Abstract
Knowledge of the elemental composition and content of plants is very important in considering the diet of humans. However, to our knowledge, there have been few studies concerning the trace elements found in plants. Therefore, we analyzed the principal elemental components in plants. In this study, we performed quantitative analysis of ten elements (Na, Mg, Cl, K, V, Mn, Fe, Zn, Rb, Se) in the flesh and rind of ten varieties of grapes using non-destructive thermal neutron activiation analysis and obtained the following results. 1) Of the ten elements, Se was not found in determinable amounts. The remaining nine elements were distributed widely over a range from 10-2μg/g to 104μg/g. 2) The distribution of elemental contents was in the order K>Mg>Cl>Na>Fe>Rb>Zn, Mn>V in both the flesh and rind. 3) Among the specimens, especially the flesh, there was extensive fluctuation in the coefficients of elemental contents. In rinds, there were large values for every essential element except Fe.
