DETERMINATION OF MACRO ELEMENTS IN GLUTEN-FREE FOOD FOR CELIAC PEOPLE BY ICP-OES

This paper is the first analytical approach to the study of seven nutrients in the gluten-free foods for celiac people. The ICP-OES technique was used. One of the advantages about the use of ICP-OES for this characterization is the high selectivity and low interferences for studied elements. The concentration values of K, Li, Sr, Na, Ca, Mg and Al in seventeen gluten-free food samples are reported. Considering the average concentrations of the elements analyzed, excluding lithium, in the present study it can be concluded that they are inadequate if compared with the recommended daily intake by international organisms, providing only from 1.5 to 20% of the RDI for the essential metals. In particular, we can suppose that, many celiac people consume small quantities of potassium which contribute to regulate blood pressure and prevent hypertension. The tolerable upper level intake is exceeded by consuming more than 200 grams of gluten free bread during a day.