MULTIELEMENT ANALYSIS AS A BASIS FOR THE SELECTION OF RAW MATERIALS ON THE BARLEY MARKET

Abstract

Barley is one of the most used grains in the alcoholic beverage industry. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) were evaluated for metal contents of ten barley samples which are acquired from different markets in Serbia. The low detection limit and wide working range for many elements make the ICP-OES method ideal for the analysis of samples of plant origin. Barley samples were prepared by dry mineralization process. The elements determined are divided into two groups. All barley samples contained the major elements belonging to the first group and. The major metals of barley are K (3572–4692 µg/g), Mg (758.3–1032 µg/g) and Ca (349.8–441 µg/g). Concentration of Na was ranged from 47.7 to 83.5 µg/g. The second groups of elements are minor and trace metals. Barley samples аre a good source of Fe (18.88–24.87 µg/g), Se (0.022–0.1938 µg/g) and Zn (16.44–24.00 µg/g). The content of heavy metals in all samples is within acceptable limit. Heavy metals can be present in foods from nature or as a result of human activities such as exhaust gases, industrial emissions and contamination during industrial processes. The presence of heavy metals in food and beverages indicates the degree of environmental pollution. The aim of this work was to point out the high nutritional benefits of whole grain consumption and its increased inclusion in a healthy diet, which would support the growth of the barley market through multielement analysis of barley samples. Malt is a scarce product on the world market, so the increased use of barley for the production of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is of great economic importance for Serbia and countries in the region.