Manganese quantification in some Egyptian food items using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy

The current study was conducted to measure the manganese content in nine different food groups. A cross-sectional study was designed; a total of 89 food items were randomly purchased from the main markets and hypermarkets in Alexandria Governorate, then digested by wet ashing procedure and finally analyzed using ICP-OES. The highest mean Mn value was obtained in the fat group (6.75 mu g/g) compared to the other eight groups, followed by nuts (4.64 mu g/g) and the protein-rich food group (4.52 mu g/g), while meat and its products have the lowest mean of Mn (0.53 mu g/g). Manganese content in food groups is strongly correlated with the food matrix, soil composition, and fortification process. Local butter, margarine, sunflower oil, corn oil, Scomberomorus commerson, poulty fish, pistachio, and walnuts had the highest content of manganese.