ULTRASOUND-ASSISTED PRETREATMENT OF SPIRULINA NUTRACEUTICAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR TOXIC AND ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS DETERMINATION BY MICROWAVE PLASMA ATOMIC EMISSION SPECTROMETRY (MPAES)

AZCARATE, S.M.; JOSÉ M. CAMINA; NEHER, B.D; MARIANELA SAVIO

Congreso; 18 Encontro Nacional de Quimica Analitica; 2016

Spirulina platensis and Spirulina maxima are a type of blue-green unicellular filamentous alga belonging to the genus Arthrospira (Spirulina), mainly used as a dietary supplement to induce decreased body weight1. Spirulina is presented in capsules, tablets, and also in powder as a condiment for salads, pasta and smoothies. Due to its properties, Spirulina is considered a nutraceutical, and consumption is growing worldwide. However, there is a small amount of literature reporting major, minor and toxic elements. Also, a few producers declare protein, mineral and vitamins composition. S. platensis accumulates trace metals depending on the developing environment2, being an advantage regarding to essential trace elements but a risk if toxic metals are present. A rapid and simple ultrasound-assisted pretreatment for trace elemental analysis in Spirulina samples was optimized and validated in this work. The performance of Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (MPAES) was assessed. Instrumental MPAES parameters: viewing position and nebulizer pressure were evaluated for each analyte studied. Multielemental determination of Ca, Mg, Na, Al, K, P, Fe, Ni, Ag, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Mn, Pb, V, Zn was carried out in Spirulina samples from different pharmaceutical companies. The obtained limits of detection were ranged between 0.10 (Mg) and 70.72 mg Kg-1 (K). Accuracy, expressed in terms of relative standard deviation (RSD) was better than 8%. The reported analytes were compared with those declared by the manufacturers. The outcome of this study reveals that minerals elements in Spirulina samples complied the recommended daily intake level (RDI-mg/daily) established by CODEX, and also, are in accordance with the recommendation established by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Regarding to food safety monitoring, the proposed method could be easily implemented in laboratories for routine analysis of nutraceutical supplements, with the advantage of being straight forward and in good agreement with Green Chemistry.