Rare earth elements distribution in grape berries

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) include 15 lanthanides, yttrium and scandium. Their occurrence in soil and plants seems to be closely tied to the geological composition of the underlying mother rock, to the physical and chemical properties of the soil and to the specific ability of the plant to take up and accumulate these microelements. To date knowledge regarding the composition and distribution of trace elements in Vitis vinifera has been lacking or is inadequate. The aim of this research was to study REEs distribution in Chardonnay berries harvested at ripeness in 2006 in Trentino (north-eastern Italy).
After washing and microwave acid digestion, both the total REEs content in the berries and the REEs distribution within the skin, seeds and flesh were quantified. Analysis of 13 elements (yttrium, Y; lanthanum, La; cerium, Ce; praseodymium, Pr; neodymium, Nd; samarium, Sm; europium, Eu; gadolinium, Gd; dysprosium, Dy; holmium, Ho; erbium Er; thulium, Tm; ytterbium, Yb) was carried out with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer.
The total REEs content measured in berries was 2.079 μg/kg of fresh weight. The order in terms of percentage content within the berry was skin > flesh > seeds (p<0.05) for Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Ho and Er. For Tm and Yb there were no significant differences between the skin and flesh. Eu showed a significantly different distribution pattern.