Feasibility of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence for quantitative prediction of elemental profile in untreated bovine colostrum

Colostrum is the first secretion produced by the mammary gland after calving, providing essential macronutrients and micronutrients to newborns. Monitoring elemental concentrations in bovine colostrum (BC) is crucial, as it serves for the physiological development and health of the neonates. Current gold-standard methods to determine elemental composition of BC are inductively coupled plasma optical-emission spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma MS. These techniques, however, are time-consuming, expensive, labor-intensive, and destructive, and they require sample preparation such as chemical matrix decomposition. In this view, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) could represent a handy alternative. This study evaluated the effectiveness of ED-XRF for the prediction of Na, Mg, P, S, K, Ca, and Zn in BC measured through inductively coupled plasma optical-emission spectrometry as reference method. The performances of ED-XRF in predicting BC elemental composition were assess...