Elemental analysis of the Taiwanese health food Angelica keiskei by INAA

The health food Angelica keiskei, planted and consumed as an oriental herb, was sampled from five farms in Taiwan. The determination of minor and trace elements identified in the roots, fresh leaves and stems of the plant, as well as in end-products such as tea bags and capsules, is essential for estimating the recommended daily intake for ensuring optimum health safety. Samples were homogenized prior to freeze-drying, and were irradiated with a neutron flux at about 2.0^.10¹² n^.cm^-1.s^-1. A total of 17 elements were analyzed using INAA. In the collected samples the elements exist in widely differing concentrations, ranging from 10⁵ to 10^-2 mg/g for different farms. We found that aluminum is more highly concentrated in roots than in any other part of the plant. Selenium was the only element analyzed down to 10^-1 mg/g in the leaves. Meanwhile, arsenic was also found in the roots and stems at levels of nearly 10^-2 mg/g. The elemental concentrations and maximum daily intake (MDI) of this herb are compared with those of Angelica sinensis (Danggui in Mandarin), Ligusticum chuanxiony (Chuanxiong in Mandarin) and Panax ginseng (Ginseng in Mandarin) as well as with the recommended daily dietary intake values for Taiwanese consumers, developed by the WHO.