Abstract
Background: Palm wine and locally produced alcoholic beverages are widely consumed in rural communities in Africa, due to their perceived health benefits. However, their safety regarding heavy and trace metal contamination is lacking, particularly in Ghana. This study quantitatively assessed heavy-metal contamination in fresh palm wine (FPW), fermented palm wine (FEPW), freshly brewed alcohol (FAL), and stored alcohol (SAL) from 5 brewing sites in the Ashanti region of Ghana.
Methods: Palm wine and locally brewed alcohols were collected and wet digested with nitric acid. Digested samples were analyzed for heavy and trace metals using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS).
Results: The mean concentration (mg/L) of five selected metals, namely zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), Lead (Pb), and silver (Ag), were investigated. Pb and Ag were below detectable limits across all investigated sites. Cu and Fe had the highest mean concentrations, with Cu at 25.200 mg/L in SAL and Fe at 21.060 mg/L in FEPW. Al and Zn remained consistently low across all samples, generally maintaining levels below 1.200 mg/L and 0.700 mg/L, respectively.
Conclusion: The concentrations of metals in the raw palm sap and brewed alcohol (akpeteshie) generally exceeded recommended levels, rendering them unsafe for consumption. However, Cu levels in all fresh palm wine and all analyzed metals in fresh palm wine from Juaben 2 and Effiduasi Asokore were within moderately safe limits.
Keywords: Akpeteshie production; Atomic absorption spectrophotometer; Local distillation; Sample digestion.
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