title: ICP-OES and Micronucleus Test to Evaluate Heavy Metal Contamination in Commercially Available Brazilian Herbal Teas.
abstract: Increased tea consumption in combination with intensive pesticide use is generating heavy metal contaminations amongst Brazilian tea consumers, causing health concerns. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was applied to quantify minerals and heavy metals such as aluminum, barium, cadmium, lead, cobalt, copper, chromium, tin, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, vanadium and zinc in Brazilian chamomile, lemongrass, fennel and yerba mate teas. Teas, purchased in local supermarkets, were prepared using infusion and acid digestion. Higher concentrations of Al were present in all samples. In the digested samples, the Al mean concentration was 2.41 μg g(-1) (sd = 0.72) for fennel and 33.42 μg g(-1) (sd = 17.18) for chamomile, whilst the sample C for chamomile tea presented the highest concentration with 51.62 μg g(-1) (sd = 9.17). The safety relation in decreasing order is fennel, lemongrass, chamomile and yerba mate. Chemometric analyses demonstrated a strong correlation between the elements Cd and Pb in the samples. Yerba mate had the highest amount of metal (100 mg kg(-1)), being the subject of a micronucleus test assay for cytotoxicity. The metals found in Yerba mate did not present cytotoxicity/mutagenicity using the micronucleus test. The inorganic contaminants in teas should have their impact carefully monitored.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Postgraduate Programme, University Vila Velha, Av. Comissário José Dantas de Melo, n°21, 29102-920, Boa Vista, Vila Velha, ES, Brazil.
authors.forename: Priscila Francisca Tschaen
authors.initials: PFT
authors.lastname: Schunk
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Postgraduate Programme, University Vila Velha, Av. Comissário José Dantas de Melo, n°21, 29102-920, Boa Vista, Vila Velha, ES, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ieda Carneiro
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Kalil
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Postgraduate Programme, University Vila Velha, Av. Comissário José Dantas de Melo, n°21, 29102-920, Boa Vista, Vila Velha, ES, Brazil.
authors.forename: Elisangela Flavia
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Pimentel-Schmitt
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Postgraduate Programme, University Vila Velha, Av. Comissário José Dantas de Melo, n°21, 29102-920, Boa Vista, Vila Velha, ES, Brazil.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lenz
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Postgraduate Programme, University Vila Velha, Av. Comissário José Dantas de Melo, n°21, 29102-920, Boa Vista, Vila Velha, ES, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tadeu Uggere
authors.initials: TU
authors.lastname: de Andrade
authors.affiliation: Science and Technology of Espírito Santo, Campus Vila Velha, Federal Institute of Education, Av. Ministro Salgado Filho, 1000, Vila Nova, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliano Souza
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Postgraduate Programme, University Vila Velha, Av. Comissário José Dantas de Melo, n°21, 29102-920, Boa Vista, Vila Velha, ES, Brazil. endringe@gmail.com.|Science and Technology of Espírito Santo, Campus Vila Velha, Federal Institute of Education, Av. Ministro Salgado Filho, 1000, Vila Nova, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil. endringe@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Denise Coutinho
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9396-2097
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Endringer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D004912:Erythrocytes; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D051379:Mice; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D000069459:Teas, Herbal / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D000069459:Teas, Herbal
keywords: Contamination; Metals; Micronucleus test; Teas