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Application of hyphenated plasma mass spectrometry to the study of elevated metal toxins in brewed beverages
Pillay, A.E1, Stephen, S2.
Hyphenated plasma mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for ultra-sensitive
measurements in aqueous solutions. Our team investigated elevated levels of
aluminium, manganese, nickel and chromium in brewed beverage samples (tea).
Tea is a popular beverage and is consumed on a regular basis by adults and
children. Elevated concentrations of toxins could be detrimental to the human
body and remediation measures are necessary to reduce the levels of these metal
toxins in tea leaves. Eight brands of tea samples were analysed for toxic trace
metals after brewing in ultrapure Millipore water. A study of this nature, where
metal toxins are extracted by boiling, is relatively underexplored. High resolution
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer was employed to examine the
levels of the elements of interest. The performance of the instrument was
validated using certified reference standards. Minor perturbations in performance
were adjusted by use of an internal standard. The selected elements produce
elevated levels in excess of a factor of 20 in some cases, compared to European
Union standards for drinking water. These toxins tend to originate from the soil
and water used to cultivate the tea leaves, and possibly from the chemical
processes linked to the production of the tea leaves. It may be possible to use
these elevated elemental levels to identify or “fingerprint” the country of origin
of the corresponding tea sample. Our work could be considered a valuable source
of reference data, and could contribute to sustainable development.
Affiliation:
- Khalifa University of Science and Technology, United Arab Emirates
- Khalifa University of Science and Technology, United Arab Emirates
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Indexation |
Indexed by |
MyJurnal (2019) |
H-Index
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0 |
Immediacy Index
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0.000 |
Rank |
0 |
Indexed by |
Scopus (SCImago Journal Rankings 2016) |
Impact Factor
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- |
Rank |
Q3 (Engineering (miscellaneous)) |
Additional Information |
0.193 (SJR) |
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