Aluminium levels in spices and aromatic herbs

We evaluated the levels of aluminium in a total of 72 samples of 17 different spices and aromatic herbs that are widely consumed in Spain, and in the Mediterranean diet, in general. Aluminium was determined in the samples mineralized with HNO3 and V2O5, using electrothermal atomization atomic absorption spectroscopy as the analytical technique. The accuracy and precision of the proposed method was verified against an NBS-certified reference material. Precision, expressed as relative standard deviation, ranged from 1.10 to 4.07%. The results obtained from recovery studies were of 97.90 +/- 1.20. Aluminium concentrations ranged from 3.74 to 56.50 mu g/g (dry wt.). The presence of this metal was detected in all the samples we analysed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.