SIMULTANEOUS MULTIELEMENT ANALYSIS OF SO- CALLED HEALTH FOODS BY INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-ATOMIC EMISSION-SPECTROSCOPY

Thirty elements in thirty-seven foods (forty-three samples as a whole) that are commercially called health food were determined simultaneous ly by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES ). All samples were digested with nitric acid using a Teflon vessel di gestion bomb. The analytical data for reference standard materials by this method show good agreement with the certificate values for the ma terials. The ICP-AES is very powerful for the determination of multiel ements in the food. It takes only 3 minutes for the determination of 3 0 elements in a sample solution. Arsenic, boron, cadmium and potassium concentrations were higher in the food containing Tangle than those i n the others. Further, aluminium, copper and zinc concentrations in th e foods containing Oyster tissue and barium, magnesium and manganese i n the foods containing Kidachiaroe (Aloe arborescens MILL.) were remar kably higher than those in the other foods. On the foods containing ve getable oil or animal oil, the levels of the determined elements were significantly low. In the several foods, the additives have a strong i nfluence on the concentrations of some elements: sodium ferrous citrat e and powdered Bovine bone for the foods containing Kidachiaroe and Ma nnentake (Ganoderma lucidum) respectively have significant effects on the concentrations of iron and sodium in the former and chromium and l ead in the latter, respectively. It seems important to check the safet y of the health foods, because several toxic elements such as cadmium, lead and chromium were detected in a few foods.