Spectrophotometric Estimation of Metal Ions and Nutrient Value of Formulae Milk and Baby Foods Available in Pakistan Under Different Brand Names

Abstract

| The present study describes the concentrations of contaminating trace metals like iron, copper, zinc, cobalt, nickel and magnesium; toxic metals including cadmium and lead, micro nutrients including sodium and potassium among 27 different infant milk and baby foods. The samples were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometer prior to acid digestion. The levels of elements in analyzed samples were found to be under legal limits. Nickel concentration was found to be higher in some infant food that ranged 0.008-0.09 mg/g and in infant cereals ranged 0.005-0.01mg/g. The range of investigated metals zinc, iron, copper, cadmium, lead, sodium, potassium and magnesium, was 0.0005-0.12 mg/g, 0.002-0.13 mg/g, 0.0005-0.45 mg/g, 0.001-0.04 mg/g, 0.001-0.21 mg/g and 0.01-1-2.82 mg/g, 0.03-9.9 mg/g, and 0.01-0.046 mg/g in infant foods and cereals. The estimated intake of these metals were within recommended tolerable levels of these elements. Protein content was determined by Lowry's method that ranged 0.02-2.1 mg/ g. Moreover, infant formulas were analyzed for the bacterial load (probiotics) and it was found that most of the products analyzed in this study contained a sufficient amount of probiotic bacteria in them. Our data can guide the parents and physicians in the selection of baby foods in Pakistan.

Comparison of extraction methods and nutritional benefits of proteins of milk and dairy products: A review

“…This innovative assay will be relevant to the quantitative detection of protein in both colourless and coloured biological sample homogenates, including lipid-rich (e.g. avocado) and difficult-to-homogenise samples (Upreti et al 2012;Arif et al 2018Arif et al , 2021.…”