title: Elemental composition of edible nuts: fast optimization and validation procedure of an ICP-OES method.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry method for the speedy simultaneous detection of 19 elements in edible nuts (walnuts: Juglans nigra; almonds: Prunus dulcis; hazelnuts: Corylus avellana; Brazil nuts: Bertholletia excelsa; cashews: Anacardium occidentalle; pistachios: Pistacia vera; and peanuts: Arachis hypogaea) available on the Serbian markets, was optimized and validated through the selection of instrumental parameters and analytical lines free from spectral interference and with the lowest matrix effects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysed macro-elements were present in the following descending order: Na > Mg > Ca > K. Of all the trace elements, the tested samples showed the highest content of Fe. The micro-element Se was detected in all the samples of nuts. The toxic elements As, Cd and Pb were either not detected or the contents were below the limit of detection. One-way analysis of variance, Student's t-test, Tukey's HSD post hoc test and hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis were applied in the statistical analysis of the results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the detected content of analysed elements it can be concluded that nuts may be a good additional source of minerals as micronutrients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia.
authors.forename: Snežana B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Tošić
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia.
authors.forename: Snežana S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Mitić
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia.
authors.forename: Dragan S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1500-5640
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Velimirović
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia.
authors.forename: Gordana S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Stojanović
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia.
authors.forename: Aleksandra N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Pavlović
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia.
authors.forename: Emilija T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Pecev-Marinković
mesh_terms: D027926:Anacardiaceae / Q000737:chemistry; D010367:Arachis / Q000737:chemistry; D031383:Bertholletia / Q000737:chemistry; D004032:Diet; D006801:Humans; D029525:Juglandaceae / Q000737:chemistry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis*; D009753:Nutritive Value; D009754:Nuts / Q000737:chemistry*; D000068181:Prunus dulcis / Q000737:chemistry; D012643:Selenium / Q000032:analysis; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D008903:Minerals; D014131:Trace Elements; D012643:Selenium
keywords: ICP-OES; elemental composition; method optimization and validation; nuts; statistics