Sains Malaysiana 51(12)(2022): 3981-3993

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2022-5112-09

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Levels and Toxicity in Herbal Teas Marketed in Malaysia using QuEChERS and GC-FID

(Tahap dan Ketoksikan Hidrokarbon Polisiklik Aromatik (PAH)dalam Teh Herba di Pasaran Malaysia menggunakan QuEChERS dan GC-FID)

AZRINA AZIZ¹, KHAIRIAH ABD KARIM^1,*, MOHD AZMIER AHMAD¹ & MOHAMAD JEMAIN MOHAMAD RIDHWAN²

¹School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia

²Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Received: 25 January 2022/Accepted: 2 August 2022

Abstract

In line with the growing health trend in Malaysia, more consumers drink herbal tea for medicinal benefits. However, herbal tea products could be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from various production sources. There is a little study focused on the detection of PAHs in herbal tea species distributed in Malaysia. This study was performed to investigate PAHs content and toxicity in selected commercial herbal teas in Malaysia. A total of seven different Malaysian herbal tea samples were extracted using QuEChERS extraction method and the contamination level of PAHs were evaluated using gas chromatography (GC) with a flame ionization detector (FID). The total content of 10 PAHs (∑₁₀PAHs) in the herbal tea samples ranged from 2.53 to 9.39 µg/kg. Acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene and anthracene were the most abundant compounds with 53% contribution of all PAHs content. All tested herbal teas species showed low toxic equivalency (TEQ) values ranging from 0.0027 to 0.1148. The least contaminated samples were Strobilanthes crispus, Senna alata, Orthosiphon aristatus, Clinacanthus nutans, and Stevia rebaudiana.

Keywords: Gas chromatography - flame ionization detector; herbal tea; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; QuEChERS; toxic equivalency; toxic equivalent factors

Abstrak

Seiring dengan perkembangan amalan kesihatan yang semakin meningkat di Malaysia, lebih ramai pengguna meminum teh herba untuk manfaat perubatan. Walau bagaimanapun, produk teh herba boleh tercemar dengan hidrokarbon polisiklik aromatik (PAH) daripada pelbagai sumber. Kajian yang memfokuskan pada pengesanan PAHs dalam spesies teh herba yang diedarkan di Malaysia adalah sedikit. Penyelidikan ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji kandungan PAH dan ketoksikannya dalam teh herba komersial terpilih di Malaysia. Sebanyak tujuh sampel teh herba Malaysia yang berbeza telah diekstrak menggunakan kaedah pengekstrakan QuEChERS dan tahap pencemaran PAH telah dinilai menggunakan kromatografi gas (GC) dengan pengesan pengionan nyalaan (FID). Jumlah kandungan 10 PAH (∑10PAH) dalam sampel teh herba ialah antara 2.53 hingga 9.39 µg/kg. Asenaftena, fluorena, fenantrena dan antracena adalah sebatian yang paling banyak dengan sumbangan 53% daripada semua kandungan PAH. Semua spesies teh herba yang diuji menunjukkan nilai kesetaraan toksik (TEQ) yang rendah antara 0.0027 hingga 0.1148. Sampel yang paling kurang tercemar ialah Strobilanthes crispus (pecah beling), Senna alata (gelenggang), Orthosiphon aristatus (misai kucing), Clinacanthus nutans (belalai gajah) dan Stevia rebaudiana (stevia).

Kata kunci: Faktor kesetaraan toksik; hidrokarbon polisiklik aromatik; kesetaraan toksik; kromatografi gas - pengesan pengionan nyalaan; QuEChERS; teh herba

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^*Corresponding author; email: chkhairiah@usm.my