RESUMO
The contamination of heavy metals in agricultural ecosystem is one of the most important problems in developing countries as Vietnam. In this study, we investigated the multi-element concentrations in soil, vegetables, soil-to-plant transfer factors and target hazard quotient (THQ) due to the consumption of heavy metals in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In general, the element concentrations in soil and plants were similar to different studies in the world and in the range of allowable values provided by WHO and the Ministry of Health of Vietnam. The transfer factors indicated the influence of element characteristics and plant genotypes on the accumulation and translocation of elements from soil to plants. It is found that I. batatas, B. alba, A, tricolor, O. basilicum, and B. juncea could be potential candidates for phytoremediation in soil contaminated of heavy metals. The results of individual and total THQ were below unity for Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, As, and Sb. The total THQ is in the range from 0.11 for R. sativus to 0.84 for B. alba with the average value of 0.43, in which Mn and As are the major contributions to the total THQ with the average values of 75% and 18%, respectively. The safety assessment based on national regulations and THQ indicated that the consumption of investigated vegetables poses no risk to the consumers.