Vanadium Contents in Foods and Drinking Water, and Estimation of Vanadium Intake in Japanese. A Preliminary Report

Abstract

To estimate the vanadium intake in the Japanese population, the vanadium content in various food and drinking water samples (3 Japanese tap water samples, 19 Japanese mineral water samples. 21 European mineral water samples and 6 North American mineral water samples) was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. All the tap water samples showed values of less than 5 ng/mL as vanadium concentration. Among 46 mineral water samples, 31 samples (67.4 %) showed less than 5 ng/mL and only 3 samples showed more than 50 ng/mL. Among the food samples analyzed, the highest vanadium content (> 1000 ng/g dry weight basis) was observed in several algae and shellfish samples. The moderate vanadium content (100-1000 ng/g dry weight basis) was observed in leaf vegetables, dairy products and white table bread while the low vanadium content (< 50 ng/g) was observed in cereals, soybean, potatoes, fruits, meats, eggs and fishes. Based on the present quantification of vanadium in foods and drinking water and the recent National Nutrition Survey in Japan, the average vanadium intake of Japanese population was preliminarily estimated as about 30 μg/d/capita. The principal vanadium source in the Japanese diet was thought to be wheat products, vegetables and dairy products.