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Trace element concentrations in commercial gluten-free amaranth bars

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Abstract

Gluten-free foods are specially designed to be consumed by people who suffer from celiac disease or some type of gluten intolerance. Few studies are currently available about trace element contents in gluten-free foods. This study aimed at analyzing the concentrations of 15 trace elements in commercial gluten-free amaranth bars by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, after wet digestion by microwave system. The accuracy of the method was determined by the use of a standard reference material (NIST SRM 1570a Spinach Leaves) and recovery experiments, obtaining satisfactory values in all cases. The contents of the investigated trace elements in gluten-free amaranth bars were found to be in the range: Al (3.7–8.1 µg/g), Co (0.02–0.07 µg/g), Cr (0.05–0.25 µg/g), Cu (1.80–6.12 µg/g), Fe (7.0–14.5 µg/g), Mn (6.5–10.6 µg/g), Ni (0.30–0.78 µg/g), Pb (0.25–1.12 µg/g), Sr (1.4–2.7 µg/g), and Zn (4.7–9.8 µg/g). Some of the essential trace elements were found to have good nutritional contribution in accordance to daily nutrient recommendations for adults. The concentrations of non-essential elements such as Al, Ni and Sr, were very low in all samples. The levels of toxic elements such as As, Cd, Sb and Tl were not detected in any of the samples, and do not pose any threat to consumers. However, the Pb concentrations were above the safety limits in 8.9 % of the studied samples. Therefore, regular monitoring of this toxic metal should be conducted in the future, to ensure the quality of the gluten-free products for human health.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas and the Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Argentina. Additionally, we are grateful to the anonymous reviewer for providing important comments that led to significant improvements of this article.

Conflict of interest

Melisa J. Hidalgo, Sonia C. Sgroppo, José M. Camiña, Eduardo J. Marchevsky and Roberto G. Pellerano declare they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with humans or animal subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Av. Libertad 5470, 3400, Corrientes, Argentina

    Melisa J. Hidalgo, Sonia C. Sgroppo & Roberto G. Pellerano

  2. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de la Pampa (Incitap-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de la Pampa, Av. Uruguay 151, 6300, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina

    José M. Camiña

  3. Instituto de Química San Luis (Inquisal-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Av. Ejército de los Andes 950, 5700, San Luis, Argentina

    Eduardo J. Marchevsky

  4. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    José M. Camiña, Eduardo J. Marchevsky & Roberto G. Pellerano

Authors
  1. Melisa J. Hidalgo
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  2. Sonia C. Sgroppo
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  3. José M. Camiña
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  4. Eduardo J. Marchevsky
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  5. Roberto G. Pellerano
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Correspondence to Roberto G. Pellerano.

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Hidalgo, M.J., Sgroppo, S.C., Camiña, J.M. et al. Trace element concentrations in commercial gluten-free amaranth bars. Food Measure 9, 426–434 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-015-9250-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-015-9250-7

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