Mineral Composition of the Cockle (Anadara granosa) Shells of West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and It s Potential as Biomaterial for Use in Bone Repair

The study was conducted to determine the composition of mineral content of cockle (Anadara granosa) shells from 3 major cockle cultivation of West Coast of Malaysia. Three samples of cockle shells from three different sources were evaluated to determine the content of 12 macro-and micro-elements (Calcium (Ca), Carbon (C), Magnesium (Mg), Sodium (Na), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Ferum (Fe), Copper (Cu), Nickel ( Ni), Zink (Zn), Boron and Silica (Si)). For convenience and ease of reference, Ca and C were combine into one unit (Calcium Carbonate, CaC) while Mg, Na, P and K was evaluated individually and Fe, Cu, Ni, Zn, B and Si were evaluated as one group (others). Analysis of elements content was done using inductively Coupled plasma, Auto Analyzer, an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and Carbon Analyzer. Results in this study revealed that the mineral compositions of cockle shells from 3 different sources in West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia were consistence almost in all the samples. The percentage of CaC comprises of more than 98.7% of the total minerals content of the cockle shells of the 3 sources. About 1.3 % of the composition are comprises of Mg, Na, P, K and others (Fe, Cu, Ni, B, Zn and Si).Overall, the minerals composition of cockle shells of West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia are as followed: CaC 98.7 %, Mg 0.05%, Na 0.9%, p 0.02 and others 0.2%.