Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Transfer from Dried Medicinal Plants in Infusions for Therapeutic Purposes

The purpose of this paper is to determine the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from medicinal plants and infusions prepared on them, as well as the assessment of the transfer of these contaminants from plants to infusions. The separation of compounds was achieved using microwave extraction for dryed plants and liquid-liquid extraction in the case of infusions. The extracts were cleaned by solid phase extraction, and compounds analysed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The risks related to the consumption of the infusions from the analysed plants were also evaluated by calculating the exposure contribution to the infusion consumption (EDI, ng/Kg.bw/day) and Margins of Exposure (MOEs). The average total content of PAHs varied from 277.22±12.78 to 2466.46±203.45µg/kg in dry plants, and benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene are the compounds present in all samples. In the herbal tea infusions, the average total PAHs content varied between 612.55±46.12ng/L and 2292.2±140.24ng/L. Statistical analysis showed that only BabF shows a significant strong correlation between the content of individual PAHs in plants and their infusions, while BaP, 4PAHs and HMW-compounds showed weak correlations. Average transfer rates of ∑16PAHs from plants to infusions varied from 7.25 to 32.86%. The MOEs of BaP and 4PAHs in herbal tea infusions with the highest PAH content confirmed that the consumption of medicinal teas presents a low risk to contamination with PAHs.