RESUMO
Caigua (in Brazil "maxixe do reino") is a fruit that is generally consumed either cooked or even raw as salad. This fruit has been used as a food and also in folk medicine. In this work, the mineral composition of Caigua was determined for the first time. Twenty-nine samples from five farms located in the southwestern region of Bahia, Brazil were acquired and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The elements determined in this fruit included calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, iron, zinc, copper and vanadium. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were applied to evaluate the obtained results. The average concentrations of the determined elements (expressed as mg 100 g(-1)) were as follows: 0.91 for sodium, 152 for potassium, 19.4 for phosphorus, 11.9 for calcium, 8.4 for magnesium, 0.074 for manganese, 0.21 for iron, 0.013 for copper, 0.13 for zinc and 0.015 for vanadium.
Assuntos
Cucurbitaceae/química , Minerais/química , Brasil , Alimentos Orgânicos/análise , Frutas/química , Análise MultivariadaRESUMO
The Chapeu-de-couro (Echinodorus macrophyllus (Kunth) Micheli) is a native plant from Brazil, which has been mainly used in medicinal application being a potent antirheumatic and diuretic, in the production of soft drinks, and also in the ornamentation of aquariums. In this paper, the metals and metalloids for the leaves of chapeu-de-couro collected in the Paraguacu River from the city Cachoeira, Bahia State, Brazil, was determined and evaluated using multivariate analysis. The samples were digested using nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide and were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The accuracy of the method was confirmed by analysis of a certified reference material of apple leaves, furnished by National Institute of Standard and Technology. The study involved 15 samples of the Paraguacu River. The results expressed as milligrams of element per kilogram of sample demonstrated that the concentration ranges varied: 1.39-5.27 for chromium, 44.85-165.39 for manganese, 0.55-0.84 for arsenic, 0.01-3.94 for antimony, and 0.18-0.31 for lead. The principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis evidenced that the concentrations of the metals and metalloids varied according with the variations in the water of the Paraguacu.