Acid Decomposition of Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) Using a Reflux System for the Evaluation of Al, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Pb and Zn Contents by Atomic Spectrometric Techniques

In the first part of this paper, two acid decomposition procedures for the determination of Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn and Zn contents in yerba mate samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) were compared. Using a reflux system, the samples were treated with a mixture of HNO3 and H2O2 for 3 hours at 220 °C in the digester block. The results from five commercial yerba mate samples were compared with the results obtained from microwave digestion. Good agreement between the procedures at a 95% confidence level was obtained with relative standard deviation (RSD) values...