Overview
This study measured copper, lead, nickel, and arsenic in herbal tea materials sold in Slovakia. It is routeable as herbal-botanical evidence, with the caveat that the reported values are extraction-solution concentrations rather than dry-product mg/kg values.
Key numbers
- Six herbal tea materials were studied: common alchemilla, agrimony, horsetail, stinging nettle, chamomile, and peppermint.
- Three extraction methods were applied to each sample, producing 18 sample-method measurements.
- Table 1 reports Cu from 101.06 to 214.83 ug/L across sample-method combinations.
- Pb ranged from 3.80 to 23.71 ug/L.
- Ni ranged from 10.72 to 29.51 ug/L.
- Total As ranged from 0.17 to 6.78 ug/L.
- Method-specific ranges reported by the authors included Method I Pb 4.58-21.38 ug/L and As 0.51-6.68 ug/L, Method II Pb 3.80-22.15 ug/L, and Method III Pb 5.91-23.71 ug/L.
Methods
Herbal materials were extracted using nitric-acid preparation methods and analyzed by graphite-tube atomic absorption spectroscopy. The page preserves the source’s ug/L extract basis.
Implications
The source supports herbal-botanical risk-element screening and method-comparison context. Values should not be treated as dry-herb mg/kg occurrence data without conversion from the extraction setup.
Related evidence
Update history
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