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Samples of widely used dietary supplements distributed on the Romanian market were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in order to assess the levels of oligoelements Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn as well as potentially toxic heavy metals Cd and Pb, and compare them with the maximum allowable levels (MAL). The following concentration ranges were obtained (in mg g^-1): Cd 0.01-0.09; Co 0.03-0.6; Cr 1.1-11.9; Cu 5.5-14.7; Mn 1.8-39.1; Ni 0.4-4.7; Pb 0.8-3.1; Zn 18.8-12119.4. Several analyzed products had metals levels above the maximum allowable limits (Pb: one plant based product and one multivitamin product; Zn: two multivitamin multimineral products). The estimated cumulative daily intakes of only one formulation was higher than the oral permitted daily exposures set by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Advisory Panel on metal impurities (Pb: one plant based product). Such products present a significant additional source of metals in the human diet, and therefore could be harmful for human health.

Keywords: dietary supplements, inductively couple plasma mass spectrometry, heavy metal levels, cumulative daily intakes