Overview
Staff of Sri Lanka’s Coconut Development Authority analyzed fresh coconut kernel and three retail coconut products by atomic absorption. Iron, zinc, copper and manganese were quantified, while lead, cadmium, arsenic, chromium and aluminum were not detected in any sample. Coconut water was not tested.
Key numbers
- Lead, cadmium and arsenic not detected in any sample (detection level 0.5 mg/kg each); chromium not detected (1.5 mg/kg) (Results, p. 3).
- Fresh coconut kernel: iron 1.581 ± 0.021, manganese 1.06 ± 0.02 mg/100 g (Table 1).
- Coconut milk: zinc 0.92 ± 0.019, copper 0.33 ± 0.029 mg/100 g (Table 1).
Methods (brief)
Samples were oven-dried at 105 °C, microwave-digested with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide, and analyzed in duplicate by flame and graphite furnace AAS (AOAC 999.10) with reagent blanks. No reference material is reported, and the weight basis of Table 1 is not stated.
Evidence Fitness
Small preliminary survey with high detection limits (0.5 mg/kg for lead and cadmium), so the non-detects are weakly informative. Coconut milk and kernel are a proxy for coconut water, so the coconut-water page is not linked. The PDF carries no DOI; the manifest DOI is the journal’s archive DOI.