Background

Transfer of metals from soil to plant is a possible route of contamination for the food chain. This investigation focused on the occurrence of 40 elements in the “Red Apple of Cuneo”, an Italian excellence and a Protected Geographical Indication (P.G.I.). Four cultivars were considered: Red Delicious (Jeromine) and Gala (Bukeye, Brookfield, Schniga).

Methods

Trace elements and rare earth elements (REEs) detection was performed by an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) previous homogenization of samples and microwave acid digestion. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni correction was employed to for statistical analysis.

Results

Concentrations of metals in the four apples cultivars were quite comparable, Al and Rb were the most represented nonessential elements while Fe, Cu and Zn between the essential; REEs were found at negligible concentrations. Bioaccumulation factors demonstrated an extremely low capacity of bioaccumulation from soil to fruit.

Conclusions

The analysis performed on the “Red Apple of Cuneo” has shown that this product is safe for human consumption since metals were recovered at concentrations of no concern and lower than those registered in apples from other countries.

Since each production area is characterized by a typical elemental pattern the multielemental profile based on the analysis of 40 elements could be useful to relate products to their region of origin. Differences between the four apple cultivars were instead not significant to discriminate between them.

中文翻译：

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意大利西北部苹果中微量元素和镧系元素的分布和生物积累。

背景

金属从土壤转移到植物是食物链污染的一种可能途径。本次调查的重点是“库内奥红苹果”中 40 种元素的出现，这是一种意大利卓越产品和受保护的地理标志 (PGI)。考虑了四个品种：Red Delicious (Jeromine) 和 Gala (Bukeye、Brookfield、Schniga)。

方法

痕量元素和稀土元素 (REE) 检测通过电感耦合等离子体质谱仪 (ICP-MS) 之前的样品均质和微波酸消解进行。采用具有 Bonferroni 校正的单向方差分析 (ANOVA) 进行统计分析。

结果

4个苹果品种的金属含量相当，Al和Rb是最有代表性的非必需元素，Fe、Cu和Zn介于必需元素之间；发现的 REE 浓度可忽略不计。生物积累因子表明从土壤到果实的生物积累能力极低。

结论

对“库内奥红苹果”进行的分析表明，该产品对人类食用是安全的，因为回收的金属浓度无关紧要，并且低于其他国家苹果中登记的浓度。

由于每个生产区域都具有典型的元素模式，因此基于 40 种元素分析的多元素概况可能有助于将产品与其原产地联系起来。四个苹果品种之间的差异并不显着区分它们。