Determination of Mineral Elements in Crocus Sativus L. by the Method of Microwave Digestion and ICP-OES

By microwave wet digestion procedure with HNO₃/H₂O₂ to prepare samples, the mineral elements in Crocus sativus L. were completely analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). The results showed there were 17 mineral elements in Crocus sativus L., which were Na, K, S, Mg, P, Si, Ca, Fe, Al, Ti, Zn, Mn, B, Sr, Cu, Ba and Cr. The RSD of the determining result was between 0.75% and 9.49%. The mass fraction of some macroelements of the human body in Crocus sativus L., such as Na, K, S, Mg, P, Ca et al, were 0.56%, 0.54%, 0.44%, 0.41%, 0.31% and 0.23%, respectively. The contents of some necessary microelements, for example Fe, Zn, Cu and Cr, were 43.4, 1.24, 0.35, 0.10 mg/100 g, respectively. The contents of those elements such as Si, Mn and B, which may be necessary to the human body, were 275.1, 1.07, 0.51 mg/100 g. There has no some heavy metals such Cd, Pb, Hg, and As in Crocus sativus L.