Comparison of the Level of Boron Concentrations in Black Teas with Fruit Teas Available on the Polish Market

The determination of boron by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry has been carried in water-soluble and acid soluble (total content) fractions of 36 samples of traditional black tea and fruit brew. The estimation of the impact of the type of tea on the concentration of boron in water-soluble and acid extracts and potential human health risk from the daily intake of boron was carried out in this study. The levels of boron differed significantly in black and fruit tea types. The mean total content of boron ranged from 8.31 to 18.40 mg/kg in black teas, from 12.85 to 15.13 mg/kg in black tea with fruit flavor, and from 12.09 to 22.77 mg/kg in fruit brews. The degree of extraction of boron in black tea ranged from 8% to 27% and for fruit tea from 17% to 69%. In addition, the values below 25% were of black teas with fruit flavors. The daily intake of B from tea infusions (three cups/day) is still within the average daily intake except for some of the fruit brews which exceed acceptable regulations of the daily intake of total boron by humans. Hence, it may not produce any health risks for human consumption, if other sources of metal contaminated food are not taken at the same time

Analysis of trace element in intervertebral disc by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry techniques in degenerative disc disease in the Polish population

Objective Although trace elements are regarded crucial and their content has been determined in number of tissue there are only few papers addressing this problem in intervertebral disc in humans. Most of the trace elements are important substrates of enzymes influencing metabolism and senescence process. Others are markers of environmental pollution. Therefore the aim of the research was to analyzed of the trace element content in the intervertebral disc, which may be a vital argument recognizing the background of degenerative changes to be the effect of the environment or metabolic factors. Material and Methods Material consist of 18 intervertebral disc from 15 patients, acquired in surgical procedure of due to the degenerative disease with Atomic Absorption Spectrometry content of Al, Cd, Co, Pb, Cu, Ni, Mo, Mg, Zn was evaluated. Results Only 4 of the trace elements were detected in all samples. The correlation analysis showed significant positive age correlation with Al and negative in case of Co. Among elements significant positive correlation was observed between Al/Pb, Co/Mo, Al/Mg, Al/Zn Pb/Zn and Mg/Zn. Negative correlation was observed in Al/Co, Cd/Mg, Co/Mg, Mo/Mg, Co/Zn and Mo/Zn. Conclusions This study is the first to our knowledge that profiles the elements in intervertebral disc in patients with degenerative changes. We have confirmed significant differences between the trace element contents in intervertebral disc and other tissue. It can be ground for further investigation

Chemical Speciation of Aluminum in Wine by LC–ICP–MS

Aluminum is very common in the natural environment and in everyday human life. We are living in the “aluminum age.” Its average daily intake should not exceed a few mg/day. Unfortunately, despite the growing number of alarming data about the toxicity of this element, human exposure to aluminum is constantly increasing. The toxicity and bioavailability of aluminum depends mainly on the form in which it occurs. The main variables conditioning the form are the concentration, the type, the molar ratio of aluminum to ligand, the pH value, and the temperature. This research presents a new method for speciation analysis of both inorganic and organic aluminum complexes in model solutions by LC–ICP–MS. Different solutions with variable pH values and different Al/ligand molar ratios (fluorides and several organic ligands, e.g., citrates and oxalates ions) were used. The chromatographic separation process was carried out based on isocratic and gradient elution, using a cation exchange analytical column. All determinations have been confirmed based on chemical equilibrium modeling programs. The new developed method was successfully applied for the first time in speciation analysis of real samples: white and red wine

Application of a new HPLC-ICP-MS method for simultaneous determination of Al3+ and aluminium fluoride complexes

The paper presents the new HPLC-ICP-MS method used for conducting speciation analysis of aluminum as free Al3+ and aluminum fluoride complexes during one analysis. In the study, 5% HNO3 was used as a derivative reagent in order to minimize the possibility of clogging the torch in ICP-MS. Using the new HPLC-ICP-MS method, speciation analysis of aluminum and aluminum fluoride complexes was conducted on the basis of model solutions and real samples (soil-water extracts and groundwater samples). The analysis in the presented analytical system lasts only 4 min

New Method for Simultaneous Arsenic and Selenium Speciation Analysis in Seafood and Onion Samples

This paper presents a new method for the simultaneous speciation analysis of arsenic (As(III)-arsenite, As(V)-arsenate, DMA-dimethylarsinic acid, MMA-methylarsonic acid, and AsB-arsenobetaine) and selenium (Se(IV)-selenite, Se(VI)-selenate, Se-Methionine, and Se-Cystine), which was applied to a variety of seafood and onion samples. The determination of the forms of arsenic and selenium was undertaken using the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (HPLC–ICP–MS) analytical technique. The separation of both organic and inorganic forms of arsenic and selenium was performed using two analytical columns: an anion exchange column, Dionex IonPac AS22, containing an alkanol quaternary ammonium ion, and a double bed cation–anion exchange guard column, Dionex Ion Pac CG5A, containing, as a first layer, fully sulfonated latex for cation exchange and a fully aminated layer for anion exchange as the second layer. The ammonium nitrate, at pH = 9.0, was used as a mobile phase. The method presented here allowed us to separate the As and Se species within 10 min with a suitable resolution. The applicability was presented with different sample matrix types: seafood and onion

Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from One- and Two-Component Solutions via Adsorption on N-Doped Activated Carbon

This paper deals with the adsorption of heavy metal ions (Cu2+ and Zn2+) on the carbonaceous materials obtained by chemical activation and ammoxidation of Polish brown coal. The effects of phase contact time, initial metal ion concentration, solution pH, and temperature, as well as the presence of competitive ions in solution, on the adsorption capacity of activated carbons were examined. It has been shown that the sample modified by introduction of nitrogen functional groups into carbon structure exhibits a greater ability to uptake heavy metals than unmodified activated carbon. It has also been found that the adsorption capacity increases with the increasing initial concentration of the solution and the phase contact time. The maximum adsorption was found at pH = 8.0 for Cu(II) and pH = 6.0 for Zn(II). For all samples, better fit to the experimental data was obtained with a Langmuir isotherm than a Freundlich one. A better fit of the kinetic data was achieved using the pseudo-second order model

Sex- and Age-Related Dynamic Changes of the Macroelements Content in the Femoral Bone with Hip Osteoarthritis

Background: The content of macroelements in bones varies with age and depends on sex. The aim of the study was to evaluate the content of macroelements and its correlation with age and sex in the femoral bone obtained during total hip arthroplasty. Methods: In the 86 patients, the content of macroelements (Ca, P, Mg, and Na) in the femoral head and neck (cancellous and cortical bone) was assessed by means of the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry analytical technique (ICP-OES). Results: There was a decrease in the content of macroelements in the cortical bone with age in the women in the 51–60 years (statistically significant: −0.59 for Ca, −0.65 for P) and over 70 years age groups (correlation not statistically significant: −0.29 for Ca, −0.38 for P). A significant decrease in the content of macroelements in the cortical bone was found in men over 70 years of age. Conclusions: Patterns of increased loss of macronutrients (Ca, P, and Mg) in the femoral neck (cortical bone) were demonstrated in the following patients with osteoarthritis: women aged 51–60 years and patients of both sexes over 70 years of age

Analysis of trace element in intervertebral disc by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry techniques in degenerative disc disease in the Polish population

Objective Although trace elements are regarded crucial and their content has been determined in number of tissue there are only few papers addressing this problem in intervertebral disc in humans. Most of the trace elements are important substrates of enzymes influencing metabolism and senescence process. Others are markers of environmental pollution. Therefore the aim of the research was to analyzed of the trace element content in the intervertebral disc, which may be a vital argument recognizing the background of degenerative changes to be the effect of the environment or metabolic factors. Material and Methods Material consist of 18 intervertebral disc from 15 patients, acquired in surgical procedure of due to the degenerative disease with Atomic Absorption Spectrometry content of Al, Cd, Co, Pb, Cu, Ni, Mo, Mg, Zn was evaluated. Results Only 4 of the trace elements were detected in all samples. The correlation analysis showed significant positive age correlation with Al and negative in case of Co. Among elements significant positive correlation was observed between Al/Pb, Co/Mo, Al/Mg, Al/Zn Pb/Zn and Mg/Zn. Negative correlation was observed in Al/Co, Cd/Mg, Co/Mg, Mo/Mg, Co/Zn and Mo/Zn. Conclusions This study is the first to our knowledge that profiles the elements in intervertebral disc in patients with degenerative changes. We have confirmed significant differences between the trace element contents in intervertebral disc and other tissue. It can be ground for further investigation

Chemometric evaluation of concentrations of trace elements in intervertebral disc tissue in patient with degenerative disc disease

Background The work is designed to uncover the pattern of mutual relation among trace elements and epidemiological data in the degenerated intervertebral disk tissue in humans. Hitherto the reason of the degenerative process is not fully understood. Trace elements are the basic components of the biological compound related both its metabolism as well as environmental exposure. The relation pattern among elements occurs gives new perspective in solving the cause of the disease. Material and Methods We have analysed trace elements content in the 30 intervertebral disc from 22 patients with degenerative disc disease. The concentrations of Al, Cu, Cd, Mo, Ni and Pb were determined with Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. To analyse the multidimentional relation between trace element concentration and epidemiological data the chemometric analysis was applied. Results The similarity have been shown in occurrence of following pairs: Cd-Mo as well as Mg-Zn. The second pair was correlated with Pb concentration. Pb levels are observed to be competitive to Cu concentration. Cd concentration was related to Zn and Mg deficiency. No single but rather cluster of epidemiological data show observable influence on the TE tissue variance. Zn and Cu was related to the male sex. Operation with orthopedic implants were related to combined Al, Mo and Zn concentration. Conclusions This is the first chemometric analysis of trace elements in disk tissue. It shows multidimentional relations that are missed by the classical statistic. The analysis shows significant relation. The nature of the relations is the basis for further metabolic and environmental researc