Establishment of analytical method on Shimadzu Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) for toxic elements in fruits

Introduction

Fruits and vegetables have great importance in our diet because they have various nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Sometimes they also contain elements like calcium, iron etc. which play very important role in various biological functions of human body. In addition to these important elements, some elements which do not have any role in biological functions may get accumulated in fruits and vegetables. Among these elements, toxic elements like lead, cadmium and mercury are notable. In the last decade, the pollution caused by toxic elements has raised public awareness. The scientists all over the world are studying harmful effects caused by toxic elements. These elements may be deposited from the earth’s surface and absorbed by fruits and vegetables. They are transferred from plant body to human beings. Elemental content of fruits need to be checked to assure their usage for consumption. We must have a sensitive and reliable analytical method for elemental quantitation. Here we present an ICP-MS method for determination of toxic elements in fruit sample. Table 1 shows Maximum Residual Limits (MRLs) as per FSSAI Limit Of Quantifications (LOQs) were set as per commission regulation (EU) 836/2011.

January 10, 2020 GMT