PubMed · 15829532
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Benjamin D Levine, Paul D Thompson. 2005-04-14. Marathon maladies.. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp058043
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Nitrate ion is a frequent pollutant not only in soil and natural water resources but in vegetables and foods as well. In our study we focused on nettle due to its increased ability to accumulate nitrate ions. A new, simple method for the separation and determination of nitrate ion based on reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography has been elaborated. A new four-step sample pretreatment method enables the precipitation of proteins and oxidative degradation of compounds that may disturb the identification of the nitrate ion: (1) extraction of the total nitrate content, (2) precipitation of proteins with acetonitrile, (3) oxidative degradation of the organic contaminants with H2O2, (4) evaporation of the solvent and taking up of the residue in water. The chromatographic separations were carried out on a high-density C30 stationary phase under isocratic conditions. The optimal mobile-phase composition was 10% (v/v) acetonitrile and 90% (v/v) 20 mmol L(-1) phosphate buffer, containing 2 mmol of tetrabutylammonium hydroxide at pH 6.0. The method could also be used for the separation of IO3(-), SeO3(2-), BrO3(-), NO2(-), Br-, SeO4(2-), and I- ions. The validated method is sensitive (the detection limit is 0.18 ng of nitrate ion). The method is linear in a high concentration range (0.031-30.66 microg mL(-1)). Recoveries varied between 98% and 103%. Reproducibility of the elaborated sample pretreatment method showed 1.54%. The method can be used for the determination of nitrate ion from different plants.
Cation determination is important for quality control of beverage products. To determine a large group simultaneously, a capillary electrophoresis procedure is developed with indirect UV at 214 nm in a three-complex buffer system (10 mM N,N-dimethylbenzylamine (DBA), 8 mM lactic acid and 2 mM 18-crown-6) with good mobility matching with desired cations. Under optimized conditions with pH adjusted to 4.65, a baseline separation is achieved for 14 cations (Rb(+), NH(4)(+), K(+), Ca(2+), Na(+), Mg(2+), Mn(2+), Co(2+), Fe(2+), Cd(2+), Cr(3+), Ni(2+), Zn(2+) and Cu(2+)) within 7 min using an uncoated silica column. To cover ng/l to mug/l range, both hydrostatic and electrokinetic sampling are studied, showing working ranges within (0.05-50)/(0.005-2) microg/l and detection limits (13-78)/(1.4-10) ng/l, respectively with satisfactory repeatability (RSD 0.31-0.47% for migration time, and 3.0-4.0% for peak height measurement). Agreeable results with established inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry method have been obtained for orange juice and tea samples.
Fresh sugarcane juice is sold by street vendors without any heat treatment in São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil. Twenty-four samples of point-of-sale juice were tested by standard methods to determine heterotrophic bacteria, total and thermo-tolerant coliform counts, Salmonella, and parasites in the juice. 25% of samples showed poor sanitary conditions, with thermo-tolerant coliform levels higher than allowed by Brazilian standards. Salmonella spp. and parasites were absent in all samples. Thermo-tolerant coliforms were detected on the hands of 37% of juice handlers, and heterotrophic bacterial counts reached 2.0 x 10(3) cfu/per hand. Escherichia coli was detected in one hand sample, and no Salmonella spp. was detected. Screening questionnaires were used to interview the vendors, and 62% of interviewees were either unfamiliar with or failed to adopt adequate hygiene for food handling.