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Determination of fluoride content in teas and herbal products popular in Poland

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Abstract

Purpose

Fluoride level, due to its narrow therapeutical range, must be constantly monitored in beverages, especially in daily-consumed plant infusions. Fluoride is important for prevention of tooth decay and osteoporosis, but its excess leads to fluorosis. Since tea can selectively absorb fluorides from soils, the question arises if a long-term consumption can pose an adverse effect on human health.

Methods

Infusions of 33 popular teas (black, green, white, earl grey, pu-erh), tea-like products (rooibos, yerba mate) and herbs (chamomile, mint, nettle, purges, yarrow) available in the Polish market were analyzed with respect to a fluoride level by means of a validated ion-selective electrode method, which is proven to be fast and reliable.

Results

Significantly different fluoride concentrations in infusions were observed, with black tea on top, where extraction of fluoride is the highest (average 2.65 mg F−/L, range 0.718–6.029 mg/L). Two-fold higher fluoride contents were measured in infusions made from black tea bags than from leaves (average 3.398 mg/L and 1.529 mg/L, respectively). Green teas released comparable amounts of fluoride as black teas, while in herbal extracts the fluoride content was negligible.

Conclusions

The rank with respect to the fluoride concentration in an infusion is as follows: black tea > green tea > earl grey > pu-erh > white tea>>>rooibos, yerba mate, herbal products. Increasing of brewing time results in an increased fluoride content, but the overall content of fluoride in the analyzed infusions of teas and herbs was not high enough to cause a risk of fluorosis, even if left to brew up to 15 min.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the use of the services and facilities of The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland, co-funded by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund in the frame of the Operational Programme Development of Eastern Poland 2007–2013 (POPW.01.03.00-06-003/09 − 00).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biological Sciences, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Konstantynow 1J, 20-708, Lublin, Poland

    Agnieszka Szmagara, Agnieszka Krzyszczak & Elżbieta Anna Stefaniak

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  1. Agnieszka Szmagara
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Contributions

The first author named is lead and corresponding author. We describe contributions to the paper using the taxonomy provided above. Conceptualization: A.S. and E.A.S.; Methodology: A.S.; Validation: A.S. and A.K.; Formal Analysis: A.S. and A.K.; Investigation: A.S. and A.K.; Resources: A.S.; Writing – Original Draft: A.S. and A.K.; Writing – Review & Editing: A.S., A.K. and E.A.S.

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Correspondence to Agnieszka Szmagara.

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The reported names of tea and herbal brands were used only to presenting the values and cannot be used to introduce customers to buy a given product. None of measured values pose threat to public health. The study does not provide any health-based arguments for buying specific brand of product.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. 

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Szmagara, A., Krzyszczak, A. & Stefaniak, E.A. Determination of fluoride content in teas and herbal products popular in Poland. J Environ Health Sci Engineer 20, 717–727 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40201-022-00811-4

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