Abstract
IN the course of an investigation into the mineral content of foodstuffs, some analyses of hens' eggs were made. The white and yolk were treated separately. The ash was analysed by the ordinary arc spectrum method, and the liquids were also analysed directly by a spark technique similar to that described by Langstroth and Macrae1. Calcium, magnesium and sodium were present in relatively large quantities in all specimens. Potassium and lithium were also present in fair quantity. Traces of the following elements were also found in both yolk and white: copper, iron, manganese, strontium, silicon, phosphorus and aluminium. Barium was present in the yolk but could not be detected in the white. A very small trace of lead was indicated in one specimen of white, but its presence could not be detected in other specimens. The following elements were not present in detectable quantity in any specimen: boron (< 0.2), chromium (< 1.0), molybdenum (< 1.0), zinc (< 10), nickel (< 1.0), cobalt (< 1.0), cadmium (< 0.2) and antimony (< 20, < 200); the figures given in brackets indicate limits of detection in parts per million.
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References
Langstroth and Macrae, Can. J. Res., A, 16, 17 (1938).
Drea, J. Nutrition, 10, 354 (1935).
Webb, Sci. Proc. Roy. Dublin Soc., 21, No. 46, 501 (1937).
McCance and Widdowson, "Chemical Composition of Foods".
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PRESS, R. Spectrochemical Analysis of Eggs. Nature 148, 753 (1941). https://doi.org/10.1038/148753b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/148753b0
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