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The use of nitrogen as plasma gas for microwave plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (MP AES) is an interesting development in analytical science since the running cost can be significantly reduced in comparison to the inductively coupled argon plasma. Here, we evaluate the performance of the Agilent 4100 MP AES instrument for the analysis of principal metals (Ca, K, Mg, and Na), lithogenic metals (Al, Fe, and Mn) and selected trace metals (As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) in nitric acid plant digests. The digests were prepared by microwave-assisted dissolution of dry plant material from sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ) in concentrated nitric acid. Comparisons are made with analysis of the same solutions with ICP-MS (Agilent 7500cx) using the octopole reaction system (ORS) in the collision mode for As, Fe, and V. The limits of detection were usually in the low µg L −1 range and all principal and lithogenic metals were successfully determined with the MP AES and provided almost identical results with the ICP-MS. The same applies for the selected trace metals except for As, Co and Mo where the concentrations were below the detection limit with the MP AES. For successful analysis we recommend that (i) only atom lines are used, (ii) ionization is minimized (e.g. addition of CsNO 3 ) and (iii) the use of internal standards should be considered to resolve spectral interferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]