Jurowski Kamil, Kondratowicz-Pietruszka Elżbieta, Krośniak Mirosław
Institute of Medical Studies, Medical College, Rzeszów University, Al. mjr. W. Kopisto 2a, 35-959, Rzeszów, Poland.
Department of General Chemistry, Cracow University of Economics, Sienkiewicza 5, 30-033, Kraków, Poland.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2023 May;201(5):2627-2635. doi: 10.1007/s12011-022-03348-7. Epub 2022 Jul 2.
Mint tea (Mentha piperita L.) is one of the most widely consumed single infusion herbal teas (infusion) around the world; however, impurities and pollutants can pose a potential health risk to human health during tea drinking. The idea of this study was the comprehensive toxicological risk assessment (TRA) of three heavy metals (As, Pb, and Cd) in mint tea infusions (Mentha piperita L.; n = 17) available in Polish markets. We applied an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)-based methodology for the determination of the chosen heavy metals and designed a specific TRA approach. The first step in our TRA was the determination of the elements investigated (heavy metal impurity profile, µg/L of infusion). The second step was the estimation of the weekly intake (µg/L of infusion/week) based on the weekly consumption of tea. The third step was the estimation of the weekly intake per body weight (µg/L of infusion/week/bw) based on the weekly consumption of tea per adult person compared to the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) established by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). The level of investigated heavy metals occurs in all of the investigated mint tea infusions but at a relatively low level. The heavy metal profile indicated presence of As (0.36-1.254 µg/L), Pb (0.47-1.24 µg/L), and Cd (0.17-0.40 µg/L) in all the samples investigated. The basic analysis of the general content shows that As levels (mean = 0.70 µg/L) were very similar to the Pb levels (mean = 0.72 µg/L). The Cd content (mean = 0.21 µg/L) was approximately 3.5 times lower than the As and Pb levels. TRA provides satisfactory results for regulatory purposes. TRA for the elements investigated in the analyzed products indicated that there was no health hazard to consumers for weekly exposure. The results indicated that the levels of investigated elements in daily doses should not represent any health hazard to the consumer after drinking mini tea infusions from products available in Polish markets. This well-designed TRA methodology was useful and important for regulatory toxicology purposes.
薄荷茶（薄荷属薄荷种）是世界上消费最为广泛的单一冲泡草本茶之一；然而，杂质和污染物在饮茶过程中可能对人体健康构成潜在风险。本研究旨在对波兰市场上的薄荷茶冲泡液（薄荷属薄荷种；n = 17）中的三种重金属（砷、铅和镉）进行全面的毒理学风险评估（TRA）。我们采用基于电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICP-MS）的方法来测定选定的重金属，并设计了一种特定的TRA方法。我们TRA的第一步是测定所研究的元素（重金属杂质谱，μg/L冲泡液）。第二步是根据每周的茶消费量估算每周摄入量（μg/L冲泡液/周）。第三步是根据成年人每周的茶消费量与联合国粮食及农业组织/世界卫生组织食品添加剂联合专家委员会（JECFA）制定的暂定每周耐受摄入量（PTWI）相比，估算每体重每周摄入量（μg/L冲泡液/周/体重）。在所研究的所有薄荷茶冲泡液中均检测到了所研究的重金属，但含量相对较低。重金属谱表明，在所研究的所有样品中均存在砷（0.36 - 1.254 μg/L）、铅（0.47 - 1.24 μg/L）和镉（0.17 - 0.40 μg/L）。总体含量的基本分析表明，砷含量（平均值 = 0.70 μg/L）与铅含量（平均值 = 0.72 μg/L）非常相似。镉含量（平均值 = 0.21 μg/L）比砷和铅含量低约3.5倍。TRA为监管目的提供了令人满意的结果。对分析产品中所研究元素的TRA表明，消费者每周接触不会对健康造成危害。结果表明，波兰市场上产品的每日剂量中所研究元素的含量在饮用薄荷茶冲泡液后不应给消费者带来任何健康危害。这种精心设计的TRA方法对于监管毒理学目的是有用且重要的。
