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Differences in trace elements over 10 thousand years: comparison of superficial enamel Pb, Mn, Zn, Cu, Sr, Cd, Ba, and Ag
Author(s) -
Ramos Junia,
Bilal Alina S,
Toledo T C I,
Veiga Marcia A M S,
Maranhao Tatiane Andrade,
Ramos Juliano Carvalho,
Line Sergio Roberto Peres,
Cartelle Cástor,
Gerlach Raquel Fernanda
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.778.2
Subject(s) - enamel paint , trace element , trace minerals , manganese , chemistry , inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry , environmental chemistry , mineralogy , fluoride , radiochemistry , dentistry , mass spectrometry , inorganic chemistry , chromatography , medicine , food science , organic chemistry
Some elements accumulate in the outer enamel of teeth, such as lead, fluoride, and manganese. It is well‐established that a few elements accumulated in the soil and sea as a consequence of anthropic activity, but the impact of this recent accumulation is difficult to study, particularly because the concentrations of this elements in animals tissues are difficult to measure, particularly those that accumulate in calcified tissues. Therefore, we hypothesized that the trend towards accumulation in the outer enamel might happen with other elements that have not been previously studied. This study aimed at comparing the concentrations of the trace‐elements Pb, Mn, Zn, Cu, Sr, Cd, Ba, and Ag in the superficial enamel contemporary with ancient teeth, as well as with non‐hominine primate teeth. The studied sample included the following groups of teeth: ancient humans: 22 teeth of 13 human older than 10 thousand years, based on anthropological assessment; Non‐human primates: a set of 20 teeth of 20 different individuals of several species of non‐human primates; Contemporary humans: 23 teeth of 13 individuals from the Anatomy Department. The teeth were submitted to two successive superficial etches using ultrapure diluted HCl for 30 seconds each. The samples were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP‐MS). Statistical analyses were performed to determine significant differences. No reference to the major elements Ca and P was made in the analyses. The most abundant of the trace elements found was Zn, which accounted for about 3/4 of the total amount of trace elements found in all samples, with no significant different between the groups tested. Cd could not be determined, its concentrations were below detection level. Pb showed no statistical difference, although 10% of the contemporary humans and the non‐human primates had high Pb in the outer enamel, as already found in other outer enamel human studies. Ba was significant higher in ancient teeth in comparison to contemporary ones (p=0.012), with a 6X decrease in contemporary humans, while non‐human primate teeth displayed intermediate concentrations. A similar trend was found for Mn, which was 10X higher in ancient teeth (p=0.00007 for comparison with contemporary teeth). An inverse trend was observed in Sr levels, which were 2 times lower in ancient teeth (p=0.0012 for comparison with contemporary teeth). Many of these elements are essential for life, being co‐factors of enzymes. Therefore, it seems that further studies on the concentration of elements using the outer enamel may help understanding changes in the availability and how mammals organisms dealt with their changes over time.