit that is not harmful for human health. It can be concluded that the vegetables sold in Zahedan city are good in terms of nitrate content and they don’t cause health problems. As high consumption rate of different type of vegetables by human and variation of their nitrate concentration, additional investigation and permanent control of their nitrate concentration is necessary.