Vol. 337 No. 5 (2026)
DOI https://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2026/5/5106
Mineral composition and geochemical features of choleoliths of Yakutia residents
Relevance. In recent years, the issue of sustainable and comfortable environmental conditions has been becoming increasingly relevant. Unfavourable environmental impacts lead to disruptions in the intake of chemical elements into the body, which, in its turn, contributes to the development of various pathologies. One such pathology is the formation of gallstones. Aim. To identify possible interrelations between the impact of natural lithogenic and anthropogenic factors and the structure, mineralogical, and trace element composition of human biominerals in sparsely populated areas of the North. Methods. Spectral methods of analysis, X-ray phase analysis, and statistical methods were used to examine the samples. Results and conclusions. The authors have studied the gallstones from inhabitants of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). They analyzed the mineralogical, macroelemental (K, Na), and microelemental (Mn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn, Cd, As, Ti, Bi, Zr, Au, Ta, Sb, Ga, W, Cr, Ge, Ba, Be, Nb, Sn, V, Mo, Li, La, In, Sc, Yb, Y, Ag, Co, Sr) composition of the gallstone samples. It was found that the concentrations of elements in gallstones are distributed in the following order: Na>K>Mn>Cu>Pb>Ni>Zn>Bi>Cd>As, which may indicate specific environmental or metabolic affects. The elemental concentrations followed the order Na > K > Mn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Zn > Bi > Cd > As, suggesting specific environmental or metabolic influences. The trace element results were compared with previously published data from Siberian regions of Russia and other countries. Additionally, the paper provides the data on the mineralogical composition of gallstones, which includes cholesterol and its derivatives, bilirubin, phosphate, and calcium carbonates (vaterite, calcite). The authors employed descriptive statistics to analyze possible relationships between mineral and trace element compositions, sex, age, and area of residence, allowing for a quantitative assessment of trace element variations during gallstone formation.
For citation: Legostaeva Ya.B., Vasileva T.I., Shadrinova O.V. Mineral composition and geochemical features of choleoliths of Yakutia residents. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Assets Engineering, 2026, vol. 337, no. 5, pp. 94-105. https://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2026/5/5106
Keywords:
gallstones, cholesterol, vaterite, calcite, apatite, elemental composition, statistics
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