Total content and in vitro bioaccessibility of tellurium in Brazil nuts.

Alongside the Brazil nut's role as an excellent source of vitamins, oil, fatty acids, lipids and nutrients, it is also recognized as a rich source of selenium. The pathway along which selenium and sulfur are metabolized in plants is theorized to be the same as that used for tellurium. Total tellurium content and its bioaccessibility are then evaluated by ICP-MS. Interferences and sample preparation are evaluated for the accurate determination of tellurium, and the accuracy determined through analysis of the certified reference material 1643e. A concentration of 4.02 ± 0.391 ng g-1 is obtained as an average concentration through external and internal calibrations. Through this reliable result, tellurium bioaccessibility in Brazil nuts is obtained via an in vitro validated unified bioaccessibility method. Values of 32% and 30% of total tellurium are available in the gastric and gastrointestinal fractions, respectively.