Heavy metals and its impact on tea cultivated soil and tea leaf in sivasagar district of assam, india

Tea is the most popular beverage in the world and contains several essential nutrients, which are beneficial for human health. Tea leaves also contains heavy metals which are harmful for human health. In this study, the concentration of heavy metals in tea cultivated soil and tea leaf were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The concentration of Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb in all the soil samples ranged from 1.28-2.58, 48.26-78.42, 43.12-65.28 and 22.74-49.85 mg/kg respectively. The concentration of heavy metals in leaves samples were ranged from 2.02-2.67, 60.28-84.34, 56.18-79.20 and 30.96-50.12 mg/kg respectively. The concentration of heavy metals in the tea soil and tea leaves can be arranged in the following order, with regards to their total contents: Cr > Ni > Pb > Cd. The concentration of heavy metals in tea leaf is slightly higher than the tea cultivated soil. The concentration of heavy metals are within the tolerable level.