Overview
This study measured trace and major elements in Vicia faba flowers and leaves, which the paper describes as consumed as tea and used as medicinal plant material. It is routeable for herbal-botanical infusion and botanical-supplement context, not for true Camellia sinensis tea.
Key numbers
- Table 2 reports values in mg/kg for flowers and leaves.
- Vicia faba flowers contained Cr 2.21 +/- 0.001, Fe 559 +/- 0.002, Zn 48.12 +/- 0.001, Al 22.20 +/- 0.003, Cu 2.06 +/- 0.001, Pb 0.31 +/- 0.001, Cd 0.11 +/- 0.001, Mn 20.04 +/- 0.001, and Ni 2.42 +/- 0.001 mg/kg.
- Vicia faba leaves contained Cr 9.02 +/- 0.002, Fe 1040 +/- 0.003, Zn 23.10, Al 35.07 +/- 0.002, Cu 6.03 +/- 0.002, Pb 0.82 +/- 0.001, Cd 0.21 +/- 0.001, Mn 131.07 +/- 0.002, and Ni 6.04 +/- 0.001 mg/kg.
- Cadmium was below the 0.3 mg/kg herbal-medicine maximum limit cited by the authors.
- Leaves had higher Cr, Fe, Al, Cu, Pb, Cd, Mn, and Ni than flowers; flowers had higher Zn than leaves.
Methods
Flowers and leaves were dried, weighed, digested, and analyzed by ICP-MS. The sample analysis was conducted in triplicate with blank experiments and quality-control checks.
Implications
The source fills botanical infusion and herbal supplement evidence for a non-Camellia plant material that can be consumed as tea. It should route to herbal-botanical infusions and botanical supplements, while avoiding true-tea product claims.
Related evidence
- Herbal botanicals
- Beans
- Herbal/Botanical Infusions
- Ingredient class — botanicals/herbs/traditional formulas
- Cadmium
- Lead
- Chromium
- Nickel
- Aluminum
Update history
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