Characterization of the bioaccessibility of minerals from commercial breakfast cereals by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES).

Abstract

Traditional chocolate and whole-meal flour breakfast cereals were analyzed to determine the total concentrations and bioaccessibilities

of some elements. For the total concentration, the samples were pre- pared by microwave digestion. In addition, certified reference materi- als were used to verify the accuracy of the method, which was

82–106% for the analytes. Great variation in the concentrations was observed, possibly due to the raw materials used to produce the cereals. For the bioaccessibility study, an in vitro digestion method

was used, and the accuracy was verified by the addition and recov- ery method. Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn had detectable bioaccessibilities

from 37% to 47%, 1% to 41%, 8% to 61%, and 4% to 24% of the

total concentrations, respectively. Aluminum, Ba, and Mo had con- centrations below the limit of quantification. Therefore, breakfast

cereals complement a healthy diet, since some essential elements have high bioaccessibilities.