Laboratory of Innovative Toxicological Research and Analyses, Institute of Medical Studies, Medical College, Rzeszów University, Al. Mjr. W. Kopisto 2a, 35-959, Rzeszow, Poland.
Department of Regulatory and Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Medical Expertises, Aleksandrowska 67/93, 91-205, Lodz, Poland.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2024 Jan;202(1):387-396. doi: 10.1007/s12011-023-03665-5. Epub 2023 May 2.
Tea is the world's most common drink after water, and the world's annual sales exceed $43 billion, of which more than $11 billion is green tea (Camellia sinensis (L.)). Increasing evidence continues to show that green tea consumption and its ingredients have a variety of potential health benefits. The aim of the study was to control and assess the toxicological risk (TRA) of three heavy metals (As, Pb, and Cd) in infusions of green tea (n = 12) from Polish markets. We applied the method of inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the selected heavy metal and designed a specific toxicological risk assessment with three crucial tiers. The first tier of our strategy was to determine the elements investigated (heavy metal impurities, µg/L). The second step was to estimate the weekly intake of green tea infusions (µg/week) based on weekly consumption. The third tier was to estimate the weekly intake per weight (µg/L/week/bw), based on the average weekly intake of green tea infusion per adult compared to the provisional weekly intake (PTWI) established by the FAO/WHO Joint Food Additives Expert Committee (JECFA). The levels of the investigated heavy metals occur at different levels in all of the investigated green tea infusions. The heavy metal profile indicated that As (0.0721-10.585 µg/L), Pb (0.386-1.695 µg/L), and Cd (0.126-0.346 µg/L) were present in all samples. Basic analysis of general content shows that As (average = 0.325 µg/L) was at a level similar to Cd (average = 0.214 µg/L). Surprisingly, the Pb content (average 0.891 µg/L) was approximately 2.75-4 times higher than that of As and Cd, respectively. The application of our proposed safety assessment methodology (three tiers) provides satisfactory results for regulatory purposes. The evaluation of the investigated heavy metals in all products analysed from green tea samples (infusions) showed that there were no health hazards to consumers due to weekly exposure. The results indicated that after drinking green tea infusions from Polish markets, the amount of investigated elements in weekly doses does not represent any health risks to consumers.
茶是世界上仅次于水的最常见饮料，年销售额超过 430 亿美元，其中超过 110 亿美元是绿茶（Camellia sinensis (L.)）。越来越多的证据表明，绿茶的消费及其成分具有多种潜在的健康益处。本研究的目的是控制和评估来自波兰市场的绿茶冲泡液中三种重金属（砷、铅和镉）的毒理学风险（TRA）。我们采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）测定所选重金属，并设计了一个具有三个关键层次的特定毒理学风险评估。我们策略的第一层次是确定所研究的元素（重金属杂质，µg/L）。第二步是根据每周的消耗量估算绿茶冲泡液的每周摄入量（µg/week）。第三层次是根据成年人每周绿茶摄入量与粮农组织/世界卫生组织联合食品添加剂专家委员会（JECFA）制定的暂定每周摄入量（PTWI）估算每周每单位体重的摄入量（µg/L/week/bw）。在所研究的所有绿茶冲泡液中，所研究的重金属的水平以不同的水平存在。重金属概况表明，所有样品中均存在砷（0.0721-10.585 µg/L）、铅（0.386-1.695 µg/L）和镉（0.126-0.346 µg/L）。一般含量的基本分析表明，砷（平均值=0.325 µg/L）的水平与镉（平均值=0.214 µg/L）相似。令人惊讶的是，铅含量（平均值 0.891 µg/L）分别约为砷和镉的 2.75-4 倍。应用我们提出的安全评估方法学（三个层次）为监管目的提供了令人满意的结果。对所有从绿茶样本（冲泡液）中分析的产品中所研究的重金属的评估表明，由于每周暴露，消费者没有健康危害。结果表明，从波兰市场饮用绿茶冲泡液后，每周剂量中所研究元素的量不会对消费者造成任何健康风险。
