Innovative Ultrasound-Assisted Approaches towards Reduction of Heavy Metals and Iodine in Macroalgal Biomass

• Published in: Foods Vol. 10; no. 3; p. 649
• Main Authors: Noriega-Fernández, Estefanía, Sone, Izumi, Astráin-Redín, Leire, Prabhu, Leena, Sivertsvik, Morten, Álvarez, Ignacio, Cebrián, Guillermo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 19-03-2021; MDPI AG
• Subjects: arsenic; brown macroalgae; cadmium; EDTA; iodine; Laminaria hyperborea; nonthermal technologies; mild heat; brown macroalgae; cadmium; Laminaria hyperborea; iodine; hurdle technology; EDTA; arsenic
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods10030649

The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of ultrasound (US), alone or in combination with mild heating and/or EDTA towards reduction of As, Cd, I, and Hg content of
Concentrations of As, Cd, I, and Hg of 56.29, 0.596, 7340, and <0.01 mg kg
of dry weight, respectively, were found in
blades. Treatment with US at 50 °C increased approx. 2-fold the amount of As released, although did not affect significantly the content of Cd or I, as compared to control (no US) samples. Reducing the temperature to 8 °C significantly decreased the effect of US, but heating at 80 °C did not cause a significant effect as compared to treatments at 50 °C. On the other hand, treatment with 0.1 N EDTA at 50 °C enhanced the percentage of Cd released by approximately 7-fold, regardless of sonication. In the present work, the combination of US and EDTA at 50 °C for 5 min led to a significant reduction of the As (32%), Cd (52%) and I (31%) content in
, thus improving the product's safety for consumers.