ABSTRACT
Nine trace elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cd, and Pb) were determined in the dissolved ash of 36 samples of raw milk. The distribution of the concentration of each element was first investigated by means of a test of normality. The matrix of the correlation between the concentrations of the elements was then used as a starting matrix for principal component analysis. Nine variables were reduced to four principal components, accounting for 75% of the total variance. The biophilic elements Mn-Fe and Cu-Mo were positively associated with the first two principal components, while Cr was correlated to the third and Ni and Cd with the fourth principal component. Pb and Zn are both negatively correlated to the first principal component. Comparison with 42 samples of a commercial milk, by using a two-dimensional plot of the principal component scores, rendered possible the differentiation between raw and commercial milk.
Subject(s)
Milk/analysis , Trace Elements/analysis , Animals , Food Handling , Hot Temperature , Multivariate Analysis , Spectrophotometry, AtomicABSTRACT
Nine trace elements (Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb) were determined in cheese by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with electrothermal atomization in a graphite tube, using the ashing procedure. Associations among mineral constituents were studied by means of principal component analysis, which allows determination of interdependences among trace elements in foods. A test for normality was used to investigate monovariate distributions, in order to estimate the symmetry of data vector. The correlation matrix was used as a starting matrix for principal component analysis; nine variables were reduced to four principal components. The clusters of elements appear to be determined by their origin.
Subject(s)
Cheese/analysis , Dairy Products/analysis , Food Contamination/analysis , Spectrophotometry, AtomicABSTRACT
Chromium and nickel concentration in roadside unwashed wine grapes and leaves is considered as a function of the distance from the suspected source, an isolated straight road. The analyses were performed with electrothermal atomization in a graphite furnace. The decrease in the concentration of the element can be described by means of a three-parameter exponential function c = A + (B - A)exp(-Cd), which allows the determination of the asymptotic level far from the emitting source (C infinity) and the pollution level (C0) at the edge of the road (d = 0). Least-squares nonlinear regression gives the estimation of the parameters A, B, and C. The results indicate that an effect is detectable up to a distance of about 50 m.
Subject(s)
Chromium/isolation & purification , Environmental Pollutants/isolation & purification , Fruit/analysis , Nickel/isolation & purification , Food Contamination/analysis , Regression Analysis , Sampling StudiesABSTRACT
Principal component analysis has been applied to analyze the correlation matrix obtained from a 8 X 43 data matrix. The 8 trace metals are Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, Pb, which are contained in the soft part of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck). Mussels were sampled from two sites in the Gulf of Trieste. In both samples, 76-78% of the total variance is explained by the four principal components. The orthogonally rotated factor matrix indicates that Co and Ni are bonded to the first principal component and Cd and Pb to the first (site 2) or second principal component (site 1). The origin of trace metals in the soft part of mussels from the Gulf of Trieste is discussed.
