A comparative review on the anti-nutritional factors of herbal tea concoctions and their reduction strategies

Abstract

Tea is an important beverage consumed worldwide. Of the different types of tea available, herbal tea is an important beverage consumed owing to its popularity as a drink and stress relieving factors, several different herbal concoctions made from seeds, leaves, or roots are currently consumed and sold as herbal teas. The herbal teas are not the usual tea but “tisanes.” They are caffeine free and popular for their medicinal property or immune boosters. Herbal tea formulations are popularly sold and consumed by millions owing to their health benefits as they are rich in antioxidants and minerals. However, plants are also known to contain toxic and anti-nutritional factors. Anti-nutritional factors are known to interfere with the metabolic process and hamper the absorption of important nutrients in the body. These anti-nutritional factors include saponins, tannins, alkaloids, oxalates, lectins, goitrogens, cyanogens, and lethogens. These chemicals are known to have deleterious effects on human health. Therefore, it is important to understand and assess the merits and demerits before consumption. Also, several techniques are currently used to process and reduce the anti-nutrients in foods. This review is focused on comparing the contents of various anti-nutritional factors in some underutilized plants of North-East India used as herbal tea along with processing methods that can be used to reduce the level of these anti-nutrients.

Exploring tea and herbal infusions consumption patterns and behaviours: The case of Portuguese consumers

“…However, uncertainties exist regarding the long-term safety of using medicinal plants due to the lack of strong support from toxicological studies [ 68 ]. Furthermore, there are potential risks stemming from excessive consumption due to the possible interference of bioactive components of THIs with fundamental biological parameters [ 39 , 69 ] that consumers should be aware of. Moreover, greater attention should be given to herb-drug/pharmaceuticals interactions [ 58 , 70 ], particularly for elderly or individuals with underlying health conditions.…”

“…Moreover, an incorrect beverage preparation may facilitate the extraction of toxic secondary metabolites, which can have a negative impact on vulnerable populations, favoring decline of health conditions [ 75 ]. Therefore, it is crucial to advocate for moderate consumption of THIs [ 39 , 76 ], improve food safety knowledge among consumers, and raise awareness about misleading information regarding ‘naturalness’ and health-related effects.…”

“…There is a rising concern for food safety issues related to the consumption of THIs, which may pose challenges to public health due to toxic secondary metabolites (e.g. phytates and pyrrolizidine alkaloids) [ [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] ], contaminants [ [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] ] or contamination with other plant species. For instance, a recent quality assessment of marketed herbal infusion showed that chamomile crude flowers were most likely to be adulterated by other plant materials compared to chamomile bags [ 45 ].…”

Quality analysis of herbal teabags as functional drink

“…Lemongrass can remove harmful substances from the body and reduce fever, while ginger can prevent free radicals that can damage body cells. Ginger contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidants that can strengthen immunity [12].…”

Influence of duration and temperature of infusion on the heavy metal contents of some groups of tea in Nigeria

“…There are also tea products from other plant species such as Senna (Cassia augustifolia), Moringa (Moringa oleifera), Ginger (Zingiber officinale), Jasmine (Jasminum officinale), etc. (Pathaw et al, 2022), and hibiscus (Nguyen and Van-Chuyen, 2020).…”