Honey is a nutritive fluid product of bees with an array of pharmacological/medicinal effects. As a natural product from honeybees, honey is regarded to be safe and free from any contaminants. Cassava tuber (Manihot esculenta)-based meal, Vernonia amygdalina (bitter leaf soup), and honey are common local cuisine in Nigeria. This is a human health risk assessment of heavy metals associated with the consumption of honey (Apis mellifera scutellata), cassava (Manihot esculenta), and bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) in Enugu State, Nigeria. Concentrations of lead (Pb), Cd, As, Cu, Ni, Mn, Fe, Cr, and Fe in honey, soil, Manihot esculenta, and Vernonia amygdalina were determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The principal component analysis (PCA) was performed as a factor reduction technique among 12 factors (3 locations against 4 sources of heavy metals). The mean concentration of metals in honey, soil, Manihot esculenta, and Vernonia amygdalina ranged from 0.001 to 4.28 mg kg-1, from 0.0026 to 170.52 mg kg-1, from 0.012 to 80.63 mg kg-1, and from 0.0016 to 126.48 mg kg-1, respectively. Pb showed the highest carcinogenic risk with values of 3.18E-04-1.43E-01 in Vernonia amygdalina and 1.69E-04-3.47E-04 in Manihot esculenta for adults and children, respectively. In honey, Cd showed the highest carcinogenic risk with values of 1.26E-02-1.07E-01. About 51.5% of total cancer risk (TCR) was below 1E-04. Consumption of honey, Vernonia amygdalina, and Manihot esculenta in some urban parts of Enugu may pose some adverse health effects.
Keywords: Heavy metal risk assessment; Honey; Manihot esculenta; Nigeria; Public health; Vernonia amygdalina.