title: Trace elements in rock salt and their bioavailability estimated from solubility in acid.
abstract: In this study, 18 partly commercially available samples of rock salt from Austria, Germany, Pakistan, Poland, Switzerland, and Ukraine were investigated with respect to their content of trace elements using instrumental neutron activation analysis. Elements detected were Al, Ba, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, La, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, and Zn, some of them only in individual cases. An estimation of the bioavailability of these trace elements was performed by dissolving an equivalent of the sodium chloride samples in diluted hydrochloric acid (simulating stomach acid), filtering off the insoluble components, and analyzing the evaporated filtrate. It could be shown that in most cases bioactive trace elements like Fe can be found in rock salt in the form of almost insoluble compounds and are therefore not significantly bioavailable, whereas thorium, for example, was partly bioavailable in two cases. A significant contribution to the recommended daily intake of metal trace elements by using rock salt for nutrition can be excluded.
authors.affiliation: Vienna University of Technology, Atominstitut der Osterreichischen Universitäten, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Vienna, Austria. georg.steinhauser@ati.ac.at
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Steinhauser
authors.forename: Johannes H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sterba
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Poljanc
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bichler
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Buchtela
mesh_terms: D001682:Biological Availability; D005060:Europe; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid