Element differences and evaluation of the dietary intake from farmed oysters and mussels collected at different sites along the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea

Concentrations of the macroelements Ca, Mg, K and Na, microelements Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn and toxic metals As, Cd, Hg and Pb were determined in oysters and mussels collected at farming sites in the northern, central and south Adriatic Sea. Mean concentrations in oysters were (mg kg⁻¹): As 4.51, Ca 1551, Cd 1.44, Cu 53.6, Cr 0.23, Fe 45.9, Hg 0.047, K 2476, Mg 895, Mn 2.80, Na 7148, Pb 0.52, Zn 675. Mean values in mussels were (mg kg⁻¹): As 4.71, Ca 601, Cd 0.37, Cu 1.91, Cr 0.29, Fe 49.6, Hg 0.026, K 2246, Mg 1043, Mn 2.49, Na 7992, Pb 0.58, Zn 28.8. Significant differences in the concentrations of toxic metals and elements were found in oysters and mussels among farming sites. Obtained Cd, Hg and Pb concentration in oysters and mussels were lower than the limit levels set by the European Community. However, Cd concentration exceeded the limit level of 1 mg kg⁻¹ in oysters from all locations except Lim Bay. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) indicate that oysters are a good source of Ca, Cu and Zn. The higher Cu and Zn concentrations than the toxicity reference values suggest a risk for consumers if larger quantities of oysters are consumed frequently.     

Contents of mineral elements in Swedish market basket diets

The aim of this study was to estimate the average dietary exposure to toxic and essential mineral elements in the Swedish population (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Se, Ca, K, Mg, Na, I). Market baskets were purchased during March-May 1999 in four cities representing the major geographical regions and population centres in Sweden. The market baskets were based on food disappearance data representing more than 90% of annual supply, and were divided into 12 food groups.Large variations between food groups were seen for the average concentrations of most essential elements. Differences between the four cities were relatively small (CoV < 10-20%), exceptions being e.g. Se in cereals and I in meat. Pb concentration varied considerably among food groups ranging from <0.001 mg/kg in soft drinks to 0.027 mg/kg in wine. Cd concentration varied from <0.001 mg/kg in soft drinks and dairy products to 0.024 mg/kg in cereal products. Average contents of the elements were (per/person/day) 1110 mg Ca, 2580 mg Na, 3320 mg K, 285 mg Mg, 11.3 mg Zn, 9.2 mg Fe, 3.5 mg Mn, 1.15 mg Cu, 0.20 mg I, 0.052 mg Se, 0.09 mg Ni, 0.025 mg Cr, 0.011 mg Co, 0.007 mg Pb and 0.010 mg Cd. Compared to a previous study in 1987 no or minor changes in the supply of Ca, Mg, Zn, Mn, Cu and Cd have occurred. The content of Fe was about 40% lower in the present study, mainly due to cessation of flour fortification. The content of Se was about 30% higher. The content of Pb was about 50% lower, probably due to the elimination of Pb from petrol and other measures taken to reduce Pb emissions in Sweden. The average content of essential mineral elements in the Swedish diet was close to or above daily recommended intakes for adults, except for Mg and Fe. The average Pb and Cd content corresponds to 3% and 17% of the JECFA PTWI, respectively. The content of Cd corresponds to 47% of the new TWI established by EFSA in 2009.     

Minerals and trace elements in a collection of wheat landraces from the Canary Islands

Phosphorous, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn and Se were determined in eighteen wheat landraces from Canary Islands and a commercial cultivar. The mean values obtained were: P (2370 ± 333 mg/kg); Na (102 ± 52 mg/kg); K (4363 ± 386 mg/kg); Ca (351 ± 62 mg/kg); Mg (1163 ± 155 mg/kg); Fe (40.0 ± 5.5 mg/kg); Cu (2.68 ± 0.93 mg/kg); Zn (32.1 ± 2.9 mg/kg); Mn (22.1 ± 3.5 mg/kg); Se (67.7 ± 40.4 μg/kg). There were differences (P < 0.05) in the mineral and trace element between the analyzed cultivars, and between the species and subspecies of wheats. Therefore, the Triticum aestivum species had higher mean P, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn concentrations, and a lower mean Se concentration, than Triticum turgidum species. The environment and agronomic practices could affect the genetic information of the seeds determining changes in the mineral and trace element composition. The wheat represents an excellent source of Mn (over 100% of recommended dietary intake, RDI), as well as P, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn and Se (20–50% of RDI). Many correlations were found between the parameters analyzed emphasizing the Cu–Mg (r = 0.691) and Cu–Mn (r = 0.619) correlations. Linear discriminant analysis allowed a good differentiation of the wheat samples according to the cultivar (89.7% of wheat samples classified correctly).     

Major and trace elements levels in multifloral and unifloral honeys in Croatia

Different honey types were collected in Croatia during 2010 and 2011: 7 multifloral orchard honeys, 7 multifloral meadow honeys, 19 black locust, 9 chestnut, 11 lime and 6 sage honeys. Elements were measured using graphite (As, Cu, Cd, Pb, Se) and flame atomic absorption spectrometer (Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Zn) and by mercury analyser (Hg). Significant differences in Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Zn, As and Hg levels were observed between honey types. In chestnut honey were determined (K, Ca, Mg: mg kg⁻¹; Hg, Ad, Cd: μg kg⁻¹): the highest concentrations of K 2824.4, Ca 486.7, Mg 59.1 and Hg 2.52; the lowest of As 24.1 and Cd 2.52. Lime honey has been shown the highest content of Cu (20.6 mg kg⁻¹), Zn (6.78 mg kg⁻¹), Cd (2.14 μg kg⁻¹) and Pb (810.3 μg kg⁻¹). The lowest levels of following elements were determined in black locust honey (Fe, K, Mg: mg kg⁻¹; Hg: μg kg⁻¹): Fe 2.77, K 304.7, Mg 8.02 and Hg 0.82. Sage honey had the lowest Ca and Na content (173.9 and 31.8 mg kg⁻¹). Among the multifloral honeys, the following was determined (Fe, Na, Cu: mg kg⁻¹; As, Pb: μg kg⁻¹): orchard honey – highest of Fe 5.17 and As 276.1, lowest Pb 301; meadow honey – highest Na 36.1, lowest Cu 4.38. The average Ca, Cu and Pb levels found in multifloral honey types were much higher than those reported in other European countries. Calcium levels in lime, chestnut and black locust were higher than those from other countries.     

Mineral elements content of wild growing edible mushrooms from the southeast of Spain

Wild-growing mushrooms could be a potential source of mineral elements The aim of this study was to analyze the mineral composition of 18 species of wild-growing mushrooms collected in a natural park from the Spanish southeast (province of Granada). Ca, Mg, K, Na, Fe, Cu and Zn, were determined by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and P was analyzed colorimetrically by the vanadomolybdate procedure; the accuracy of methods was assessed by the use of certified reference materials. The contribution of mushrooms consumption to the mineral daily recommended intakes was calculated. Although large variations were observed between species, the most abundant mineral elements in the analyzed mushrooms were K and P, with average contents of 29.3 ± 8.1 and 8.60 ± 4.8 g/kg dry matter (dm), respectively. Low Na concentrations were observed (26.5–579 mg/kg dm), with the only exception of Amanita ovoidea, and high Fe values, exceeding in some cases 1000 mg/kg dm (such as in Lactarius deliciosus and Morchella conica). Mushrooms may be significant contributors of K and P in the human diet and also good sources of trace elements, especially Cu and Fe, providing negligible quantities of Na. Strong correlations were observed for Ca/Mg and Cu/Zn contents in the mushrooms analyzed.     

Assessment of in vitro bioacessibility of macrominerals and trace elements in green banana flour

The in vitro gastrointestinal simulation allows estimating the bioaccessible fraction (BF), thus indicating the real nutritional food value. Most studies that use in vitro tests assess the antioxidant capacity of foods, however, the bioaccessibility of elements is still little explored, mainly in functional foods, as the green banana flour (GB). Therefore, this paper describes the total concentration and BF of Mg, Ca, Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe in different brands of GB flours. The chemical composition and phytic acid (PA) concentration were also determined. In general, the highest concentrations (mg 100 g⁻¹) of the total mineral were obtained for Mg (99.2–161) > Ca (27.9–74.7) > Fe (2.6–11). The highest gastrointestinal BF (%) were obtained for Mg (84–101), Mn (80–85), Cu (70–87) and Zn (76–92). The elements that were directly affected by the presence of PA were Ca and Fe, with BF ranging from 24 to 34 % and 21–35 %, respectively, most likely due to the formation of insoluble complexes in the conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. According to achieved results, based on total concentration, proximate composition and bioacessibility of elements, GB can provide an adequate intake of Mg, Cu, Fe and proteins, making its inclusion in the daily diet of great relevance.     

Estimates of Dietary Mineral Micronutrient Supply from Staple Cereals in Ethiopia at a District Level

Recent surveys have revealed substantial spatial variation in the micronutrient composition of cereals in Ethiopia, where a single national micronutrient concentration values for cereal grains are of limited use for estimating typical micronutrient intakes. We estimated the district-level dietary mineral supply of staple cereals, combining district-level cereal production and crop mineral composition data, assuming cereal consumption of 300 g capita⁻¹ day⁻¹ proportional to district-level production quantity of each cereal. We considered Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), maize (Zea mays L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), teff (Eragrostis tef (Zuccagni) Trotter), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) consumption representing 93.5% of the total cereal production in the three major agrarian regions. On average, grain cereals can supply 146, 23, and 7.1 mg capita⁻¹ day⁻¹ of Ca, Fe, and Zn, respectively. In addition, the Se supply was 25 µg capita⁻¹ day⁻¹. Even at district-level, cereals differ by their mineral composition, causing a wide range of variation in their contribution to the daily dietary requirements, i.e., for an adult woman: 1–48% of Ca, 34–724% of Fe, 17–191% of Se, and 48–95% of Zn. There was considerable variability in the dietary supply of Ca, Fe, Se, and Zn from staple cereals between districts in Ethiopia.     

Essential and non-essential/toxic elements in rice available in the Portuguese and Spanish markets

Eighty-six rice samples, representing the most common rice brands sold in Portuguese and Spanish markets (either locally produced or imported), were analyzed for their content of 35 essential and non-essential/toxic elements using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The mean content of essential elements was: 1189 mg/kg (P), 746 mg/kg (K), 294 mg/kg (Mg), 84.7 mg/kg (Ca), 13.3 mg/kg (Zn), 8.8 mg/kg (Na), 8.3 mg/kg (Mn), 7.5 mg/kg (Fe), 1.9 mg/kg (Cu), 0.55 mg/kg (Mo), 0.18 mg/kg (Se) and 0.12 mg/kg (Co). However, significant differences exist between the different types of rice, with brown rice showing the highest content of most essential elements. The daily intake of essential elements resulting from the average Iberian (Portugal and Spain) per capita consumption of rice was calculated and its contribution to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) or Adequate Intake (AI) was estimated. Data showed that rice can be an important dietary source of P, Zn, Mn, Cu, Mo and Se but does not significantly contribute to the daily dietary intake of Ca, Na and Fe. The content of toxic elements was very low, indicating that rice can be regarded as a very safe food.     

Geographical discrimination of Italian honey by multi-element analysis with a chemometric approach

In this study the concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, Na, Al, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Se, Pb, Cd, and As in 39 honey samples of different botanical (orange-blossom, lemon-blossom, chestnut, eucalyptus, acacia, sulla and wildflower honeys) and geographical (Sicily and Calabria, Italy) origin were determined by ICP-OES and ICP-MS. The most abundant minerals decreased in the following order: K (mean value: 1.57 mg g⁻¹) > Ca (0.2 mg g⁻¹) > Mg (0.121 mg g⁻¹) > Na (0.092 mg g⁻¹). Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) values and benchmark levels were employed to assess the honey quality and safety. The data excluded toxicological risks: for an adult of 60 kg, a daily intake of 2 g of honey covered maximum 0.40% of Tolerable Weekly Intake (TWI) for Al, 0.33% of Benchmark Dose of 1% Extra Risk (BMDL01) for Pb, and 0.07% of Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for Ni. Mineral content marks the differences in honey samples from different geographical origin despite the botanical factor weight and can be used as a tool to assess the traceability of honeys. The discrimination between Sicilian and Calabrian honeys was achieved by Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and also the results of Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) indicate that the 100% of total samples are correctly classified. This research contributes to the studies to determine the geographical origin of honeys.     

Content of macro- and microelements and evaluation of the intake of different dairy products consumed in Croatia

Macromineral and microelement contents were measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry in 51 dairy products (milk, four types of cheese and butter). Significant differences in the concentrations of Ca, K, Na, Mg, Zn and Cu were observed (p < 0.05, all) between dairy products. Higher levels of Ca, Na, Mg and Se were measured in hard cheese than in semi-hard, fresh and cream cheese samples. The highest mean levels of elements were measured in products (mg kg⁻¹): milk: K 2070; hard fat cheese: Ca 10,700, Na 10,300, Mg 440, Zn 91.3, Se 0.78; cream cheese: Cu 3.12, Fe 3.9; butter: Se 0.79. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) calculated for milk show contribution to the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for the elements (%): Ca 42, K 13.2, Mg 10.3–13.3, Zn 11.4–15.7, Se 13.1. The highest contribution of elements to the RDA values was determined for hard fat cheese (%): Na 7.93, Zn 16.6–22.8, Se 28.4. However, a contribution to the RDA of less than 1% was determined for K, Mg and Fe in cheeses. The contribution of Cu to the RDA value ranged in cheese samples between 2.78 and 6.93%, though this was less than 1% in milk.     

发育期胎儿组织中元素的含量分布和意义

对１１８例１６～２４、２５～３２和大于３２ｗｋ的正常胎儿组织颞叶、额叶、顶叶、枕叶、小脑、脑干、延髓、海马，肝脏和股骨肌，母体血清和胎盘用等离子发射光谱（ＩＣＰ）法测定了锌、铁、铜、钙、镁、镉、铬、铝、铅、钠、钾和磷的含量。结果表明，发育期间胎儿组织中元素的含量分布与器官的发育及功能的成熟有关。     

Determination and chemometric evaluation of the mineral profile of maize flours

Maize flour is a food rich in nutrients important for the proper functioning of the human body. Nevertheless, for the determination of metals in maize flour there are few studies, which raise concern about quality and its mineral composition for consumption. In this work, it was evaluated the concentration of essential (Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mg, Cr and Zn) and non-essential (Cd and Cr) metals in yellow and white maize flour samples produced in Paraná State - Brazil. For this purpose, it was performed a sample treatment employing wet digestion in a digester block and determination of metals by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The highest concentrations found in the flour were Ca (55.4 mg kg⁻¹) and Mg (86.9 mg kg⁻¹) and the lowest concentrations were Cr (0.11 mg kg⁻¹) and Cd (0.01 mg kg⁻¹). In yellow and white maize flour the highest concentration was for Mg, 81.5 mg kg⁻¹and 98.4 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that some samples had a similar mineral profile, such as the relationship with the place of origin of the cereal.     

Mineral and phenolic concentrations of mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek var. radiata] grown in semi-arid tropical India

Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek var. radiata] is an important pulse crop grown in south, east and southeast Asia. Mungbean seed samples harvested from field trials conducted in two environments in Hyderabad, India were utilized to determine genetic variation in the concentrations of minerals Fe, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, Na, K and P and to determine the concentrations of phytic acid (PA) and phenolic compounds. Significant variations in Fe (35–87 mg/kg), Ca (1190–1580 mg/kg), Mg (970–1700 mg/kg), Zn (21–62 mg/kg), Cu (7.5–11.9 mg/kg), Mn (9.8–19.6 mg/kg), Se (0.21–0.91 mg/kg), K (8670–14,100 mg/kg) and P (2760–5170 mg/kg) were recorded in mungbean lines commonly grown in South Asia. The effect of the environment on the concentration of minerals in mungbean lines was observed. The Fe concentration of lines CN 9-5 and Harsha doubled when grown in soil with increased availability of Fe. The low PA concentration (2.6–3.8 g/kg) and the presence of phenolic compounds such as ferulic acid (1540–3400 μg/g) in mungbean may lead to increased bioavailability of micronutrients. Nutrient-rich mungbean should be included in diets to combat micronutrient malnutrition.     

Rapid assessment of metal contamination in commercial fruit juices by inductively coupled mass spectrometry after a simple dilution

A simple and fast method for the determination of Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, V and Zn in fruit juices samples, by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after only a sample dilution, is proposed. For comparison, the samples were also digested with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a microwave oven. The same conditions could be used for aqueous standard solution and diluted sample and the sensitivity was similar in both media, thus external calibration against aqueous standard solutions could be used for quantification. The results were in agreement with those obtained after digestion, according to the t-test at a 95% confidence level. The good accuracy was also confirmed by the recovery test. The precision expressed by the relative standard deviation (RSD) was between 1 and 3%. The detection limits were between 0.1 (Pb) and 2000 μg L⁻¹ (Ca). Similar values for detection limits and RSD were obtained after sample digestion or when the internal standard was not used. The compositions of 20 samples were evaluated by multivariate analysis techniques: principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), showing that samples are grouped by the brand and not by the fruit, what could be due to soil characteristics where the plant was grown and to the different processing and storage conditions used by the different brands, including water and additives.     

Distribution of essential and non-essential elements in rice located in a Protected Natural Reserve “Marjal de Pego-Oliva”

Anthropogenic agronomic practices could negatively affect the agricultural soil which is the main source for inorganic arsenic (i-As) contamination in rice fields due to flooding. The presence of essential elements could be impacted by food industry units operations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of husking and polishing on mineral essential elements and inorganic As species in rice from Protected Natural Reserve “Marjal de Pego-Oliva”. The amount of all studied elements was significantly affected by husking (a decrease of Ca, Na and Pb, 360 to 101 mg kg⁻¹, 202 to 46.9 mg kg^-1 and 17.9 to 5.70 μg kg⁻¹, respectively) and by polishing (a reduction of Na, Mg, P, K, Ca and Cu, 46.9–26.8 mg kg⁻¹, 1600 to 481 mg kg⁻¹, 4050 to 1530 mg kg⁻¹, 2780 to 882 mg kg⁻¹, 101 to 53.7 mg kg⁻¹, and 3600 to 2840, μg kg⁻¹, respectively).The replacement of white rice (WR) to brown rice (BR) could enhance the daily dietary intake of essential elements to reach the dietary reference values and the maximum i-As (40.9 and 44.9 i-As μg kg^-1 for BR and WR, respectively) was below the maximum level recently established by European Food Safety Agency.     

Nutritional and morphological diversity of breadfruit (Artocarpus, Moraceae): Identification of elite cultivars for food security

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is an underutilized staple crop developed over thousands of years by the indigenous peoples of Oceania. The current study evaluated protein and mineral content, fruit morphology and flour production in 94 cultivars of breadfruit grown within a single location at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii. Across the cultivars, fruit weight ranged from 0.47–3.54 kg, the edible portion of the fruit after seeds, skin and core were removed ranged from 0.30 to 3.11 kg and the average protein content varied from 2.7 to 6.2% by dry weight. Depending on the cultivar, the fruit contained on a dry weight basis 283–1491 μg/g Ca, 3.6–31 ng/g Co, 1.1–5.6 μg/g Cu, 6.2–21.2 μg/g Fe, 7.5–16.2 mg/g K, 630–2281 μg/g Mg, 70–843 μg/g Na, 846–2379 μg/g P, and 1.5–10.7 μg/g Zn, representing significantly more calcium, cobalt, iron, potassium, and magnesium, comparable phosphorous, and slightly lower manganese and zinc than refined wheat, rice and corn flours. Together, these data are indicative of the high degree of phenotypic diversity of cultivated varieties of breadfruit and the potential for identification of individual cultivars that are particularly good sources of mineral and protein nutrition.     

Mineral and trace element concentrations in seaweeds from the sub-Antarctic ecoregion of Magallanes (Chile)

The P, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn concentrations were determined in seventy-three samples of seaweeds belonging to different genera (classified as brown, red and green seaweeds), which were collected from three zones in the sub-Antarctic ecoregion of Magallanes (Chile). There were clear differences in the concentrations between the considered genera. Brown seaweed had the highest mean K (31.4 g/kg) and Ca (10.3 g/kg) concentrations compared with red (14.1 g/kg for K and 3.11 g/kg for Ca) and green (13.9 g/kg for K and 7.58 g/kg for Ca) seaweed, and green seaweed had the highest mean Mg (15.0 g/kg), Fe (1260 mg/kg) and Cu (7.46 mg/kg) concentrations. The consumption of a serving (8 g) from of the three groups of brown, red and green seaweed is a good source of Fe, Mg and Mn (>25% of the Dietary Recommended Intake). Significant differences were observed in the mean concentrations of all the minerals and trace elements, except for Fe, Cu and Mn, between the three collection zones. Factor and discriminant analysis were used to differentiate the type of seaweed and sampling zone. Besides which, good classifications were obtained according to the type of seaweed using discriminant analysis.     

Comparison of the chemical composition of British and Continental European bottled waters by multivariate analysis

The elemental composition of 37 bottled waters from the UK and continental Europe has been determined. Ca, K, Mg, Na, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sr, U, V and Zn were determined by ICP-OES and ICP-MS, in addition to inorganic and total organic carbon. The composition of all the waters analysed fell within the guideline values recommended by the World Health Organization. Na, Ca, Sr and Ba showed the widest variation in concentrations, ranging over two orders of magnitude. Levels of Fe were below the limit of detection (30 μg L⁻¹) in all samples analysed. Waters produced in the UK generally showed lower levels of most major elements and trace metals, with the exception of Ba (up to 455 μg L⁻¹). Italian waters showed the highest concentrations of Sr (3000–8000 μg L⁻¹) and U (8–13 μg L⁻¹), whereas waters produced in Slovakia and the Czech Republic showed the highest levels of Pb (0.7–4 μg L⁻¹). The use of multivariate analysis reveals an association between high alkaline metal content and high concentrations of As and Cr. There also appears to be a correlation between high Ca and Sr content and high levels of U. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicates that the composition of bottled water can be distinguished primarily by the country of origin, over other factors including the geological environment of the source. This would suggest that composition reflects, and is biased towards, consumer preferences.     

Content of major and minor mineral elements in weekly diets of eleven Finnish hospitals

As part of the research programme of the Sub-network on Trace Element Status in Foods and Diets of the FAO Cooperative Network on Trace Elements, the concentrations of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Mo and Ni were determined in homogenized weekly diets collected from 11 hospitals throughout Finland. Samples were analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry using certified reference materials to ensure analytical quality control. The average energy content of the diets was 8.6 MJ (2045 kcal). The average mineral concentrations were as follows: Na 0.45 g/MJ; K 0.49 g/MJ; Ca 160 mg/MJ; Mg 42 mg/MJ; Fe 1.6 mg/MJ; Zn 1.6 mg/MJ; Mn 0.70 mg/MJ; Cu 0.18 mg/MJ; Mo 12 μg/MJ; and Ni 14 μg/MJ. In conclusion, the quality of Finnish hospital diets with regard to major and minor mineral elements is acceptable with the exceptions of iron, zinc and copper, whose intake may be limited at low energy levels.     

Levels of major,minor and trace elements in commercially available enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.), Cheesman) food products (Kocho and Bulla) in Ethiopia

Kocho and Bulla are starchy foods obtained from fermenting edible part of the leaf sheath and corm of enset plant (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.), Cheesman). In the present study, the levels of selected metals (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Ni, Cr, Co, Cd, and Pb) in Kocho and Bulla sampled from different markets of Woliso (Oromiya region) and Welkite (SNNPRG) of Ethiopia were analyzed. Known weight of oven-dried Kocho and Bulla samples were wet-digested using 2 mL of (69–72%) HNO₃ and 2 mL of (70%) HClO₄ for 2 h at variable temperature (120–270 °C). The contents of the minerals in the digests were analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectrometer. The following concentrations (mean±95% confidence limit) (μg/g) were recorded in Kocho and Bulla, respectively: K (3567±16) and (792±4); Na (575±3) and (422±4); Ca (541±7) and (416±4); Mg (235±10) and (74±1); Fe (114±5) and (48.2±1.3); Zn (29±0.6) and (19.2±0.7); Cu (3.85±0.25) and (2.77±0.17); Mn (9.34±0.28) and (2.99±0.14); Ni (⩽5.61±0.29) and (⩽4.0±0.2); Cr (5.73±0.15) and (⩽5.38±0.22); Co (5.8±0.14) and (5.45±0.27). The toxic metals Cd and Pb were not detected in both types of foodstuffs. The concentration of K was highest followed by Na, Ca, and Mg in both foodstuffs. From trace elements analyzed, Zn was found to be highest next to Fe. Generally, Kocho contained higher concentration compared to Bulla for the majority of the mineral nutrients determined. In general, Kocho and Bulla are rich in Ca and Zn compared to other similar foodstuffs and contains comparable concentration of Cu, Fe, and Mn. Besides Kocho and Bulla are free of heavy metal (Cd and Pb) contaminations compared to others.