Abstract
Thirty elements in thirty-seven foods (forty-three samples as a whole) that are commercially called health food were determined simultaneously by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). All samples were digested with nitric acid using a Teflon vessel digestion bomb. The analytical data for reference standard materials by this method show good agreement with the certificate values for the materials. The ICP-AES is very powerful for the determination of multielements in the food. It takes only 3 minutes for the determination of 30 elements in a sample solution. Arsenic, boron, cadmium and potassium concentrations were higher in the food containing Tangle than those in the others. Further, aluminium, copper and zinc concentrations in the foods containing Oyster tissue and barium, magnesium and manganese in the foods containing Kidachiaroe (Aloe arborescens MILL.) were remarkably higher than those in the other foods. On the foods containing vegetable oil or animal oil or animal oil, the levels of the determined elements were significantly low. In the several foods, the additives have a strong influence on the concentrations of some elements : sodium ferrous citrate and powdered Bovine bone for the foods containing Kidachiaroe and Mannentake (Ganoderma lucidum) respectively have significant effects on the concentrations of iron and sodium in the former and chromium and lead in the latter, respectively. It seems important to check the safety of the health foods, because several toxic elements such as cadmium, lead and chromium were detected in a few foods.
