Micro Mineral Composition of Several Traditional Food from Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Traditional foods from Central Java is part of Indonesian cuisine that varies greatly by region. Some of it have been passed through and consumed by many generations. This traditional food becomes significant part in fulfilling basic needs for human including physiological function and metabolism, which affected by the nutrients composition in the food. In this study, determination of the micro mineral composition as one of the important human nutrients was carried out using a specific and sensitive analytical technique Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA). About 27 samples of traditional food were obtained from Central Java Province. Micro mineral essential such as cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn) was determined, with the concentration range of 0.001-0.067, 0.006-0.774, 5.62-163.33, 0.002-0.231 and 0.95-35.84 mg/kg, respectively. The water content of the food samples were also calculated, with the range of 3.58-97.06%. The results can be utilized to complete the Indonesian food composition data (FCD) particularly in micro mineral database for local food items, which still limited. Information on the nutrient composition of food including micro mineral essential in the FCD is important for dietary assessment, research into diet-disease relationships, food regulatory policy formation and food labelling.