Green coconut water for intravenous use: Trace and minor element content

Detection of the adulteration of fresh coconut water via NMR spectroscopy and chemometrics

Here, we applied NMR spectroscopy in combination with chemometrics to quantify the adulteration of fresh coconut water, stretched with water-sugar mixtures. Coconut water was extracted from young Costa Rican coconuts and adulterated with concentrations of various sugar solutions. A total of 45 samples were analysed by 1D proton NMR spectroscopy and chemometrics. Results showed highly sensitive quantification, with a limit of detection of adulteration with sugars of 1.3% and a root-mean-squared error of prediction of 0.58%. Interestingly, we identified a regular drift in the chemical shift and a change in the lineshape of malic acid signals concomitant with increasing levels of adulteration. On further investigation, this was found to originate from changes in the concentration of divalent cations, such as magnesium, within the samples. It can be concluded that 1H NMR spectroscopy enables accurate quantification for the degree of adulteration in this product, with the added discovery finding that the shift and lineshape of the malic acid signal can be utilised as a potential diagnostic marker for partial substitution of fresh coconut water with extrinsic components such as sugar mixtures.

Chromatography and atomic absorption spectrometry for the assessment of heavy metal distribution among amino acids used in parenteral nutrition formulations-studies with cadmium and lead

The distribution of Cd (II) and Pb (II) among amino acids in parenteral nutrition formulations was investigated by coupling ion-chromatography (HPLC/IC) and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The methodology was based on ion-exchange separation and fluorimetric amino acid detection after post-column derivatization. Cd (II) and Pb (II) were assayed in 500-µL fractions of the column effluent. The distribution of Cd (II) and Pb (II) in alanine (Ala), aspartic acid (Asp), glutamic acid (Glu), glycine (Gly), histidine (His), methionine (Met), phenylalanine (Phe), serine (Ser), and threonine (Thr) were analyzed by monitoring changes in the concentration of free amino acids by HPLC/IC. The results indicated that Cd (II) and Pb (II) were distributed according to the following trend: Gly-Cd > Gly-Pb > Ala-Cd > Ala-Pb > His-Cd ∼ His-Pb > Thr-Cd > Thr-Pb > Phe-Cd ∼ Phe-Pb ∼ Asp-Cd ∼ Asp-Pb ∼ Met-Cd ∼ Met-Pb ∼ Glu-Cd ∼ Glu-Pb > Ser-Cd ∼ Ser-Pb. The effects of amino acid concentration and stability constants of amino acid-metal complexes are discussed.