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Lithium content in the tea and herbal infusions

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Abstract

Tea infusions provide many valuable nutrients, including elements. Lithium (Li) is an element which appears rather in small amounts both in environment and in the human tissues or body fluids. Now it is known that it plays a part in many important vital functions. Content of Li in food products is generally small, which is associated with its low consumption. The aim of the study was to examine the concentration of Li in the infusions prepared from different sort of teas available in the market. The content of Li was examined in 55 infusions of black, green, red, fruit and herbal teas. Quantitative studies were performed using atomic absorption spectrometry with atomization in graphite furnace. The largest amount of Li was extracted from the leaves of red tea and rooibos as well as some herbal teas. The determined content of Li in tea infusions was in the range 0.02–1.36 µg/g of tea, and 1 cup (250 mL) of analysed infusions (together with a tap water) provides 2.2–3.0 µg of Li.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Institute of Optoelectronics (project number PBS 903).

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None.

Compliance with Ethics Requirements

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Optoelectronics, Military University of Technology, ul. gen. Sylvester Kaliski 2, Warsaw 49, Poland

    Długaszek Maria & Mierczyk Jadwiga

  2. Department of Chemistry and New Technologies, Military University of Technology, ul. gen. Sylvester Kaliski 2, Warsaw 49, Poland

    Kurpiewska Żaneta

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  1. Długaszek Maria
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  2. Kurpiewska Żaneta
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  3. Mierczyk Jadwiga
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Correspondence to Długaszek Maria.

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Maria, D., Żaneta, K. & Jadwiga, M. Lithium content in the tea and herbal infusions. Eur Food Res Technol 241, 289–293 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-015-2456-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-015-2456-4

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