Determination of 14 elements in botanical samples by simultaneous inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry using standard reference material as multielement standard

Abstract

This paper describes the method, in which NBS (National Bureau of Standards) SRM 1571 (Standard Reference Material, Orchard Leaves) was used as multielement standard to determine 14 elements including major, minor and trace elements in 2 NBS and 3 BCR (Community Bureau of Reference of the European Communities) botanical Standard Reference Materials by simultaneous ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy). Very good agreement between the results and the certified values or information data for 11 elements was found. The low values for Al, Ti and Fe were due to incomplete digestion (extraction inefficiency) by pressure ashing with nitric acid. But these three values can be regarded as the nitric acid soluble portion. The interelement interferences caused by the major components such as Ca, Mg, Al, Mn and Fe were discussed and corrected. The paired digestion solutions of NBS SRM 1571 were also used as quality control standards. Accurate and reliable analytical results can be obtained by this method.