Survey of XXXX and lead in Chinese teas sold in Nigeria: levels and health implications.

@entity2555 @entity5 @entity71269 @entity3014 @entity2556
BACKGROUND: The belief that Chinese teas are of immense health benefits by many Nigerians has led to high consumption rate. OBJECTIVES: This study has determined lead and @entity2555 ( @entity2556 ) levels of Chinese teas popularly consumed in Nigeria and to estimate the potential health risks. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty brands of Chinese teas commonly consumed in Nigeria purchased in October 2014 were used in the study. Tea samples were extracted and digested. Lead, and @entity2556 were analyzed using an atomic absorption spectrophotometric (AAS) and gas chromatographic methods, respectively. Daily intake, percent violations of permissible limits, target hazard quotients (THQ), Health Risk Index (HRI) of lead, and other @entity5 risk parameters of @entity2556 were estimated. RESULTS: All the tea samples except super natural green tea violated the WHO permissible limit of lead (0.01 mg/kg) by over 100%. The HRI ranged from 5.09 x 10(-5) - 7.20 * 10(-4) . Among the single analyzed compounds, the @entity71269 had the highest concentration of 14.31 mg/kg. The intake of @entity3014 was detected in 25% of the samples which ranged from 0.066 to 0.145 mg/kg and exceeded the permissible daily limit of @entity3014 intake. The estimated @entity5 risk from this study in an adult is 5.07 * 10(-9). CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that consumption of Chinese teas in Nigeria may not be one of the factors responsible for the increased rate of @entity5 in Nigeria. KEY WORDS: lead, teas, permissible limits, risk assessment, food safety analysis, Nigeria.
