In this paper, the contents of these elements including Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Al, Cd, Pb, Ti and As were determined by ICP-AES technique, which elements originated from maca from different places. Detection limits ranged 0.0022 ug/ml-1 and 0.077ug/ml-1, the relative standard deviations for all these elements were lower than 2%, and recovery rates ranged 95.56% and 106.2%. The results showed that there were rich metal elements in maca from different places; contents of Fe and Al were highest; contents of Mn, Zn, Cu and Ti were moderately high, and contents of As, Cd and Pb were lowest. Futhermore, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn were essential to people’s health, and Al, Cd, As, Pb and Ti had potentially physiologically toxic. Finally, concentrations of elements within macafrom different places were different, which may have some relations with the environment where maca grew. As a result, the determining method which elements of maca. are determined by ICP-AES is rapid, accurate and convenient, and wild macamay contain toxic elements because of pollutional soil and environment, so macacultivated artificially can effectively reduce harmful elements.
Contents of 17 Metal Elements in Food Determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry-Meat and Meat Products-