Intake of nickel and vanadium by humans. A survey of selected diets

The nickel and vanadium contents of nine institutional diets were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry with background correction. The following values were obtained for nickel: mean concentration, 0.27 +/- 0.02 microgram/g (dry weight); range, 0.19 and 0.41 microgram/g; mean intake, 165 +/- 11 microgram/day or 75 +/- 10 microgram/1000 cal. The respective values for vanadium were: 0.032 +/- 0.004 microgram/g (dry weight); 0.019 to 0.050 microgram/g; 20.4 +/- 2.3 microgram/day or 8.9 +/- 1.0 microgram/1000 cal. Thus, vanadium is present at approximately one order of magnitude less than nickel.