Assessment of Physicochemical, Macro- and Microelements, Heavy Metals, and Related Human Health Risk from Organically, Conventionally, and Homemade Romanian Wines

• Published in: Horticulturae Vol. 8; no. 5; p. 382
• Main Authors: Bora, Florin Dumitru, Călugăr, Anamaria, Bunea, Claudiu-Ioan, Rozsa, Sandor, Bunea, Andrea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.05.2022
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Agriculture; Alcohol; Chemical composition; Composition; conventional wine; Diet; Dietary intake; elemental profile; Environmental impact; Farming; Food contamination & poisoning; Food intake; Health risks; Heavy metals; homemade wine; ICP-MS; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Iron; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Metal concentrations; Metals; Organic farming; organic wine; Polyethylene; Quality standards; Quotients; Sulfur dioxide; Trace elements; Trace elements (nutrients); wine; Wineries & vineyards; Wines; Italy; Romania; France; Germany
• ISSN: 2311-7524; 2311-7524
• DOI: 10.3390/horticulturae8050382

From the consumers’ perspective, organic and homemade products have become more attractive than conventional ones. However, scientific data regarding the characteristics, properties, and composition of these products are scarce. This study assessed the elemental composition of organic, conventional, and homemade Romanian wines. The physicochemical composition, SO2 (free and total) and total concentration of macroelements, microelements, and heavy metals from nine wine regions containing 165 samples of white (38 organic/70 conventional/57 homemade), 67 red (22/31/14) and 7 rosé (2/2/3) wines were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Dietary intake and target hazard quotient were also evaluated. The phytochemical and elemental compositions of the wine samples varied across regions and wine types. The highest levels of Ca, K, Fe and Al were detected in conventional wines, while homemade wines recorded high concentrations of Na, Mg, V, Ba and Rb. In the case of the rosé wine samples, the levels of trace elements and heavy metals were below the admissible limit. The estimated daily intake of a glass of wine provided less than 0.5% of the tolerable daily intake of the analyzed elements. No health concerns were identified. All wine samples can be safely consumed, regardless of the culture system used for production, and homemade wines are not of a lower quality than organic or conventional wines.