Ultrasound-assisted extraction for the determination of Cu, Mn, Ca, and Mg in alternative oilseed crops using flame atomic absorption spectrometry

An ultrasound-assisted extraction procedure was evaluated for the multi-element determination of Cu, Mn, Ca, and Mg in alternative oilseed crops using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The best results were obtained when 0.3g of samples were used to extract the mineral content using 10 mL of a 1.40 mol L(-1) HNO3 solution for 10 min at 25 °C. The accuracy and precision of the analysis were evaluated using two oilseed reference materials, and the results were in agreement with reference values at 95% confidence level (paired t-test). The method was used to analyze five oilseed samples and the results were in agreement with those obtained using a closed-vessel microwave-assisted acid digestion system for sample preparation. The relative standard deviations were 0.52-6.13% for all of the standard and sample measurements, and the limits of detection were 666.7, 416.7, 333.4 μg g(-1), and 3.5 mg g(-1) for Cu, Mn, Ca, and Mg, respectively.