ASSESSMENT OF TOXIC ELEMENTS IN AMARANTH SEEDS

AGUILAR, E.; MARCHEVSKY, E; ESCUDERO, N.; CAMIÑA, J. M.

Potrero de los Funes

Congreso; XXX Reunión Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2012

In the recent years, amaranth (Amaranthaceae) has been proposed as new food due to its nutritional properties (i.e. aminoacid, protein, lipidic and carbohydrates contents). However, the determination of toxic elements has been less studied in amaranth seeds. For this reason, the concentration of As, Cr and Pb was determined in three species of amaranth seeds: A. hypochondriacus, A. cruentus and A. dubius, which were harvested in Argentina (provinces of La Pampa and San Luis). The determinations were carried out by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Evaluation of accuracy was carried out by standard addition method. The results show that, for the three species, Cr and As are present in low concentration. However, the concentration of Pb was high, at least two times the maximum allowed value (10 μg g-1) by the World Health Organization (WHO). As a conclusion, the high concentration of Pb present in amaranth seeds from Argentina, indicates that Pb determination should be considered in these amaranth species to avoid undesirable consequences for the human health in the population that consumes these seeds.