Determination of the trace element contents of Althaea rosea seeds by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and evaluation using multivariate analysis

In the present study, trace elements including Na, Mg, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in Althaea rosea seeds were determined by flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. This method coupled with microwave-assisted acid digestion, based on a mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. In order to get a better insight into the elemental patterns, the chemometric techniques of principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) were used for the classification studies. Three groups classified by PCA and CA were attributed partly to Althaea rosea seeds from ten different production areas of Xinjiang. The average concentrations of the determined elements (expressed as μg/g) were as follows: 124.539 for Na, 2984.901 for Mg, 14689.265 for K, 391.675 for Ca, 35.556 for Mn, 1036.345 for Fe, 58.058 for Cu, 70.264 for Zn, 3.576 for Cd and 0.011 for Pb.