Heavy metal contamination of soil and agricultural products is an environmental problem, has an adverse effect on the quality of food crops, and is a danger to food security and public health. The concentration of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) in surface soils and edible hypocotyls tissues of two ecotypes of Lepidium meyenii Walpers (maca) was evaluated in three districts of the Junín province, Peru. In addition, the risk to human health due to exposure to heavy metals from maca consumption was evaluated. Soil samples and maca hypocotyls were collected in areas influenced by mining and metallurgical activity. The mean concentration of Cd (0.32 ± 0.23 mg/kg) and Pb (0.20 ± 0.12 mg/kg) in maca samples exceeded the values established by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization. The bioconcentration factor was less than 1. The estimated daily intake of each metal was below the oral reference dose. The hazard quotient and hazard index were less than 1, it is unlikely to cause non-cancer adverse health outcome. The cancer risk for As and Cd was higher than the tolerable limit (1 × 10−6) in children and adults. In the district of Ondores, the cancer risk for As in children was higher than the acceptable limit (1 × 10−4). Residents of the Ondores district would be more exposed to As and Cd from consumption of maca hypocotyls. It is very important to carry out continuous monitoring of other toxic metals in different ecotypes of maca (red, black, yellow, purple, creamy white, pink) in order to evaluate the variation in the accumulation of heavy metals and the level of toxicity of each metal between ecotypes. / Revisón por pares

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were commercially produced between 1929 and the mid 1980s with industrial purposes. The same properties that interested industrially, as chemical inertness, high dielectric constant, resistance to burning; were also responsible for the spreading of the PCBs in all of the environmental compartments, mainly due to the inadequate discard of equipments that contained PCBs (electronics), contaminating the water and the soil. They are persistent and non-biodegradable compounds that get accumulated in the environment, influencing all of the organisms in the food chain, and consequently all the food that is part of this chain. Human exposure to PCBs is the result of the large consumption of contaminated food, and also by inhalation and dermal absorption in hazardous environments, being the ingestion by contaminated food the main route of exposure. From conducted studies, its harmful effects to humans were found. Cereals and legumes deserve special attention in our diet, because, besides being essential food of easy acquisition, they are part of the general population s daily diet. Among these, rice and beans. For this reason, and because of the existence of environmental contamination by PCBs, it becomes of great interest to detect polychlorinated biphenyl residues in these foods. Because of this, combined with the persistence of the PCBs and their maleficent effects to humans, the general aim of this study was to identify and quantify indicator PCB residues in rice and bean samples obtained of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the year 2010. It is also intended to calculate the estimated daily ingestion of PCB residues from the contamination existing in rice and beans, and determination of fat content to correlate with levels of PCBs. The determination of the PCB residues was performed by gas chromatograph coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), in the electron impact mode, after the extraction of the compound through the QuEChERS method. In the rice samples, average values of 0,05 ng g-1 for the PCB 28, 0,67 ng g-1 for the PCB 52, 0,24 ng g-1 for the PCB 101, 0,27 ng g-1 for the PCB 118, 1,28 ng g-1 for the PCB 138, 1,43 ng g-1 for the PCB 153 and 0,45 ng g-1 for the PCB 180. The PCB 52 was the most frequent, being found in 72,7% of the rice samples, followed by the PCBs 153 (54,5%), 138 (50,0%), 101 and 180 (13,6%), 118 (9,0%) and 28 (0,0%). In the beans samples, average values of 0,14 ng g-1 were found for the PCB 52, 1,63 ng g-1 for the PCB 101, 1,33 ng g-1 for the PCB 118, 0,92 ng g-1 for the PCB 138 and 0,05 ng g-1 for the PCBs 28, 153 and 180. The PCB 118 was the most frequent, being detected in 22,2% of the beans samples, followed by the PCBs 138 (11,0%), 52 and 101 (5,5%), and 28, 153 and 180 (0,0%). It was also observed that rice presented higher PCB average levels than beans. The estimated daily intake of PCBs, this was 7.82 ng kg-1 and 3.14 ng kg-1 body weight per day, for rice and beans, respectively. In relation to the percentage of fat rice had a fat content of 0.32% and 1.10% for beans. However, it is extremely important studies of this nature, because through this research it was concluded that there are still PCB residues in food of Rio Grande do Sul. / Bifenilos Policlorados (PCBs) foram produzidos comercialmente entre 1929 e meados de 1980 para propósitos industriais. As mesmas propriedades que despertaram o interesse industrial, tais como: inércia química, alta constante dielétrica, resistência à queima; foram responsáveis pelo espalhamento dos PCBs em todos os compartimentos ambientais, principalmente devido ao descarte inadequado de equipamentos que os continham (eletro-eletrônicos), contaminando a água e o solo. São compostos persistentes e não biodegradáveis que se acumulam no meio ambiente influenciando todos os organismos da cadeia alimentar, e conseqüentemente todos os alimentos que fazem parte desta cadeia. A exposição humana aos PCBs é o resultado do amplo consumo de alimentos contaminados, como também pela inalação e absorção dérmica em ambientes de risco, sendo a ingestão através de alimentos contaminados a principal via de exposição. A partir de estudos realizados, constatou-se o seu efeito nocivo aos seres humanos. Os cereais e as leguminosas merecem grande destaque em nossa alimentação, pois além de serem alimentos essenciais e de fácil aquisição, fazem parte da alimentação diária da população em geral. Dentre esses, cita-se o arroz e o feijão. Por esta razão e pela existência de contaminação ambiental por PCBs, torna-se de grande interesse detectar resíduos de bifenilos policlorados nesses alimentos. Diante disso, aliado com a persistência dos PCBs e seus efeitos maléficos aos seres humanos, o objetivo geral do presente trabalho foi identificar e quantificar resíduos de PCBs indicadores em amostras de arroz e feijão obtidas do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, no ano de 2010. Objetivou-se ainda calcular a ingestão diária estimada (IDE) de resíduos de PCBs, a partir da contaminação existente no arroz e feijão, e a determinação do teor de gordura para correlacionar com os níveis de PCBs. A determinação dos resíduos de PCBs foi realizada por cromatógrafo a gás acoplado a espectrometria de massas (GC-MS), no modo impacto de elétrons, após a extração dos compostos através do método QuEChERS. Nas amostras de arroz, foram encontrados valores médios de 0,05 ng g-1 para o PCB 28, 0,67 ng g-1 para o PCB 52, 0,24 ng g-1 para o PCB 101, 0,27 ng g-1 para o PCB 118, 1,28 ng g-1 para o PCB 138, 1,43 ng g-1 para o PCB 153 e 0,45 ng g-1 para o PCB 180. O PCB 52 foi o mais freqüente, sendo detectado em 72,7% das amostras de arroz, seguido dos PCBs 153 (54,5%), 138 (50,0%), 101 e 180 (13,6%), 118 (9,0%) e 28 (0,0%). Nas amostras de feijão, foram encontrados valores médios de 0,14 ng g-1 para o PCB 52, 1,63 ng g-1 para o PCB 101, 1,33 ng g-1 para o PCB 118, 0,92 ng g-1 para o PCB 138 e 0,05 ng g-1 para os PCBs 28, 153 e 180. O PCB 118 foi o mais freqüente, sendo detectado em 22,2% das amostras de feijão, seguido dos PCBs 138 (11,0%), 52 e 101 (5,5%), e 28, 153 e 180 (0,0%). Observou-se ainda que o arroz apresentou níveis médios de PCBs superiores ao feijão. Quanto a ingesta diária estimada de PCBs, esta foi de 7,82 ng Kg-1 e de 3,14 ng Kg-1 de peso corporal por dia, para o arroz e o feijão, respectivamente. Em relação ao percentual de gordura o arroz apresentou um teor de gordura de 0,32% e o feijão de 1,10%. No entanto, é de extrema impôrtancia estudos desta natureza, pois através desta pesquisa concluiu-se que ainda existem resíduos de PCBs em alimentos do Rio Grande do Sul.