Abstract
In recent years, the consumption rate of herbal teas has increased rapidly. In this study, 28 different plants (fennel, linden, roots, chamomile, green tea, thyme, sage, rosemary, rosehip, ginger, balm, echinacea, blue tea etc.) used as herbal tea bags and leaves/flowers. Different types of herbal tea were prepared keeping boiling water in contact for ten min with herbal teas and were digested with HNO(3) and H(2)O(2) in a microwave oven. In these samples, trace element concentrations (As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Se, V, Zn) were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. The analytical performances were assessed as linearity, the limit of detection, limit of quantification, specificity/selectivity and recovery (%). The recovery values changed between 88 and 112%.