Assessment of essential and non-essential metals in Ethiopian traditional fermented alcoholic beverages

A Debebe,B S Chandravanshi,M R Abshiro

doi:10.4314/bcse.v31i1.2

Abstract

Evaluation of the levels of essential and non-essential metal concentrations in Ethiopian traditional fermented alcoholic beverages (Tella, Tej, Birz, Korefe, Keribo and Borde) was conducted using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) after HNO3/H2O2 digestion process. A total of 10 bulk samples were collected randomly from vending houses at five different sub-cities of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia (Lideta-Kolfe, Bole-Kirkose, Yeka-Gullele, Arada-Addis Ketema and Akaki-Kaliti-Lafto) and from five nearby towns (Sebeta, Dukem, Sululta, Sendafa, and Burayu) of Oromia Regional State. The considered metals include: Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Co and Mn to ascertain their levels. With 88–96% recovery Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb and Mn were detected at varying concentrations in the beverages, while Co, Ni and Cr were below detection limits. All the beverages were rich in Ca, Mg and Zn. Among the trace metals found Zn was the first. The levels of the trace metals were generally low, and within statutory safe limits set by World Health Organization (WHO). Mineral concentrations were found to be significantly different among the beverages studied (p < 0.05). The levels of metals in the Ethiopian fermented beverages were found comparable with the reported ones. KEY WORDS: Ethiopian beverages, Traditional beverages, Fermented beverages, Essential elements, Non-essential elements Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2017, 31(1), 17-30.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v31i1.2

Highlights

Traditional alcoholic beverages are indigenous to a particular area and are prepared by the local people using old age techniques and locally available raw materials [1, 2]; different countries, including Ethiopia have various indigenous alcoholic beverages [3,4,5,6,7]
Traditional fermented alcoholic beverages of Ethiopia were investigated for their major, trace and toxic metallic contents
The results confirmed that metals concentrations in Ethiopian fermented beverages differ among samples of different types and among samples of the same types because metals in beverages are derived from various raw materials, equipment and brewing processes

Summary

Introduction

Traditional alcoholic beverages are indigenous to a particular area and are prepared by the local people using old age techniques and locally available raw materials [1, 2]; different countries, including Ethiopia have various indigenous alcoholic beverages [3,4,5,6,7]. Essential elements at excessive levels and toxic metals may lead to severe effects that include enhance premature aging and cause oxidative damage [11], reduced growth and development, cancer, organ damage, nervous system damage, and in extreme cases, death [12,13,14,15]. Toxic metals such as Cd and Hg are known to impair kidney functions and reproductive capacity, cause hypertension, tumor and hepatic dysfunction; whereas Pb can cause renal failure, liver damage, impaired hearing or cause mental retardation and in women, a shortened gestation period [11]. Unlike in commercial alcoholic products, the role of metals in promoting or degrading the quality of traditional alcoholic beverages is not well documented

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