engleski

Inorganic trace- and ultratrace analysis of teas by atomic spectrometry

Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world and its importance and consumption is rising due to the elevated ecological awareness nowadays. Besides the organic components the trace elements present in tea and fruit infusions (fruit tea) play a crucial role regarding human health. The determination of trace elements in teas, dried fruits and their infusions is important because of the metabolic role of some metals. On the one hand there is knowledge of the food's nutritional value which refers to major or minor-elements, and on the other hand there is a concern to verify that food does not contain minerals in toxic quantities. These elements might be dangerous for health, regardless whether their presence is naturally occurring or is due to contamination. Highly accurate analytical methods are needed for the determination of trace and ultratrace elements in infusions as well as in digest solutions of tea powder. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) and inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) offer low limits of detections. The former requires less sample volume per analysis and the latter allows simultaneous determination of all elements of interest. This study covered the determination of 28 elements, namely Al, As, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Sc, Se, Si, Sm, Sn, Sr, Tl, V, and Zn. Variuos kinds of commercially available teas (fruit tea and black tea), from classical as well as from organic agriculture, were analyzed.

Trace elements; black tea; fruit tea; GFAAS; ICP-OES

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