Analysis of the Composition and Contaminants in Packaged Mixed Herbal Tea Blends from Aydın Province
Abstract views: 37
/ 
PDF downloads: 43
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14649437Keywords:
Aydın, contamination, herbalist, medicinal plant, misidentification, mixed herbal teasAbstract
Medicinal plants and herbal infusions have been used for centuries in healing and disease prevention, maintaining their importance in traditional medicinal practices worldwide. Due to their perceived natural origin, botanical medicines and herbal tea blends are generally expected to be safe for consumers and free from contaminants. This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to analyze the composition of eleven different labelled and unlabelled packaged mixed herbal teas. These tea blends were obtained from fifteen registered herbalists and spice shops under the Aydın Provincial Directorate of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock. Each blend underwent individual analysis, and the labels on the packages were documented. The plants in the blends were identified through morphological analysis, and the presence of foreign substances or contaminants was recorded. The morphological analyses revealed that all of the packaged products contained plant materials from foreign species that were not listed on the labels, making them unsuitable for inclusion in the blends. Additionally, several tea samples were found to contain animal matter, including insect larvae, insect eggs, and bird feathers, with some packages even containing live insects. Furthermore, significant fungal contamination was observed in certain tea blends. These findings indicate that mixed herbal teas sold by herbalists may be of poor quality, containing undeclared and potentially harmful substances. The study highlights a serious concern that warrants increased public awareness and stricter regulation of these products.
References
Alakali, J., Ramadan Ismaila, A., Alaka, I., Faasema, J., Yaji, T., 2016. Quality evaluation of herbal tea blends from ginger and Pavetta crassipes. European Journal of Medicinal Plants, 12(4): 1-8.
Akçakaya, M.S., 2015. Alıcılar ve aktarlar açısından şifalı bitkilere kişisel yaklaşım. Uzmanlık Tezi. Aydın Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi Aile Hekimliği Anabilim Dalı, Aydın.
Akduman, G., Korkmaz, I.O., 2020. Microbial evaluation of Turkish herbal teas before and after infusion. Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control, 7:170-174.
Anonymous, 2005. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Working Group-ECP/GR.
Araújo, M.G.F, Bauab, T.M., 2012. Microbial quality of medicinal plant materials. In: Latest Research into Quality Control, (Edited by I. Akyar), InTech, pp: 67-81.
Baldemir, A., Güvenç, A., 2007. Adana ve Ankara aktarlarında satılan ceviz yaprağı (Juglandis folium) üzerinde morfolojik ve anatomik çalışmalar. Ankara Üniversitesi Eczacılık Fakültesi Dergisi, 36(2): 105-121.
Can, N., Duraklı Velioğlu, S., 2018. Bitki çaylarında mikrobiyal kalite ve mikotoksin varlığı. Erzincan Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi, 11(3): 362-380.
Chan, K., 2003. Some aspects of toxic contaminants in herbal medicines. Chemosphere, 52: 1361-1371.
Chen, G., Mujumdar, A.S., 2006. Drying of herbal medicines and tea, Third Edition. In: Handbook of Industrial Drying, (Edited by A.S. Mujumdar), CRC Press, USA, pp: 635-646.
Çelik, T.A., Şentürk, M., Aslantürk, Ö.S., 2019. Aydın il merkezinde faaliyet gösteren aktarların kişisel ve mesleki özelliklerinin belirlenmesi. Ordu Üniversitesi Bilim ve Teknoloji Dergisi, 9 (2): 126-135.
Çelik, T., Aslantürk, Ö., Yılmaz, E.Ş, Güzel, Y., 2022. Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of Fumaria parviflora Lam. and Fumaria capreolata L. Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Tarım ve Doğa Dergisi, 25(4): 819-827.
Dash, S., Satapathy, K.B., Mahalik, G., 2020. Antimicrobial, antioxidative and ethnomedicinal properties of some medicinal plants of Odisha, India: A Review. Indian Journal of Natural Sciences, 10 (60): 22690- 22704.
Davis, P.H., 1965-1985. Flora of Turkey and The East Aegean Islands. Edinburgh University Press, Vol. 1-9, Edinburgh.
Davis, P.H., Mill, R.R., Tan, K., 1988. Flora of Turkey and The East Aegean Islands (Supplement), Edinburgh University Press, Vol. 10, Edinburgh.
Erginkaya, Z., Kabak, B., 2010. Fırsatçı patojenler, küfler, parazitler, virüsler, prionlar ve alg toksinleri. In: Gıda Mikrobiyolojisi, (Edited by O. Erkmen), Eflatun Basım, Ankara, Türkiye, pp: 183- 203.
Feitosa, A.V., Dantas, F.R., Wanderley, C.Y. et al., 2019. Antimicrobial activity of medicinal plants for their potential use in the Brazilian Unified Health System. Revista Cubana de Estomatología, 56(4): 1-16.
Gezmen Karadağ, M., Türközü, D., Topağaç Kapucu, D., 2013. Bitkiler ve ilaç etkileşimleri. Medeniyet Medical Journal, 28(4): 164-170.
Güner, A., Özhatay, N., Ekim, T., Başer, H.K.C., 2000. Flora of Turkey and East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Supplement 2, Vol.11, Edinburgh.
Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M., Babaç, M. T., (Editörler) 2012. Türkiye bitkileri listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını, İstanbul.
Heperkan, D. 2006. Detecting and Controlling Mycotoxin Contamination of Herbs and Spices. In: Handbook of Herb and Spices Volume 3, (Edited by K.V. Peter), Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge, England, 3-40
Karagoz, ID., Sımıtçıoğlu, B., Vural, U., 2023. Mixture herbal tea is oxidant or not. International Conference on Basic Sciences, Engineering and Technology (ICBASET), April 27-30, 2023, Marmaris/Turkey.
Kartal, M., 2008. Herbal medicines and quality in herbal products. Türkiye Klinikleri Tip Bilimleri Dergisi, 28(6): 217-220.
Kayıran, SD., Kırıcı, S., 2019. Adana (Türkiye) aktarlarında tedavi amacıyla satılan bitkisel droglar. KSÜ Tarım ve Doğa Dergisi, 22(2): 183-192.
Kosalec, I., Cvek, J., Tomic, S., 2009. Contaminants of medicinal herbs and herbal products. Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, 60: 485-501.
Kökdil, G., 2002. Tıbbi çaylar. Galenova. 2, 19-21.
Naithani, V., Kakkar, P., 2005. Evaluation of heavy metals in Indian herbal teas. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 75: 197–203.
Özyaral, O., Tarkan, Ö., Çevikbaş, A., Johansson, C.B. 1994. Farmasötik önemi olan bazı droglarda mikolojik analizler. Mikrobiyoloji Bülteni, 28: 359-365.
Parveen, A., Parveen, B., Parveen, R., Ahmad, S., 2015. Challenges and guidelines for clinical trial of herbal drugs. Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, 7(4): 329–333.
Sabuncuoğlu, S.A., Baydar, T., Giray, B., Şahin, G., 2008. Mikotoksinler: Toksik etkileri, degredasyonları, oluşumlarının önlenmesi ve zararlı etkilerinin azaltılması. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eczacılık Fakültesi Dergisi, 28(1): 63- 92.
Santos, L., Marín, S., Sanchis, V., Ramos, AJ., 2013. Mycotoxin in medicinal/aromatic herbs- A review. Boletín Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Plantas Medicinales y Aromáticas, 12(2): 119- 142.
Schilter, B., Andersson, C., Anton, R., Constable, A., Kleiner, J., O'Brien, J., Renwick, AG., Korver, O., Smit, F., Walker, R., 2003. Guidance for the safety assessment of botanicals and botanical preparations for use in food and food supplements. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 41: 1625-49.
Scolari, G., Zacconi, C., Vescovo, M., 2001. Microbial contamination of tea and aromatic herb-tea products. Italian Journal of Food Science, 4(13): 429- 433.
Sezik, E., 2004. Bitkisel çay cenneti: Anadolu. URL: http://webnaturel.com/urunbil gi/id/1243/katid/22/ustkatid/1/bitkiselcay-cenneti-anadolu.html (Accessed:07.01.2018).
Stevic, T., Pavlovic, S., Stankovic, S., Savikin, K., 2012. Pathogenic microorganisms of medicinal herbal drugs. Archives of Biological Sciences, 64(1): 49–58.
Tayel, A.A., El-Tras, W.F., 2009. Possibility of fighting food bone bacteria by Egyptian folk medicinal herbs and spicess extracts. The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association, 84(1-2): 21-32.
Tripathy, V., Basak, B.B., Varghese, T.S., Saha, A., 2015. Residues and contaminants in medicinal herbs-a review. Phytochemistry Letters, 14: 67-78.
Tulukcu, E., Sağdıç, O., 2011. Konya’da aktarlarda satılan tıbbi bitkiler ve kullanılan kısımları, Erciyes Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi, 27(4): 304-308.
WHO, 2004. WHO guidelines on safety monitoring of herbal medicines in pharmacovigilance systems. WHO Press, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
WHO, 2007. WHO guidelines for assesing quality of herbal medicines with references to contaminants and residues. WHO Press, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
WHO, 2013. WHO traditional medicine strategy: 2014-2023. WHO Press, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 1970 The copyright of the published article belongs to its author.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
