The Concentrations of 24 Elements in Foodstuffs and the Estimate of Their Daily Intake

Abstract

The concentrations of 24 elements (K, P, Mg, Ca, Na, Fe, Si, Zn, Mn, Al, Cu, B, Sr, Pb, Ti, Ba, Ni, V, Mo, Ag, Cd, Co, Sn and Cr) in 156 foodstuffs collected at the producing districts and the markets in Japan for 5 years from 1975 through 1979, were determined by emission spectrographic method. The following results were obtained:
(1) Trace elements such as Pb and Ni were found to be approximately equally distributed for the most foodstuffs except a higher concentration of Pb in vegetable. The contents of Zn and Cu in acid foodstuffs such as meat, fish, shellfish and cereal were noticeably higher than those in alkaline foodstuffs such as vegetable and fruit. A strikingly positive correlation was noticed (n=155, r=0.71, p= 0.1%) between the contents of Zn and P, as P is markedly abundant in acid foodstuffs. High contents of Mn, B, Sr, Ti, Ba, V, Mo, Si and Al were noticed in crops, vegetable and seaweed, especially Mn in cereal, and B, Sr and Al in seaweed. Further, a marked accumulation of Cd, Ag, Co, Sn and Cr in shellfish, Ag in fungi, and Cd in liver of cattle and pig was found.
(2) With the nutritious table proposed by Kagawa, the daily intake of 19 metallic elements was estimated as 3, 200mg of K, 1, 200mg of P, 300mg of Mg, 660mg of Ca, 380mg of Na, 14mg of Fe, 41mg of Si, 15mg of Zn, 3, 700μg of Mn, 4, 500μg of Al, 1, 600μg of Cu, 1, 000μg of B, 1, 000μg of Sr, 220μg of Pb, 380μg of Ti, 430μg of Ba, 190μg of Ni, 230μg of V and 150μg of Mo.