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Content of Selected Minerals and Active Ingredients in Teas Containing Yerba Mate and Rooibos

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Abstract

The study aimed to determine the content of selected elements: sodium, potassium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese and active ingredients such as phenolic acids and tannins in teas containing Yerba Mate and Rooibos cultivated in various areas. The study material comprised six samples of Yerba Mate teas and of Rooibos teas, both tea bags and leaves, purchased in Puławy and online via Allegro. In total, 24 samples were tested. Yerba Mate was particularly abundant in Mn and Fe. The richest source of these elements was Yerba Mate Yer-Vita (2261.3 mg · kg−1 d.m.) and (691.6 mg · kg−1 d.m.). The highest content of zinc was determined in Yerba Mate Amanda with lime (106.0 mg · kg−1 d.m.), while copper was most abundant in Yerba Mate Big-Active cocoa and vanilla (14.05 mg · kg−1 d.m.). In Rooibos, the content of sodium was several times higher than in Yerba Mate. A clear difference was observed in the content of minerals in dry weight of the examined products, which could be a result of both the taxonomic distinctness and the origin of the raw material. Leaf teas turned out to be a better source of tannins; on the other hand, tea bags contained substantially more phenolic acids. The richest source of phenolic acids was Yer-Vita in bags (1.8 %), and the highest amount of tannins was recorded in the leaf tea Green Goucho caramel and dark chocolate (9.04 g · 100 g−1 d.m.). In Rooibos products, the highest content of phenolic acids was recorded in tea bags (Savannah with honey and vanilla 0.96 %), and tannins in (Lord Nelson with strawberry and cream 7.99 g · 100 g −1 d.m.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Biochemistry and Toxicology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 13 Akademicka Street, 20-950, Lublin, Poland

    Elżbieta Rusinek-Prystupa & Iwona Sembratowicz

  2. Chair and Institute of Food and Nutrition, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland

    Zbigniew Marzec

  3. Institute of Animal Nutrition and Bromatology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin, Poland

    Wioletta Samolińska, Bożena Kiczorowska & Małgorzata Kwiecień

Authors
  1. Elżbieta Rusinek-Prystupa
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  2. Zbigniew Marzec
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  3. Iwona Sembratowicz
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  4. Wioletta Samolińska
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  5. Bożena Kiczorowska
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  6. Małgorzata Kwiecień
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Correspondence to Elżbieta Rusinek-Prystupa.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Rusinek-Prystupa, E., Marzec, Z., Sembratowicz, I. et al. Content of Selected Minerals and Active Ingredients in Teas Containing Yerba Mate and Rooibos. Biol Trace Elem Res 172, 266–275 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0588-9

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