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Novel Analytical Techniques for Detecting Trace Elements in Foods
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Novel Analytical Techniques for Detecting Trace Elements in Foods

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Analytical Methods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 December 2022) | Viewed by 20533

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Elias Bou-Maroun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
AgroSup Dijon, Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, PAM UMR A 02.102, Food and Wine Science & Technology, F-21000 Dijon, France
Interests: molecularly imprinted polymers; analytical chemistry; food chemistry; sample preparation; chromatography; trace analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Trace elements are one of the most followed analytes in food matrices. The main sources of trace elements in food are raw materials, soil, water, and food processing. Human intake of trace elements impacts human health. Food scientists are mainly interested in the essentiality, the risk assessment, the toxicity, the bioavailability, the bioaccessibility, and the speciation of trace elements in food. In all these cases, novel analytical techniques have been developed to overcome the drawbacks of the existing ones. The main challenges remain efficiency, sensitivity, green chemistry, selectivity, rapidity, and the cost of the analysis.

This Special Issue is dedicated to novel analytical techniques for detecting trace elements in foods. The techniques in question include sensors (electrochemical, optical, or mass-based sensors), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), total reflection XRF (TXRF), and neutron activation analysis (NAA). The novel techniques should address ameliorations in terms of efficiency, selectivity, sensitivity, green chemistry, or rapidity of analysis.

Dr. Elias Bou-Maroun
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • trace element
  • sample preparation
  • selectivity
  • sensitivity
  • speciation
  • bioavailability
  • bioaccessibility
  • toxicity
  • essentiality
  • food matrix
  • sensors
  • absorption spectrometry
  • mass spectrometry
  • emission spectroscopy
  • traceability
  • authenticity

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2507 KiB  
Article
On the Traceability of Honey by Means of Lanthanide Distribution
by Federica Gulino, Elisa Calà, Christian Cozzani, Lorenzo Vaccari, Matteo Oddone and Maurizio Aceto
Foods 2023, 12(9), 1803; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12091803 - 26 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1066
Abstract
Honey is a natural food appreciated all over the world since antiquity due to its well-recognised beneficial properties. However, it is also considered among the most counterfeited foods. Therefore, analytical methods are currently being developed to allow the verifying of its geographic provenance [...] Read more.
Honey is a natural food appreciated all over the world since antiquity due to its well-recognised beneficial properties. However, it is also considered among the most counterfeited foods. Therefore, analytical methods are currently being developed to allow the verifying of its geographic provenance and its botanical origin. Trace- and ultra-trace elements are usually exploited as chemical descriptors in authentication studies, as they allow the properties declared in the label to be verified. A different matter is to trace a food by means of traceability, that is, to find the link between a food and the soil in which this food originates. For traceability, it has been demonstrated in several studies that the lanthanides are particularly useful to find this link. In the present study, the traceability of the honey chain has been studied by means of ICP-MS and ICP-OES analysis, by comparing the lanthanide distributions of 17 different monofloral honey chains, each one composed of honey, flowers and soil in which such flowers grew. The results show that, while the fingerprint of soil, described by the lanthanide distribution, is transmitted unaltered from soil to flowers, a slight fractionation on the heavier lanthanides (from Dy to Lu) occurs in the passage from flowers to honey. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Analytical Techniques for Detecting Trace Elements in Foods)
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15 pages, 1576 KiB  
Article
Influence of Brewing Method on the Content of Selected Elements in Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguarensis) Infusions
by Jędrzej Proch, Anna Różewska, Aleksandra Orłowska and Przemysław Niedzielski
Foods 2023, 12(5), 1072; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12051072 - 02 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1897
Abstract
In this paper, the effect of the extraction method on the concentrations of selected elements in yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) infusions is presented. Seven pure yerba mate samples (without additives) were selected, representing various types and countries of origin. An extensive sample preparation [...] Read more.
In this paper, the effect of the extraction method on the concentrations of selected elements in yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) infusions is presented. Seven pure yerba mate samples (without additives) were selected, representing various types and countries of origin. An extensive sample preparation procedure was proposed: ultrasound-assisted extraction using two types of extractants (deionized and tap water) at two different temperatures (room and 80 °C). In parallel, the above extractants and temperatures were carried out for all samples by the classical brewing method (without ultrasound). In addition, microwave-assisted acid mineralization was carried out to determine the total content. All the proposed procedures were thoroughly investigated with certified reference material (tea leaves, INCT–TL–1). For the total content of all the determined elements, acceptable recoveries (80–116%) were obtained. All digests and extracts were analyzed by simultaneous ICP OES. For the first time, it was assessed how tap water extraction affects the percentage of extracted element concentrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Analytical Techniques for Detecting Trace Elements in Foods)
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12 pages, 1083 KiB  
Article
The In Vitro Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion Affects the Bioaccessibility and Bioactivity of Beta vulgaris Constituents
by Marta Igual, Ângela Fernandes, Maria Inês Dias, José Pinela, Purificación García-Segovia, Javier Martínez-Monzó and Lillian Barros
Foods 2023, 12(2), 338; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12020338 - 11 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2608
Abstract
Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is an important root vegetable crop and a valuable food source of micronutrients and bioactive constituents. In this study, the bioaccessibility of minerals, organic acids, and betacyanins in beetroot powder during simulated gastrointestinal digestion was investigated, as well [...] Read more.
Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is an important root vegetable crop and a valuable food source of micronutrients and bioactive constituents. In this study, the bioaccessibility of minerals, organic acids, and betacyanins in beetroot powder during simulated gastrointestinal digestion was investigated, as well as the antioxidant activity of the final fractions of each phase of the process. Mineral elements were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), organic acids by ultra-fast liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (UFLC-PDA), and betacyanins by liquid chromatography with diode-array detection and mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn). The oxidative hemolysis inhibition assay was used to assess the ex vivo antioxidant activity. The bioaccessibility of minerals at the end of gastrointestinal digestion ranged from 43 to 65%, depending on the mineral element. Among these, Mg was the most bioaccessible, while Ca and Fe had the lowest bioaccessibility. For organic acids, a major release during digestion was observed for quinic acid. It was also found that betanin (the major betalain in beetroot) was highly unstable during the digestion process, probably due to its hydrophilic nature, which agreed with the significant (p < 0.05) decrease in antioxidant/antihemolytic activity. These results suggest that beetroot antioxidant compounds are unstable under gastrointestinal conditions, and could be useful for future development of novel and more stable beetroot food formulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Analytical Techniques for Detecting Trace Elements in Foods)
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8 pages, 591 KiB  
Communication
Principal Components and Cluster Analysis of Trace Elements in Buckwheat Flour
by Mengyu Zhao, Junbo Gou, Kaixuan Zhang and Jingjun Ruan
Foods 2023, 12(1), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12010225 - 03 Jan 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1797
Abstract
Essential trace elements are required at very low quantities in the human body but are essential for various physiological functions. Each trace element has a specific role and a lack of these elements can easily cause a threat to health and can be [...] Read more.
Essential trace elements are required at very low quantities in the human body but are essential for various physiological functions. Each trace element has a specific role and a lack of these elements can easily cause a threat to health and can be potentially fatal. In this study, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) were used to determine the content of trace metal elements Ca, Fe, Cu, Mg, Zn, Se, Mo, Mn, and Cd in buckwheat flour. The content and distribution characteristics of trace metal elements were investigated using principal component and cluster analysis. The principal component analysis yielded a four-factor model that explained 73.64% of the test data; the cumulative contribution of the variance of the 1st and 2nd principal factors amounted to 44.41% and showed that Cu, Mg, Mo, and Cd are the characteristic elements of buckwheat flour. The cluster analysis divided the 28 buckwheat samples into two groups, to some extent, reflecting the genuineness of buckwheat flour. Buckwheat flour is rich in essential trace metal elements and can be used as a source of dietary nutrients for Mg and Mo. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Analytical Techniques for Detecting Trace Elements in Foods)
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Review

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29 pages, 2275 KiB  
Review
Sample Preparation and Analytical Techniques in the Determination of Trace Elements in Food: A Review
by Leina El Hosry, Nicolas Sok, Rosalie Richa, Layal Al Mashtoub, Philippe Cayot and Elias Bou-Maroun
Foods 2023, 12(4), 895; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12040895 - 20 Feb 2023
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 12314
Abstract
Every human being needs around 20 essential elements to maintain proper physiological processes. However, trace elements are classified as beneficial, essential, or toxic for living organisms. Some trace elements are considered essential elements for the human body in adequate quantities (dietary reference intakes, [...] Read more.
Every human being needs around 20 essential elements to maintain proper physiological processes. However, trace elements are classified as beneficial, essential, or toxic for living organisms. Some trace elements are considered essential elements for the human body in adequate quantities (dietary reference intakes, DRIs), while others have undetermined biological functions and are considered undesirable substances or contaminants. Pollution with trace elements is becoming a great concern since they can affect biological functions or accumulate in organs, causing adverse effects and illnesses such as cancer. These pollutants are being discarded in our soils, waters, and the food supply chain due to several anthropogenic factors. This review mainly aims to provide a clear overview of the commonly used methods and techniques in the trace element analysis of food from sample preparations, namely, ashing techniques, separation/extraction methods, and analytical techniques. Ashing is the first step in trace element analysis. Dry ashing or wet digestion using strong acids at high pressure in closed vessels are used to eliminate the organic matter. Separation and pre-concentration of elements is usually needed before proceeding with the analytical techniques to eliminate the interferences and ameliorate the detection limits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Analytical Techniques for Detecting Trace Elements in Foods)
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