Abstract:The contents of the twelve mineral elements in the rhizome vegetables, which are K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, Pb, Cd and Cr, were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The samples were digested by microwave technique with nitric acid-hydrogen peroxide mixture solution as the digestion reagent. The method detection limits were from 0.033 to 0.87 μg/L and the relative standard deviations were from 0.1% to 2.4%. This method is rapid, stable, accurate, and suitable for rapid determination of multiple elements in food samples. The results indicate that White radish, the Tian lotus root and Ginger are all rich in the elements which are beneficial to human body, such as K, Ca, Fe, Mg, Zn, Cu, Mn and Se. However, it was found that in their skins, the contents of lead, cadmium?and chromium are higher than the National food hygiene standards. Fortunately, the contents of f lead, cadmium and chromium in the vegetable meat part are basically meeting the national food hygiene standard. We concluded that in order to safely eat these vegetables, one must peel off the vegetable skins before eating.