title: Determination of trace elements in soybean by X-ray fluorescence analysis and its application to identification of their production areas.
abstract: Trace elemental analysis of soybeans was performed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis in order to characterise the geographical origins of the beans. By optimising the measurement conditions of an energy-dispersive XRF spectrometer equipped with three-dimensional polarisation optics, determination of trace elements at the sub-μgg(-1) level in soybean samples was accomplished. Forty-six samples were analysed. Results showed that there were some differences between the trace element contents, reflecting a difference in their geographical origins. A statistical analysis showed that the concentrations of eight elements (Mg, P, Cl, K, Mn, Cu, Br, and Ba) are good parameters for constructing a discriminant function for geographical origin. In conclusion, we were able to accurately distinguish between domestic and imported soybeans. The present work demonstrates that XRF is useful as a rapid and simple tool for provenance analyses of agricultural products.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8601, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Otaka
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hokura
authors.forename: Izumi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nakai
mesh_terms: D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005843:Geography; D013025:Glycine max / Q000737:chemistry*; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission / Q000379:methods*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Food forensic; Geographical origin; Multivariate analysis; Trace elements; X-ray fluorescence analysis