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Table 3. Herbal tea ingredients and intended medicinal use (Arrowsmith, 2009; Gaby and Lininger, 2006; Peter, 2004).
Herbal tea major ingredient Intended medicinal use
Abouleish and Abdo 4441
Anise Gas and indigestion problems
Balm Calming nerves and flatulence problems
Chamomile Colic, diarrhea, gastritis, heart burn, indigestion, and teething problems
Fennel Colic, heart burn, and indigestion problems
Peppermint Colic, gas, flatulence, indigestion, and stomachic problems
Rose hip Diarrhea problem
Thyme Colic, constipation, gas, flatulence, indigestion, spasms, and stomachic problems
gastrointestinal problems. The sulfate contamination in
the herbal tea samples is from the herbal products’
ingredients as the water used in this research for the
preparation of the herbal tea samples contained no
sulfate. Such high levels of chloride and sulfate in the
herbal teas’ ingredients could have resulted from different
sources such as from the plant itself due to environmental
contamination during harvesting, and/or after
harvesting (e.g. handling, cutting, dehydration processes,
and equipment).
Herbal tea label
Not all the herbal tea brands reported the same
information on the labels. Some of the brands reported
energy content, concentration of carbohydrates, proteins,
fats, and sodium and calcium on the labels. Results from
this research and other research (Abouleish and Abdo,
2012) suggest that the labels of the herbal teas need to
report information on the contaminants present, such as
the levels of fluorides, chlorides, sulfates, nitrates and
nitrites, since they may cause problems.
In conclusion, this research demonstrated that the
studied herbal tea brands are contaminated with chloride
and sulfate anions, which could lead to a change in the
taste of the herbal tea product. In addition, some samples
showed sulfate levels that exceeded the permissible
levels, therefore, suggesting that those samples could
cause sensitive people, children and babies to experience
gastrointestinal problems. The herbal tea samples
tested in this research are used for treating different
health conditions such as indigestion, gas, cramps, and
diarrhea, as presented in Table 3 (Arrowsmith, 2009;
Gaby and Lininger, 2006; Peter, 2004). The presence of
sulfate in those herbal tea samples decreases the
effectiveness of those herbal tea products as they may
cause other problems, therefore, defying their intended
purpose. As a result, contamination of such products
should be taken into consideration when they are
consumed voluntarily or when prescribed by a physician.
Therefore, this research suggests that the herbal tea
products must be tested for chemical contamination, as
this reflects on the quality of the product as well as on the
manufacturing process. In addition, herbal tea samples
are used for medicinal purposes and, as a result, must
fall under stringent regulations in terms of manufacturing
and quality control.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank the American University of
Sharjah for funding this research and providing the
necessary equipment.
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