Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

E. D. Doe; A. K. Awua; O. K. Gyamfi; N. O. Bentil

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11

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Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

E. D. Doe, A. K. Awua, O. K. Gyamfi, N. O. Bentil

Published in American Journal of Applied Chemistry (Volume 1, Issue 2)

Received: 9 May 2013 Published: 10 June 2013

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Abstract

Wheat flour is an important source of nutrient and as such is widely consumed in most part of the world, as bread and other pastries. Due to its high consumption, the presence of heavy metal at high concentration would be a significant health risk. Based on the soil in which the wheat was grown and the milling technology employed in making the flour, the heavy metal content of wheat flour varies. In analyzing heavy metal content of flour on the Ghanaian market, (one made in Ghana and another made in Turkey) an atomic absorption spectrophotometric analysis of milestone acid digested flour was used with the appropriate standards. With a 9% - 100.4% recovery rate, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cd, Pb were detected at varying concentrations in both flour brands, while Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, As, Hg were below detection limits. The levels of the nutritionally important elements such as Fe and Zn would be beneficial to human health, while those of the toxic element present are not likely to pose any health risk to consumers of this flour.

Published in	American Journal of Applied Chemistry (Volume 1, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11
Page(s)	17-21
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Health Risk, Heavy Metals, Milling Technology, Soil, Wheat Flour

References

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APA Style

E. D. Doe, A. K. Awua, O. K. Gyamfi, N. O. Bentil. (2013). Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. American Journal of Applied Chemistry, 1(2), 17-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11

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ACS Style

E. D. Doe; A. K. Awua; O. K. Gyamfi; N. O. Bentil. Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Am. J. Appl. Chem. 2013, 1(2), 17-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11

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AMA Style

E. D. Doe, A. K. Awua, O. K. Gyamfi, N. O. Bentil. Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Am J Appl Chem. 2013;1(2):17-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11,
  author = {E. D. Doe and A. K. Awua and O. K. Gyamfi and N. O. Bentil},
  title = {Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Chemistry},
  volume = {1},
  number = {2},
  pages = {17-21},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajac.20130102.11},
  abstract = {Wheat flour is an important source of nutrient and as such is widely consumed in most part of the world, as bread and other pastries. Due to its high consumption, the presence of heavy metal at high concentration would be a significant health risk. Based on the soil in which the wheat was grown and the milling technology employed in making the flour, the heavy metal content of wheat flour varies. In analyzing heavy metal content of flour on the Ghanaian market, (one made in Ghana and another made in Turkey) an atomic absorption spectrophotometric analysis of milestone acid digested flour was used with the appropriate standards. With a 9% - 100.4% recovery rate, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cd, Pb were detected at varying concentrations in both flour brands, while Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, As, Hg were below detection limits. The levels of the nutritionally important elements such as Fe and Zn would be beneficial to human health, while those of the toxic element present are not likely to pose any health risk to consumers of this flour.},
 year = {2013}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
AU - E. D. Doe
AU - A. K. Awua
AU - O. K. Gyamfi
AU - N. O. Bentil
Y1 - 2013/06/10
PY - 2013
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11
DO - 10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11
T2 - American Journal of Applied Chemistry
JF - American Journal of Applied Chemistry
JO - American Journal of Applied Chemistry
SP - 17
EP - 21
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2330-8745
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11
AB - Wheat flour is an important source of nutrient and as such is widely consumed in most part of the world, as bread and other pastries. Due to its high consumption, the presence of heavy metal at high concentration would be a significant health risk. Based on the soil in which the wheat was grown and the milling technology employed in making the flour, the heavy metal content of wheat flour varies. In analyzing heavy metal content of flour on the Ghanaian market, (one made in Ghana and another made in Turkey) an atomic absorption spectrophotometric analysis of milestone acid digested flour was used with the appropriate standards. With a 9% - 100.4% recovery rate, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cd, Pb were detected at varying concentrations in both flour brands, while Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, As, Hg were below detection limits. The levels of the nutritionally important elements such as Fe and Zn would be beneficial to human health, while those of the toxic element present are not likely to pose any health risk to consumers of this flour.
VL - 1
IS - 2
ER -

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Author Information

E. D. Doe

Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute, Cellular and Clinical Research Centre, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Legon-Accra-Ghana
A. K. Awua

Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute, Cellular and Clinical Research Centre, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Legon-Accra-Ghana
O. K. Gyamfi

Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute, Cellular and Clinical Research Centre, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Legon-Accra-Ghana
N. O. Bentil

National Nuclear Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Legon-Accra-Ghana

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APA Style

E. D. Doe, A. K. Awua, O. K. Gyamfi, N. O. Bentil. (2013). Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. American Journal of Applied Chemistry, 1(2), 17-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11

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ACS Style

E. D. Doe; A. K. Awua; O. K. Gyamfi; N. O. Bentil. Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Am. J. Appl. Chem. 2013, 1(2), 17-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11

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AMA Style

E. D. Doe, A. K. Awua, O. K. Gyamfi, N. O. Bentil. Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Am J Appl Chem. 2013;1(2):17-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11,
  author = {E. D. Doe and A. K. Awua and O. K. Gyamfi and N. O. Bentil},
  title = {Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Chemistry},
  volume = {1},
  number = {2},
  pages = {17-21},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20130102.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajac.20130102.11},
  abstract = {Wheat flour is an important source of nutrient and as such is widely consumed in most part of the world, as bread and other pastries. Due to its high consumption, the presence of heavy metal at high concentration would be a significant health risk. Based on the soil in which the wheat was grown and the milling technology employed in making the flour, the heavy metal content of wheat flour varies. In analyzing heavy metal content of flour on the Ghanaian market, (one made in Ghana and another made in Turkey) an atomic absorption spectrophotometric analysis of milestone acid digested flour was used with the appropriate standards. With a 9% - 100.4% recovery rate, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cd, Pb were detected at varying concentrations in both flour brands, while Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, As, Hg were below detection limits. The levels of the nutritionally important elements such as Fe and Zn would be beneficial to human health, while those of the toxic element present are not likely to pose any health risk to consumers of this flour.},
 year = {2013}
}

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