Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Mate Tea Microencapsulated with Maltodextrin and Lasiodiplodan ((1→6) β–D-Glucan)

Abstract

The occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in organic mate tea (Ilex paraguariensis) was investigated to evaluate whether the roasting and drying processes under milder temperatures would promote lower PAH levels in the product. Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) was used to quantify PAH contents. Different concentrations of PAH were found in all samples of mate tea analyzed, such as acenaphthylene varied between 1.209 and 1.524 µg·g⁻¹; acenaphthene varied between 2.504 and 4.375 µg·g⁻¹; fluorene varied between 1.488 and 1.843 µg·g⁻¹; chrysene ranged between 0.093 and 0.263 µg·g⁻¹; benzo[a]pyrene varied between 0.988 and 3,398 µg·g⁻¹; dibenzo(a,h) anthracene was identified in all the samples, but at concentrations below the limit of quantification. Naphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and benzo[k]fluoranthene were identified in the sample used for the extraction of soluble solids that have been encapsulated. The PAH concentration in mate tea samples was above the recommended by European Union legislation for dried herbs and powders of food of plant origin for the preparation of beverages. New yerba mate processing strategies should be studied to minimize PAH contamination and promote healthier products, in addition to government policies for quality control and regulation specifying limit values for the PAHs.

Keywords:

• Ilex paraguariensis
• PAHs
• GC-FID
• mate tea
• benzo(a)pyrene

Acknowledgments

Federal University of Technology – Parana (UTFPR); Central de Análises (UTFPR) Pato Branco; Laboratório de Análises (LabAna, UTFPR-FB), Francisco Beltrão.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001.