Mineral contents of fruits of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus indica) grown in Ethiopia
2013
Aregahegn, A. | Chandravanshi, B.S. | Atlabachew, M.
Levels of selected metals (Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Co, Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb) were determined in cactus pear (beles) (Opuntia ficus indica) fruits collected from different areas (Mekelle, Adigrat, Maychew, Ziway and Nazareth) in Ethiopia by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Known weight of oven-dried beles fruit sample was wet-digested using 3 ml of (69-72%) HNO3 and 1 ml of (70%) HClO4 for 2 h at variable temperature (120-270°C). The validity of the optimized procedure was evaluated by the analysis of spiked samples whose recovery was in the range of 91-103%. The mean concentration range (in μg/g) of each metal in beles fruit samples was Ca (283-564), Mg (187-386), Fe (3.03-4.50), Mn (1.33-4.03), Zn (2.45-7.32), Cu (0.85-1.95), Co (0.174-0.295), Cr (0.181-0.242) and Ni (0.330-0.856). The toxic metals Cd and Pb were not detected in beles fruit samples collected from the five different sites. In general, beles fruits are rich in Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn compared to similar species and other fruits.
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