In this work, a methodology for determination of As(III), As(V), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), Fe(II) and Fe(III) in fifty-eight samples (forty-nine products of thirteen brands from three countries) commercial yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) was performed. The hyphenated high performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (HPLC-ICP OES) technique was used. Arsenic was determined below the quantification limit in 38 samples of yerba mate. As(III) was found at the level 0.09 and 0.08 mg kg-1. The As(V) content was in the range: 0.21 to 0.28 mg kg-1. The content of DMA was found the highest of the three arsenic species in the range: 0.21 to 0.47 mg kg-1. The content of Fe(II) and Fe(III) was found in the range: 0.61 to 15.4 mg kg-1 and 0.66 to 43.1 mg kg-1, respectively and the dominance of Fe(III) was observed. Moreover, total and extractable content of 16 elements were determined. The results have been subjected to statistical analysis in order to establish relationships between samples of the same origin (country), kind (type) and composition (purity).
Keywords: ICP OES; essential trace elements; hyphenated systems; potentially toxic elements; speciation analysis; yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis).