Nutritional composition elemental analysis

Peters KJ, Amsler CD, Amsler MO, McClintock JB, Dunbar RB, Baker BJ (2005) A comparative analysis of the nutritional and elemental composition of macroalgae from the western Antarctic Peninsula. Phycologia 44 453 163... 

An overview of the application of atomic spectrometric techniques to the elemental analysis of milk samples has been given. Elemental composition of milk, its nutritional role, sample preparation methods for analysis and measurement techniques have been described in detail. It appears that ICP-MS and ICP-AES are the most reliable techniques for the multielemental analysis of major, minor, and trace elements in milk samples. 

From a nutritional viewpoint, it is necessary to stress the current importance of carrying out the multielemental analysis of milk samples (either human, cow s, or formula milk) in order to establish the reference values of essential elements and quantify the levels of potentially toxic elements. This fact is more relevant to formula milk production for premature babies as some essential elements are not stored by the fetus during its development in the uterus. Attention has been already paid to the qualitative and quantitative composition (analysis) of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and, of course, essential elements. However, in the case of human nutrition, knowledge on the particular species (compounds) in which a given element is present (chemical speciation) is now urgently needed, because the absorption and bioavailability of the essential element will strongly depend on that particular chemical form. Thus, although only the total element daily requirements have been considered here, it is important to stress that more attention must be paid to the chemical form in which essential and potentially toxic elements are present in milk. Such aspects are dealt with in detail in Chapter 13 by B. Michalke et al. 

The concentration of inorganic components in forage crops varies according to crop maturity, temperature, and soil pH and composition. The analyses of mineral content can reveal soil or management deficiencies as well as optimum harvest time for proper crop management. Actual mineral analyses are used to determine the amount of mineral supplementation to be added to an animal ration for proper nutritional balance. Reference methods of analysis include inductively coupled argon plasma (ICP), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). These techniques are well established for the analysis of mineral elements in whole-plant material. The exact procedures for sample preparation and analysis are well documented. Copies of the procedures may be obtained from instrument manufacturers or are readily found using basic texts for each analytical technique. 

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