Sains Malaysiana 52(10)(2023): 2889-2906

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2023-5210-12

Evaluation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Moringa oleifera Leaves and Infusion

(Penilaian Hidrokarbon Aromatik Polisiklik (PAHs) pada Daun dan Infusi Moringa oleifera)

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

²Pharmacy Program, Malaysian Ministry of Health Sultan Azlan Shah Training Institute, 31250 Ulu Kinta, Perak, Malaysia

Received: 27 January 2022/Accepted: 13 October 2023

Abstract

Moringa oleifera  infusion is a popular drink among herbal infusion consumers. Although M. oleiferais claimed to have medicinal value and promoted health benefits, it does not be simply considered safe if no specific study is conducted to determine Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content in commercial M. oleifera herbal drink. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate 10 PAHs content in M. oleiferadried leaves and in its infusion. The second objective  was to assess the effect of mass-volume ratio on PAHs content in M. oleifera infusion. PAHs extraction procedure was performed using QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) method. PAHs determination and quantification were performed using Gas Chromatography and Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID). The mean of total 10 PAHs (∑10PAH) in M. oleifera dried leaves and infusion ranged from 1.06 µg/kg to 5.51 µg/kg and 0.62 µg/kg to 4.80 µg/kg, respectively. Four different mass-volume ratios were used in this study to determine PAHs content that could be extracted from M. oleifera dried leaves into an infusion; 2:250, 20:250, 10:100, and 10:50. The ratio of 2:250 showed the lowest PAHs content in comparison with other ratios. The PAHs content in M. oleifera dried leaves and infusion have statistically significantly different (p > 0.01) from each other. The toxic equivalency quotient (TEQ) value of M. oleifera dried leaves and infusion ranged from 0.01 to 0.09 and 0.00 to 0.07, respectively. PAHs content in M. oleifera dried leaves and infusions complied with the maximum limit set by Commission Regulation (EU) No. 2015/1933.

Keywords: Herbal infusion; Moringa oleifera; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; QuEChERS; toxic equivalency

Abstrak

Infusi Moringa oleifera adalah minuman popular dalam kalangan penggemar infusi herba. Walaupun M. oleiferadidakwa mempunyai nilai perubatan dan manfaat kesihatan, ia tidak sepatutnya dianggap selamat jika tiada kajian khusus dijalankan untuk menentukan kandungan hidrokarbon aromatik polisiklik (PAH) dalam minumaan herba M. oleiferakomersial. Oleh itu, penyelidikan ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji kandungan 10 PAH dalam daun kering M. oleifera dan infusinya. Objektif kajian yang kedua adalah untuk menilai kesan nisbah jisim-isi padu ke atas kandungan PAH dalam infusi M. oleifera. Prosedur pengekstrakan PAH dilakukan menggunakan kaedah QuEChERS (Cepat, Mudah, Murah, Berkesan, Lasak dan Selamat). Penentuan dan kuantifikasi PAH dilakukan menggunakan Kromatografi Gas dan Pengesan Pengionan Nyalaan (GC-FID). Purata jumlah 10 PAH (∑10PAH) dalam daun kering dan infusi M. oleifera  masing-masing dalam julat antara 1.06 µg/kg hingga 5.51 µg/kg dan 0.62 µg/kg hingga 4.80 µg/kg. Empat nisbah jisim isi padu berbeza telah digunakan dalam kajian ini untuk menentukan kandungan PAH yang boleh diekstrak daripada daun kering M. oleifera  ke dalam infusinya; 2:250, 20:250, 10:100 dan 10:50. Nisbah 2:250 menunjukkan kandungan PAH yang paling rendah berbanding nisbah lain. Kandungan PAH dalam daun kering dan infusi herba mempunyai perbezaan yang ketara secara statistik (p > 0.01) antara satu sama lain. Nilai TEQ daun kering dan infusi herba masing-masing dalam julat antara 0.01 hingga 0.09 dan 0.00 hingga 0.07. Kandungan PAH dalam daun kering dan infusi M. oleifera mematuhi had maksimum yang ditetapkan oleh Peraturan Suruhanjaya (EU) No. 2015/1933.

Kata kunci: Hidrokarbon polisiklik aromatik; infusi; kesetaraan toksik; M. oleifera; QuEChERS

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*Corresponding author; email: chkhairiah@usm.my