[Determination of vanadium concentration in foods produced on the Eastern Coast of Lake Maracaibo].

In the northeastern coast of Lake Maracaibo it has been reported some years ago a high incidence of congenital malformations of the Central Nervous Systems (Neural Tube Defects Type). This epidemiological problem is present in other countries too (Ireland and New Zealand) and has been associated with oil activities. In fact, some experimental works inform about the vanadium compounds cellular toxic effects mainly in the Central Nervous System of mammals. The main goal of this work is to measure the vanadium content in foods produced in the northeastern coast of Lake Maracaibo. Lagunillas, Valmore Rodriguez, and Baralt were the districts selected for the work. The digestion of the samples achieved by the methodology reported by Myron et al., with Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption. The amounts of vanadium in the different foods analized were higher than the controls in the bibliographic reports. At this moment, there is not definitive proofs that vanadium compounds are the etiological agents of the Neural Tube Defects, but, these compounds are presents in foods produced in the northeastern coast of Lake Maracaibo.