Application of diffraction techniques in the analysis of food supplements : bachelor thesis

Dodaci prehrani obogaćuju svakodnevnu prehranu s primarnim zadatkom oĉuvanja zdravlja. Upravo zbog svih benefita koje pruţaju ljudskom organizmu, potrebno je zadovoljiti dnevne potrebe vitamina i minerala, no naţalost to je sve teţe zbog suvremenog naĉina ţivota i nedostatka raznolikosti u rutinskoj prehrani ljudi. Najuĉestaliji dodaci koji se koriste kao nadomjestak hrani su vitamini, minerali i biljni ekstrakti. U poslijednje vrijeme dostupnost razliĉitih pripravaka od razliĉitih proizvoĊaĉa je lakša nego ikada do sada. Osim toga, prodaja ovih pripravaka je i medijski popraćena na naĉin da se kupce stimulira na kupovinu istih kroz navoĊenje niza djelotvornih uĉinaka na zdravlje poput smanjenja apetita, povećanja mišićne mase, poboljšanja pamćenja i cirkulacije itd. Spomenuta kategorija pripravaka smatra se hranom zbog ĉega je zakonska regulativa manje rigorozna u usporedbi s kontrolom lijekova koji podlijeţu strogim ispitivanjima. Uobiĉajene analitiĉke metode koje se primjenjuju u analizi dodataka prehrani su kromatografske i spektroskopske metode. U ovom radu korištena je rendgenska difrakcijska analiza (XRD) na praškastim, polikristalnim uzorcima mineralnih dodataka prehrani u cilju utvrĊivanja uĉinkovitosti iste u analizi dodataka prehrani.Dietary supplements enrich the daily diet with the primary task of maintaining health. Precisely because of all the benefits they provide to the human body, it is necessary to meet the daily needs of vitamins and minerals, but unfortunately this is increasingly difficult due to the modern way of life and the lack of variety in the routine diet of people. The most common supplements used as food substitutes are vitamins, minerals and plant extracts.Recently, the availability of various preparations from different manufacturers is easier than ever. In addition, the sale of these preparations is accompained by the media in such a way as to stimulate customers to buy them by stating a number of effective effects on health, such as reducing appetite, increasing muscle mass, improving memory and circulation, etc. The mentioned category of preparations is considered as food, therefore the legal regulations are less strict than for medicinal products, which are subject to strict control. Common methods of analysis for food supplements are chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. In this work, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) was used on powdered, polycrystalline samples of mineral food supplements in order to determine the effectiveness of the same in supplement analysis