Determination of iron and copper in encapsulated food supplements for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases

Abstract

U današnje vrijeme sve je veća primjena biljnih dodataka prehrani koje su važan izvor biološki aktivnih sastavnica, a čije djelovanje je pozitivno na zdravlje ljudi. S obzirom da se kurkuma, indijski tamjanovac i justicija koriste kao dodaci prehrani koji ublažavanju simptoma upalnih bolesti crijeva, cilj ovog rada bio je procijeniti kvalitetu dodataka prehrani s obzirom na sadržaj željeza i bakra. Koncentracije navedenih minerala u analiziranim dodacima prehrani određene su plamenom i grafitnom atomskom apsorpcijskom spektrometrijom, a prije analize u svrhu pripreme svi su uzorci spaljeni mikrovalnom digestijom. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da su koncentracije željeza i bakra u dodacima prehrani koji se koriste kod upalnih bolesti crijeva bile u dozvoljenim rasponima. Primjećuje se znatna razlika u ispitanim metalima kod uzoraka u tvrdim kapsulama u odnosu na one u mekim kapsulama, te se također može primijetiti značajnija koncentracija željeza u odnosu na koncentraciju bakra.Nowadays, there is an increasing use of herbal dietary supplements, which are an important source of biologically active components, and whose effects are positive for human health. Considering that turmeric, Indian frankincense and Justicia are used as dietary supplements to alleviate the symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases, the aim of this work was to evaluate the quality of dietary supplements regarding iron and copper content. The concentrations of the mentioned minerals in the analyzed dietary supplements were determined by flame and graphite atomic absorption spectrometry, and before the analysis for the purpose of preparation, all samples were burned by microwave digestion. The results of the research showed that the concentrations of iron and copper in dietary supplements used for inflammatory bowel diseases were within the permissible ranges. A significant difference in the tested metals can be observed for samples in hard capsules compared to those in soft capsules, and a significant concentration of iron can also be observed in relation to the concentration of copper