L) after the Eruption of Mount Sinabung using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer

Analysis of Arsenic in Purple Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea var.

capitata L) after the Eruption of Mount Sinabung using Atomic

Absorption Spectrophotometer

Boby Cahyady

, Suharman

, Muhammad Taufik

, Zul Alfian

, Mariany Razali

and Desi Ardilla

Chemistry Department, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20155, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia

Pharmacy Department, Universitas Tjut Nyak Dhien, Medan, Indonesia

Agricultural Technology Department, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia

Keywords: Arsenic, Cabbage, Analysis, Negative Impact, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer.

Abstract: The negative impact after the eruption of Mount Sinabung is the exposure of heavy metals to plants and

animals around the mountain. The heavy metal commonly contained in vegetables is Arsenic. Many of the

people around Mount Sinabung work as cabbage farmers. Cabbage plants that have many benefits,

especially in medicine are purple cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Capitata L). This work aims to analyze

the levels of arsenic contained in purple cabbage after the eruption of Mount Sinabung. The sampling

technique uses simple random sampling. Sampling was carried out at 5 points of collection which is 50 m

from Mount Sinabung. In this work, Dry destruction method was developed using HCl and nitric acid.

Instrument Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers (AAS) equipped with Vapor Hydride Generation

Acessories were developed to analyze Arsenic levels. At a wavelength of 193.7 nm, The concentration of

arsenic in purple cabbage was obtained at the sampling points 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively: 0.4755, 0.5808,

0.6534, 0.5517, 0, 5481 mg / Kg. This result is lower than the maximum limit of arsenic contamination in

vegetables, which is 1.0 mg / Kg. (SNI No. 7387: 2009).

1 INTRODUCTION

Mount Sinabung is located on the Karo Plateau in

Karo Regency, North Sumatra. The mount Sinabung

and Mount Sibayak are two active volcanoes in

North Sumatra (Lee, Lu, and Kim 2017). Mount

Sinabung is 2,460 meters above sea level. The

mountain began to erupt again on August 29, 2010.

In early 2019, Mount Sinabung began to erupt and

emitted hot lava. (Kusmartini et al. 2017).

In this case, the various activities of Mount

Sinabung have both positive and negative impacts

on local residents who will immediately feel the

negative impact, for example when Mount Sinabung

erupts, Mount Sinabong emits hot clouds and lava

that carry a lot of energy when it flows. Faded white

volcanic dust covers the surrounding forests, villages

and agricultural land (Nain Felix Sinuhaji 2011), so

it is necessary to conduct studies on the dangers of

volcanic ash for local residents, plant health, the

condition of local livestock, and the dangers posed

to crops and livestock (Lee, Lu, and Kim 2017). The

volcanic dust after the eruption of Mount Sinabung

produces heavy metals such as arsenic and various

other heavy metals which have an impact on the

quality of agricultural products including cabbage

(Harahap 2019)

Arsenic is the most toxic chemical and

metalloid in nature, and is also an important element

that needs attention, because even at low

concentrations, arsenic can cause toxicity and

carcinogenicity (Golui et al. 2017). Arsenic

exposure to humans can be inorganic or organic.

Arsenic in the environment can be in the form of

natural substances or pollution caused by human

activities (Šlejkovec et al. 2021). Arsenic can be

found in water, air, food and soil, including volcanic

eruptions, mining pollution, and use of pesticides

and fertilizers (Hazimah and Triwuri 2018). The

toxic effects of arsenic are well known, but depend

on the organic or inorganic form of the arsenic

compound (Harahap 2019).

Inorganic arsenic compounds are more toxic

than organic compounds (Hazimah and Triwuri

2018). Arsenic is a carcinogen because long-term

exposure increases the risk of many types of cancer,

Cahyady, B., Suharman, ., Tauﬁk, M., Alﬁan, Z., Razali, M. and Ardilla, D.

Analysis of Arsenic in Purple cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Capitata.

DOI: 10.5220/0010614200002775

In Proceedings of the 1st International MIPAnet Conference on Science and Mathematics (IMC-SciMath 2019), pages 592-595

ISBN: 978-989-758-556-2

593

including skin cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer,

kidney cancer, liver cancer, and prostate cancer

(Rokayya et al. 2013). The effects of arsenic are

related to changes in the gastrointestinal tract,

cardiovascular system, blood, lungs, nerves,

immunity, reproduction and long-term effects

caused by arsenic (Fikri, Setiani, and Nurjazuli

2012). According to a study by the International

Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), arsenic is

listed as a category first carcinogen, suggesting that

arsenic can cause human lung cancer, skin cancer

and bladder cancer. There is no minimum threshold,

and small amounts of arsenic can be harmful to the

human body for human health (Singh, Kumar, and

Sahu 2007).

Ginting, E.E. (2018) was reported about arsenic

(As) in rice. Rice circulating in the community still

contains arsenic. The highest arsenic content is

found in rice circulating in Medan of 3.40 mg / kg

(brown rice), 0.33 mg / kg (white rice), and 0.13 mg

/ kg (black rice) (Ginting, Silalahi, and Putra 2018).

Ridwan, M.H. (2017) was studied about arsenic (As)

in spinach using AAS. The results showed that

arsenic levels = 0.35 mg / kg (green spinach) and

0.40 mg / kg (red spinach) (Harahap 2019). The

compound arsenic (As) was believed to have been

exposed to farmers' cabbage, which was exposed by

the eruption of Mount Sinabung. Analysis of

Arsenic Metal using AAS has also been studied in

University of Syiah Kuala Banda Aceh (Nasir,

Sulastri, and Hilda 2018). In this study, a dry

digestion method was developed on soil samples.

The AAS used is a hydride vapor generator. On

garden soil, arsenic was detected at 1.6860 ppm. In

this work, purple cabbage leaves were analyzed

using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS)

by taking samples at 5 points.

2 METHOD

2.1 Material

The materials used include purple cabbage from the

post-eruption area of Sinabung Mount. Nitric acid

65% (Sigma Aldrich), Standard of Arsenic

(Germany), hydrochloric acid 37% (Merck), and

sodium hydroxide 97% (Sigma Aldrich).

2.2 Collecting Samples

The vegetables used as samples were purple cabbage

(Brassica oleracea var. Capitata L) which was in

the area after the eruption of Mount Sinabung.

Simple random sampling technique was applied in

this work. In this method, sample members are

selected directly from the entire population by not

dividing the population according to groups because

they are considered to have the same chance of

being selected. So in this way the population was

considered as one large group, where the sample was

taken to represent the population.

2.3 Destruction Process

Each sample taken from 5 points was weighed 50 g

and then dried in an oven at 100°C for 3 hours. The

samples were then placed in an oven at 400°C for 4

hours. Once in cold conditions, the sample was

dissolved with a mixture of 65% HNO

and 37%

HCl in a ratio of 5: 2. The next process is to heat it

on a hot plate until the sample dissolves. The sample

solution was transferred to a 100 ml volumetric

flask, then add demineralized water to the mark. The

resulting solution was analyzed using an atomic

absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) and equipped

with Vapor Hydride Generation Accessories.at a

wavelength of 193.7 nm.

2.4 Calibration Curves

Arsenic standard solution with a concentration of

1000 μg / ml was used as much as 10 mL and put in

a bottle 100 mL and sufficient with demineralized

water; up to the mark. In this process Arsenic is

produced with a concentration of 100 ppm. 5 mL of

the solution is pipetteed and put into a 500 mL

volumetric flask and then sufficient to mark the line

with aquademineral (concentration 1 μg / ml). The

solution with a concentration of 1 μg / ml was then

diluted into a standard solution with variations of 0.0

0.2 0.4 0.6 and 0.8 μg / ml.

2.5 Arsenic Analysis

The absorbance was measured using an atomic

absorption spectrophotometer at a wavelength of

193.7 nm. The absorbance and concentration values

will be plotted to obtain a calibration curve then the

regression equation is calculated, namely y = ax + b.

3 RESULT

3.1 Destruction Process

Determination of Arsenic (As) in Purple Cabbage

(Brassica oleracea var. Capitata L) taken from

IMC-SciMath 2019 - The International MIPAnet Conference on Science and Mathematics (IMC-SciMath)

594

Berastagi Sub district, Dry destruction was developed

in the furnace at 400° for 3 hours until white ash was

formed, then dissolved using HNO

and washed used

demineralized water, the filtering process was carried

out with Whatmann filter paper No 42.

In this work, HNO

functions to break down the

sample into compounds that are easier to decompose

while demineralized water was used to wash the

sample solution left on the filter paper. The dry

destruction method was used to break the bonds

between the organic compounds and the metal being

analyzed. Nitric acid was an oxidizing agent which

can decompose the sample into its elements.

3.2 Analysis of Arsenic Used AAS

The calibration curve of the arsenic (As) standard

solution was carried out by preparing a standard

series solution with various concentrations at 0.0 0.2

0.4 0.6 and 0.8 μg / ml. The absorbance value was

obtained using Atomic Absorption

Spectrophotometry (AAS). The conditions of the

Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS)

instrument on the measurement of Arsenic

concentration can be seen in Table 3.1 and The

absorbance data of the Arsenic standard curve can

be seen in Figure 3.1 below.

Table 3.1: The conditions of the Atomic Absorption

Spectrophotometry (AAS) instrument.

No Parameter Condition

1 Wavelength (nm) 193,7

2 Flash type air- C

3 Burner Gas Flow Rate 2,0

4 height 7,5

5 Type of Lamp BGC-02

6 Gap Width (nm) 1,3

Table 3.1. shows that the As analysis uses the

AAS nm instrument with a hydride vapor generator

at a wavelength of 193.7 nm. The flash type is air-

, Burner Gas Flow Rate at 2.0, height = 7.5,

type of lamp BGC-02 and Gap Width (nm) = 1.3.

This condition was chosen because it is the optimum

condition for measuring or Arsen in a vegetable

sample.

Figure 3.1: Arsenic standard curve.

Figure 3.1. shows the standard serial curve used

on AAS Instruments. The straight-line equation

obtained is y = 0.0551x + 0.0012. The resulting

correlation coefficient is 0.9947. Based on this data,

it can be seen that there is a positive correlation

between the concentration of the standard series

sample and the resulting absorbance value. Based on

the results of the calculations made, the levels of

Arsenic in purple Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var.

Capitata L) were obtained for points 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

respectively as shown in Figure 3.2. the following :

Figure 3.2: The concentration of Arsenic in Purple

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Capitata L).

Figure 3.2. showed that the levels of Arsenic

obtained in purple cabbage (Brassica oleracea var.

Capitata L) taken at 5 sample points were 0.4755,

0.5808, 0.6534, 0.5517, and 0.5481 mg / Kg

respectively. The results obtained are still below the

threshold, where the maximum value of Arsenic in

vegetables is 1 mg / Kg SNI No. 7387: 2009.

Arsenic is a heavy metal and can cause poisoning

if it accumulates in the human body. Heavy metals

have been detected in many vegetables. Especially

plants grown near highways and air pollution areas,

including plants from factory fumes and motor vehicle

fumes (Šlejkovec et al. 2021). Arsenic accumulates

mainly through plant organs (such as leaves, stems,

roots, and tubers), and accents can also accumulate

through food contaminated with heavy metals. If this

0,90,80,70,60,50,40,30,20,10,0

0,05

0,04

0,03

0,02

0,01

0,00

Concentration of As Standard (μg/ml)

Absorbantion (A)

0,4755

0,5808

0,6534

0,5517

0,5481

Sampel1Sampel2Sampel3Sampel4Sampel5

ConcentrationofAsinPurple

Cabbage

y = 0,0551x + 0,0012

²=

0,9947

Analysis of Arsenic in Purple cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Capitata

595

situation continues for a long time, it can reach levels

that are harmful to human health. Arsenic in the body

can damage health in various ways, namely reducing

the number of red blood cells, decreasing hemoglobin

synthesis which causes anemia. Anemia occurs due to

the binding of arsenic with enzymes (Fikri, Setiani,

and Nurjazuli 2012). This results in inhibition of red

blood synthesis.

The mechanism of entry of Arsenic into the human

body can be through the oral respiratory system, or

directly through the skin surface. As much as 95% of

the arsenic is absorbed in the body, it is bound by

erythrocytes and then removed by the blood to the

body organs and then stored in soft tissues (bone

marrow, nervous system, kidneys, liver) and hard

tissues (bones, nails, hair, teeth) (Nasir, Sulastri, and

Hilda 2018) (Fikri, Setiani, and Nurjazuli 2012).

4 CONCLUSION

This research has analyzed the Arsenic metal in the

purple cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Capitata L)

after the eruption of Mount Sinabung. The sampling

technique uses simple random sampling at 5 points

of collection which is 50 m from Mount Sinabung.

Dry destruction method was developed using

Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers (AAS)

equipped with Vapor Hydride Generation Acessories

at 193.7 nm. The concentration of arsenic in purple

cabbage was obtained at the sampling points 1, 2, 3,

4, and 5 respectively: 0.4755, 0.5808, 0.6534,

0.5517, 0, 5481 mg / Kg. This result is lower than

the maximum limit of arsenic contamination in

vegetables, which is 1.0 mg / Kg. (SNI No. 7387:

2009)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge Rector of

University of Sumatera Utara for the financial

support via Penelitian Dosen Muda Tahun 2019

Contract No. : 318/UN5.2.3.1/PPM/KP-TALENTA

USU/2019 Date 2 April 2019.

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