Comparative Assessment of Copper, Iron, and Zinc Contents in Selected Indian (Assam) and South African (Thohoyandou) Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Samples and Their Infusion: A Quest for Health Risks to Consumer

The current study aims to assess the infusion pattern of three important micronutrients namely copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) contents from black tea samples produced in Assam (India) and Thohoyandou (South Africa). Average daily intakes and hazardous quotient were reported for these micronutrients. Total content for Cu, Fe, and Zn varied from 2.25 to 48.82 mg kg−1, 14.75 to 148.18 mg kg−1, and 28.48 to 106.68 mg kg−1, respectively. The average contents of each of the three micronutrients were higher in tea leaves samples collected from South Africa than those from India while the contents in tea infusions in Indian samples were higher than in South African tea samples. Results of this study revealed that the consumption of 600 mL tea infusion produced from 24 g of made tea per day may be beneficial to human in terms of these micronutrients content. Application of nonparametric tests revealed that most of the data sets do not satisfy the normality assumptions. Hence, the use of both parametric and nonparametric statistical analysis that subsequently revealed significant differences in elemental contents among Indian and South African tea

Determination of lead, cadmium and arsenic in infusion tea cultivated in north of Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Tea is one of the most common drinks in all over the world. Rapid urbanization and industrialization in recent decades has increased heavy metals in tea and other foods. In this research, heavy metal contents such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) were determined in 105 black tea samples cultivated in Guilan and Mazandaran Provinces in north of Iran and their tea infusions. The amount of heavy metals in black tea infusions were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP - AES).</p> <p>The mean ± SD level of Pb in 5, 15 and 60 min in infusion tea samples were 0.802 ± 0.633, 0.993 ± 0.667 and 1.367 ± 1.06 mg/kg of tea dry weight, respectively. The mean level of Cd in 5, 15 and 60 min in infusion tea samples were 0.135 ± 0.274, 0.244 ± 0.46 and 0.343 ± 0.473 mg/kg of tea dry weight, respectively. The mean level of As in 5, 15 and 60 min in infusion tea samples were 0.277 ± 0.272, 0.426 ± 0.402 and 0.563 ± 0.454 mg/kg of tea dry weight, respectively. Also, the results showed that the locations and the infusion times influenced upon the amount of these metals (P < 0.05).</p