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Determination of Some Chemical Elements of Common Spices Used by Algerians and Possible Health Risk Assessment

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Abstract

Spices in general owned a very important reputation in the herbal plantae Kingdom; they have been used for food flavoring, preservation, aroma, and coloring for more than 2000 years. Moreover, spices are classified as all natural, and for this reason, they attracted a large scale of consumers worldwide; however, since most of spices are consumed in their natural form (without grounded them), it is necessary to monitor their consumed quantities. Hence, the aim of this work was to quantify major and trace elements contained in some Algerian kitchen frequently used spices (Piper nigrum L., Nigella sativa L., and Pimpinella anisum L.). Spice materials were washed well then pass through an instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Results revealed the existence of twenty-six elements among them: K, Ca, Fe, and Na which showed significant concentrations, consecutively, while Ce, Eu, Lu, Sm, and Tb were presented at low concentrations. Furthermore, these spices consumption assessment results were found to be well below the tolerance limits compared with the recommended values (RDA) suggested by the FAO association.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Pr. Barbara Sawicka for performing the statistical analyses and for their valuable help and guidance; our thanks extended to Mr. Idir Abdellani, General Director of CRNB, for his help, as well as the Editor and Reviewers for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reactor Chemistry Department, Nuclear Research Centre of Birine, P.O. Box 180, Ain Oussera, 17200, Djelfa, Algeria

    Mohammed Messaoudi & Samir Begaa

  2. Chemistry Department, University of Hamma Lakhdar, B.P.789, 39000, El-Oued, Algeria

    Mohammed Messaoudi & Hamza Ouakouak

  3. Technical Platform of Physico-Chemical Analysis (PTAPC-Laghouat-CRAPC), University of Amar Telidji, Road of El kheneg, 03000, Laghouat, Algeria

    Adel Benarfa

Authors
  1. Mohammed Messaoudi
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  2. Adel Benarfa
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  3. Hamza Ouakouak
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  4. Samir Begaa
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Contributions

Dr. Mohammed Messaoudi (first author) conceptualization, investigation, writing—original draft, and project administration.

Dr. Adel Benarfa (2nd author) methodology, investigation, and writing—original draft.

Dr. Hamza Ouakouak (3rd author) data analysis and contributed to writing and revision of the manuscript.

Mr. Samir Begaa (corresponding author) conceived, designed, and developed research project and contributed to data analysis and manuscript writing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samir Begaa.

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The research work presented in this research article is original and is not submitted/presented elsewhere in any form for consideration to publish.

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Messaoudi, M., Benarfa, A., Ouakouak, H. et al. Determination of Some Chemical Elements of Common Spices Used by Algerians and Possible Health Risk Assessment. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 2498–2509 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02817-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02817-9

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