Abstract
Major and minor mineral contents of young shoots, flower buds, caperberries (fruit), and seeds of Capparis ovata Desf. var. canescens (Coss.) Heywood, used as a pickling product in Turkey, were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Twenty-one minerals were assayed in samples. All materials contained high amounts of Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, Pb, and Zn. The highest levels of Ca (598.34–16,947.1 ppm), K (3,093.1–28,163.9 ppm), Na (57.9–444.3 ppm), P (1,690.5–4,153.9 ppm), and Zn (21.1–35.6 ppm) were found in flower buds. The content of K was high in most cases and ranged from 28,163.9 ppm (flower bud) to 3,093.1 ppm (caper seed). Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Pb, and Se contents of caper plant organs were found to be very low. Consequently, caper parts were rich in minerals, and they may be valuable for food uses. The results may also be useful for the evaluation of nutritional information.
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