A simple and highly sensitive direct spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of L-ascorbic acid. Potassium cyanide (9.21x10-5 mol dm-3) was used to stabilize ascorbic acid in aqueous medium. Th e molar absorptivity of the proposed method, which does not require an extraction procedure, was 1.38x104 dm3 mol-1 cm-1 at 264 nm. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of 0.26 – 12.0 μg ascorbic acid cm-3. Th e relative standard deviation was 1.40 % for the determination of 8.0 μg ascorbic acid cm-3 (n = 7).

Summary Heavy metals are natural ingredients of many plant cultures, and they are increasingly found in the soil as the main group of inorganic contaminants. The consumption of food products, either fresh or processed, with an increased concentration of heavy metals leads to the deposition of these metals in the body, which further leads to a series of consequences in the form of cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological problems. The behavior of heavy metals in soil and their accumulation by plants depends on many factors, such as soil structure, soil pH value, organic matter content, adsorption complex and other factors. Therefore, the aim of this work is to present the influence of physical and chemical soil parameters on the distribution of heavy metals (Pb(II) and Cd(II)) in plant cultures and to assess the health risk pollution of the mentioned metals in plant cultures (cucumber, pepper, tomato, eggplant).