DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METALS (CADMIUM, CHROMIUM,

COPPER, LEAD AND NICKEL) IN SLIMMING TEAS BY USING

ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY

ERINA ASMAWANI BT ABU BAKAR

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (Hons.) CHEMISTRY

FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA
NOVEMBER 2008

DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METALS (CADMIUM, CHROMIUM,

COPPER, LEAD AND NICKEL) IN SLIMMING TEAS BY USING
ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY

ERINA ASMAWANI BT ABU BAKAR

Final Year Project Report Submitted in

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Chemistry
in the Faculty of Applied Sciences
Universiti Teknologi MARA

NOVEMBER 2008

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Upon completion of this project, I would like to express my gratitude to many
parties. My heartfelt thanks goes to my supervisor, Prof. Madya Zuraidah
Abdullah Munir. Her guide, patience and word of wisdom has made it possible
for me to complete this thesis. Her careful reviews, helpful suggestion and
thoughtful critism also have been so important for the improvement and
completion of this work. I also express my fond thanks to my parents and
friends, whose words of encouragement and constant support that kept me
going through difficult periods and tight deadlines. Beside that, I would like to
thank Encik Adnan Bin Ismail, Encik Khairul, Encik Rosmi and Encik Mohd
Kadim Bin Sarmean for their help in assisting me in doing the laboratory work.
I would also express my thanks to the efforts of the previous researchers, book
authors and the website authors for their endless effort in giving their best
definition of understanding analytical chemistry. They have certainly eased the
completion of this thesis. To all that are not mentioned here, I am deeply sorry
and would do my very best to thank you.

Erina Asmawani Bt Abu Bakar

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ABSTRACT
ABSTRAK

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background
1.2
Significance of study
1.3
Objectives of study

1
3
4

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1
Herbal tea
2.2
Previous study
2.3
The beneficial of minerals in tea
2.4
The negative effects of heavy metals in tea
2.5
The sources of heavy metals in tea

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CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
3.1
Chemicals
3.2
Collection of sample
3.3
Treatment of sample
3.4
Preparation of standard solutions
3.5
Analysis of sample

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CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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CITED REFERENCES
APPENDICES
CURRICULUM VITAE

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LIST OF TABLES
Table
3.1

Caption

Page

Series of standard solutions that have been prepared for

each element

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4.1

The wavelength for maximum absorption of metal

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4.2

Mean concentration (mg/L) of heavy metals in slimming tea

samples

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Mean concentration (mg/kg) of heavy metals of the dry weight

of slimming tea samples

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Fourteenth Schedule (Regulation 38) Maximum Permitted

Proportion of Metal Contaminants in Specified Food
Malaysia, 1985

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4.3
4.4

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure

Caption

Page

1.1

Common herbs in slimming tea preparations.

2.1

CTC machine processing tea

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3.1

The general process flow of the sample treatment

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3.2

Flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS)

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3.1

Schematic diagram of FAAS

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3.2

Operation principle of FAAS

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4.1

Comparison of heavy metal content in slimming tea samples

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4.2

Heavy metals content in each sample from different countries

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Al

Aluminum

Ag

Silver

As

Arsenic

Ba

Barium

Ca

Calcium

Cd

Cadmium

Cr

Chromium

CTC

Crush Tear Curl

Cu

Copper

Co

Cobalt

FAAS :

Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Fe

Iron

Gram

g/cm3 :

Gram per centimeter cube

H2O2

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hg

Mercury

HNO3

Nitric Acid

Potassium

Molar

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Mg

Magnesium

mL

Milliliter

Mn

Manganese

mg/kg :

Milligram per kilogram

mg/L :

Milligram per liter

Pb

Lead

ppm

Part per million

PPO

Polyphenol oxidase

Sb

Antimony

Sn

Tin

Zn

Zinc

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ABSTRACT
DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METALS (CADMIUM, CHROMIUM,
COPPER, LEAD AND NICKEL) IN SLIMMING TEAS BY USING
ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY

Slimming tea is one of the many popular Asia herbal products. The presence of
heavy metals in the slimming tea has received special attention because they are
directly related to health. Six slimming teas from different brands and countries
which were two slimming tea products from local, two from Indonesia and
another two from China were used in this project. All samples were treated
using acid digestion method and concentration of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Ni were
determined by using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. The result of analysis
showed that the content of Cr in all slimming tea samples ranged between 4.900
and 31.350 mg/kg which the lowest content found in sample (X), a product
from Malaysia and highest content of Cr was found in sample (3) which was
product from China respectively. The levels of Cd in the slimming tea samples
were between 2.500 and 3.850 mg/kg which the lowest level of Cd was found
in sample (X) which product from Malaysia and highest from sample (Z) which
is China product. The Cd value in all samples was higher than maximum
permitted proportion of metal contaminants in specified food Malaysia, 1985
(regulation 38) which is 1.0 mg/kg. Analysis of Cu content in slimming tea
samples indicated that the mean value of copper ranged between 2.150 and
18.600 mg/kg. The lowest value of Cu was found in sample (2) and the highest
in sample (Y) and both of samples were from Indonesia. Ni in the slimming tea
sample was in the range of 1.100 to 11.850 mg/kg. The lowest Ni content was
found in sample (2) which product from Indonesia and highest in sample (Z)
which is China product. For the Pb analysis, the absorbance measurements for
all samples were too low which means that the Pb concentrations were non
detectable

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ABSTRAK
PENENTUAN TAHAP KEPEKATAN LOGAM BERAT ( KADMIUM,
KROMIUM, KUPRUM, PLUMBUM DAN NIKEL) DI DALAM TEH
MERAMPINGKAN BADAN DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN
SPEKTROSKOPI PENYERAPAN ATOM
Teh merampingkan badan adalah satu daripada pelbagai produk herba Asia.
Kehadiran logam berat di dalam teh pengurusan badan telah menerima
perhatian khas kerana ia berkait terus dengan kesihatan. Enam teh
merampingkan badan dari jenama dan negara yang berbeza iaitu dua produk
merampingkan badan dari tempatan, dua produk merampingkan badan dari
Indonesia dan dua produk merampingkan badan dari China telah digunakan
dalam projek ini. Kesemua sampel telah dirawat menggunakan kaedah
pencernaan asid dan kepekatan Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb dan Ni telah ditentukan
menggunakan spektroskopi penyerapan atom. Keputusan analisa menunjukkan
kandungan Cr di dalam kesemua sampel teh dalam julat 4.900 dan 31.350
mg/kg yang mana kandungan paling rendah dijumpai di dalam sampel (X),
produk dari Malaysia dan kandungan paling tinggi dijumpai di dalam sampel
(3) iaitu produk dari China. Tahap nilai Cd di dalam kesemua sampel teh adalah
di dalam julat antara 2.500 and 3.850 mg/kg yang mana tahap paling rendah
dijumpai dalam sampel (X) iaitu produk dari Malaysia dan paling tinggi dari
sampel (Z) iaitu produk dari China. Nilai Cd di dalam kesemua sampel adalah
tinggi daripada tahap maksima yang dibenarkan oleh Peraturan- Peraturan
Makanan Malaysia (1985) iaitu 1.0 mg/kg. Analisis kandungan Cu di dalam
kesemua sampel teh menunjukkan nilai purata Cu di antara julat 2.150 and
18.600 mg/kg. Nilai Cu yang terendah dijumpai di dalam sampel (2) dan yang
paling tinggi dijumpai di dalam sample (Y) dan kedua-dua sampel adalah dari
Indonesia. Nilai Ni di dalam kesemua sampel teh di dalam julat antara 1.100
dan 11.850 mg/kg. Kandungan Ni paling rendah telah dijumpai di dalam
sampel (2) iaitu produk dari Indonesia dan paling tinggi di dalam sample (Z)
iaitu produk China. Untuk analisis Pb, sukatan penyerapan untuk kesemua
sampel adalah terlalu rendah di mana purata kepekatan Pb tidak dapat dikesan.

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1

Background
Slimming tea is one of the many popular Asian herbal products. Slimming teas
are herbal teas, marketed for their slimming properties; contain laxatives or
diuretics or a combination of both. A laxative is defined as any medicines that
either stimulates bowel movements or soften the stools for emptying while
diuretic is used to rid the body of excess water through an increased rate of
urination. Besides tea, common herbs used in these local and imported
preparations are the laxatives senna, cascara, buckhton or rhubarb root and the
diuretics uva ursi, mallow or licorice root. Many cases reported nowadays are
about toxic heavy metals in Asian herbal products (Ernst, 2005).

(a) Senna leaves

(b) Cascara
(c) Uva Ursi
Figure 1.1 Common herbs in slimming tea preparations.

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Heavy metals are metallic elements that have density greater than 5 g/cm3 and
can be hazardous at elevated concentration. Heavy metals are dangerous
because they tend to bioaccumulate. Bioaccumulation means an increase in the
concentration of a chemical in a biological organism over time, compared to the
chemical's concentration in the environment. Compounds are accumulated in
living things any time they are taken up and stored faster than they are
metabolized or excreted. Heavy metals can not be degraded or destroyed. They
can enter our bodies to a small extent via food, drinking water and air. As trace
metals, some heavy metals give undesirable effect and some heavy metals give
a negative effect. Death can occur from metal poisoning but is dependent upon
the dose. Usually people inhale or ingest small amounts of metals which build
up in the body slowly interfering with function and slowly causing illness
which may ultimately end in death.

In this study, heavy metals in slimming tea were detected by using flame
atomic absorption spectroscopy. Flame atomic absorption is a very common
technique for detecting metals and metalloids in environmental samples. It is
very reliable and simple to use.

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1.2

Significance of study

Nowadays people are obsessed to slimming down their body. They want fast
result and easiest method. They take slimming tea. Slimming tea has been
reported ensure rapid weight loss. But many cases have been reported about
toxic heavy metals in herbal products especially products from Asia. The intake
of food contaminated by heavy metal is harmful to human health and several
countries have imposed food laws to restrict the presence of heavy metal in
food and beverages. From this study, heavy metal contents in six slimming tea
products were determined. Knowledge of the heavy metal contents enable us to
compare to the allowable limits. Besides that, by comparing the heavy metal
contents in the samples, it can help consumers to choose which products are
safe to use and which product must be avoided.

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1.3

Objectives of study
In this study, five heavy metals were detected and the concentrations of these
heavy metals were determined.
The objectives of the project include to:
1. Determine cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and
lead (Pb) in slimming tea samples which were two products from
Malaysia, two products from Indonesia and another two products from
China by using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy.
2. Compare heavy metal contents in slimming tea samples from local
products with those from other countries.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1

Herbal tea
A variety by themselves, herbal tea is completely different from the other
varieties of tea. Not being tea in the true sense, herbal tea is simply fresh herb
containing medicinal properties. By infusing a teaspoon of these fresh herbs
like mint, tutlsi, ginger, jasmine and many others into hot water, their medicinal
properties seep into the water giving the drinkers the desired effect, which
could be laxative, curative, refreshing, sedative or antacid in nature.
Herbal tea is referred to in various ways. Among its nicknames are as
sleeping tea, slimming tea, dieters' tea, cholesterol lowering tea , depending
upon their specific medicinal effect. Most herbal tea contain tea (Camellia
sinensis) which was mixed with the herbs. Camellia sinensis is the tea plant, the
plant species whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea. It is of the
genus Camellia , a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. White tea,
green tea, oolong and black tea are all harvested from this species, but are
processed differently to attain different levels of oxidation.

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2.2

Previous study
Bagel et al (2005) reported the daily mineral intake by consuming herbal teas
for a 70 kg person per day are 500 mg Ca, 300 mg Mg, 15 mg Fe, 5 mg Al, 2.8
mg Mn, 15 mg Zn, 2.5 mg Cu, 1.6 mg Sr, 1.1 mg Ba, 0.025 mg Ni, 0.05-0.2mg
Cr, 0.04 mg Co, 0.415 mg Pb and 0.057 mg Cd. This shows that the amounts of
heavy metals are presence in herbal tea.
Most of slimming tea products consists of tea (Camellia sinensis) which is
either green tea or black tea. Ansari et al (2007) stated that tea (Camellia
sinensis) is the most popular beverage in the world and contains several
essential nutrients, which are beneficial for human health. The contamination of
tea leaves by heavy metals may pose a serious threat to human, because they
are not biodegradable and remain in environment and pass to food chain. The
concentration of heavy metals of Cd, Pb, Ni, and Al and macro elements of Fe,
Zn, Cu and Mn were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry on 30
samples of black tea cultivated in Iran and compared with the results for 30
samples of imported black tea in 2006. The results of analysis showed that the
mean level of Al was 699.2172.7 mg/kg for Iranian and 388.398.3 mg/kg for
imported black tea. However, the values for Cd, Pb, and Ni were nondetectable. The most abundant nutritive metal was manganese with 155.2-214.2
mg/kg and 96.7-332.9 mg/kg in Iranian and imported black tea, respectively.

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Seenivasan et al (2007) have done a research about heavy metal content of

black teas from South India. A total of one hundred black tea samples, collected
from the tea growing regions of Valparai and Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu,
Vandiperiyar, Wayanad and Munnar in Kerala and Karnataka state were
analyzed for heavy metals. Cu, Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb in tea samples were analyzed
using atomic absorption spectrophotometer equipped with flame and graphite
furnace. Air-acetylene flame was used for determination of metal content. The
mean values for the results of analysis of tea samples in mg /kg, were 24.07 for
Cu, 4.76 for Cr, 2.53 for Ni, 0.14 for Cd and 0.81 for Pb in tea. There were
wide variations in the heavy metal contents of black teas collected from
different regions of South India. The results indicated that the contents of Cu,
Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb in tea were different for the different agro climatic regions.
Xie et al (1998) reported that the average Pb level in Chinese black tea samples
is higher than Pb level in South India black tea samples.
2.3

The beneficial of minerals in tea

Herbal teas contain beneficial minerals such as Ca, Na and K. Ca is the main
component of bone and teeth and its function in cell membranes, in muscles, by
regulation of endo and exoenzymes and has great importance in regulation of
blood pressure (Kili & Kse, 2001).

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Na and K are of great importance for many regulation systems in the body. Na
is excreted in sweat by the body. Besides tea, fruits, vegetables and coffee are
good sources of K and Na. The minimum daily intake of Na and K are 2.4 g
and 3.5 g (Baysal, 2002).

Stagg et al (1975) emphasized the therapeutic action of tea. Tea is an important

source of manganese (Mn) and potassium (K) which could be beneficial for
hypertensive patients.
2.4

The negative effects of heavy metals in tea

Besides minerals, herbal teas also containing several heavy metals such as Al,
Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Co, Cd and Pb. Heavy metals such as copper (Cu) is essential
to maintain metabolism of the human body but at higher concentration they can
lead to poisoning. It can cause kidney and liver damage. Nickel (Ni) is also
needed in small amount to produce red blood cells but at higher concentration it
becomes mildly toxic. It can cause heart and liver damage. Cadmium (Cd) is
associated with renal dysfunction and it may also produce bone defects such as
osteoporosis.

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Beside copper (Cu), chromium (Cr) can be can accumulated in kidney and liver
and can cause severe damage to those systems. In addition, this metal can also
damage the circulatory and nerve tissue. High levels of lead (Pb) may result in
toxic biochemical effects in humans which in turn cause problems in the
synthesis of haemoglobin, effects on the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, joints
and reproductive system and acute or chronic damage to the nervous system
and also can cause mental retardation.

2.5

The sources of heavy metals in tea

The main sources of heavy metals in plants are their growth media, nutrients,
agro inputs and soil. Other sources may include pesticides and fertilizers.
Elevated heavy metal levels cause damage to plants such as delayed flowering,
lower chlorophyll content and reduction in the number and quality of shoots
(Setia et al, 1989).
Seenivasan et al (2007) stated that Cu is one of the native metals found in tea,
central to polyphenol oxidase enzyme. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzymes
catalyse the o-hydroxylation of monophenols (phenol molecules in which the
benzene ring contains a single hydroxyl substituent) to o-diphenols (phenol
molecules containing two hydroxyl substituents). They can also further catalyse

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the oxidation of o-diphenols to produce o-quinones. It is the rapid

polymerisation of o-quinones to produce black, brown or red pigments
(polyphenols) that is the cause of fruit browning. The used of copper fungicides
cause the presence of undesirable levels of Cu content and also increase the
accumulation of Pb and Cd in black tea.
Cr is considered as a local contaminant and comes mainly through the crush
tearcurl (CTC) rollers during the manufacturing of black tea. CTC machine is
shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 CTC machine processing tea.

Franklin et al (2005) reported that potassic fertilizers contained 2.7 to 16 mg/kg
Ni as impurity while commercial phosphatic fertilizers contained 19 to
24 mg/kg Ni. It is clearly evident that Ni mainly comes through the foliar and
soil application of low quality fertilizers and micro nutrients. They also

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reported 4.9 to 5.5 mg/kg of Cd in phosphatic fertilizers and 11.8 to 50.9 mg/kg
in zinc sources. It appears that contaminated phosphatic and zinc fertilizers
were the sources of Cd in tea.
Michie et al (1977) and Tsushida et al, (1977) reported that tea soils are acidic
and this condition favours solubility of heavy metals. Tea bushes adjacent to
heavy traffic gets exposure to Pb and Cd through fallout from automobile
exhaust and dust.

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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1

Chemicals
The list of chemicals used were:
Standard stock solutions (1000 ppm) of Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and Ni
6.0 M HNO3
30% Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)

3.2

Collection of sample
Six slimming tea products of different brands were used in this project. Two of
the tea products were from local, two from Indonesia and another two from
China. Four slimming tea products which were two from Malaysia and two
from Indonesia were purchased from the local retail outlets. Another two
slimming tea products which are from China were purchased from local
Chinese medicine shop.

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