Elemental profiling of smokeless tobacco samples using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, their chemometric analysis and assessment of health hazards

Background: Smokeless tobacco (ST), locally called shammah, is a form of tobacco that is widely used in Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia. Objective: A total of 21 ST samples were collected from the southern province of Jazan for elemental analysis. Materials and Methods: These samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine their element concentrations. Chemometric multivariate analysis such as hierarchical cluster analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and principal component analysis were performed for better understanding and interpretation of the data. Concentrations obtained were used to determine the users' daily and weekly intake of elements and were compared with the acceptable daily intake and provisional tolerable weekly intake. Results: Metal ions present in maximum concentrations were strontium (11608.71 μg/kg) and manganese (3543.10 μg/kg), whereas those with minimum concentrations were silver (53.90 μg/kg) and chromium (62.33 μg/kg). Conclusion: Although the concentrations of all the elements fell under the safe limit, the concentrations of many toxic elements were significantly high and resulted in various health hazards on the intake of these elements with other sources.