Aluminium in Libyan Cereals and Its Daily Intake Assessment

Shaban W. Al-Rmalli

Abstract

Dietary aluminium intake in Libya was estimated by consuming cereals. Aluminium concentrations of wheat, barley, corn, and rice were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Aluminium content in cereals ranged from 0.62 to 40 mg/kg. The daily dietary aluminium intakes from wheat, barley, corn, and rice were 7.86, 0.56, 0.018 and 0.115 mg/day, respectively, however, for all cereals was 8.56 mg/day. The mean weekly percentages of the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI, established by the joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives in 2011) from wheat and all cereals are 39.3 and 42.8%, respectively. These values of aluminium may be concerned if it is added to concentrations of aluminium from other food including meat, vegetables, and tea infusion. More study should be done for estimating daily intakes of aluminium in Libyan population for different type of foods.

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