Chromatographic Determination of the Mycotoxin Patulin in 219 Chinese Tea Samples and Implications for Human Health.

Patulin (PAT) is a mycotoxin, with several acute, chronic, and cellular level toxic effects, produced by various fungi. A limit for PAT in food of has been set by authorities to guarantee food safety. Research on PAT in tea has been very limited although tea is the second largest beverage in the world. In this paper, HPLC-DAD and GC-MS methods for analysis of PAT in different tea products, such as non-fermented (green tea), partially fermented (oolong tea, white tea, yellow tea), completely fermented (black tea), and post-fermented (dark tea and Pu-erh tea) teas were developed. The methods showed good selectivity with regard to tea pigments and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and a recovery of 90-102% for PAT at a 10-100 ppb spiking level. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) in tea were 1.5 ng/g and 5.0 ng/g for HPLC-UV, and 0.25 ng/g and 0.83 ng/g for GC-MS. HPLC was simpler and more robust, while GC-MS showed higher sensitivity and selectivity. GC-MS was used to validate the HPLC-UV method and prove its accuracy. The PAT content of 219 Chinese tea samples was investigated. Most tea samples contained less than 10 ng/g, ten more than 10 ng/g and two more than 50 ng/g. The results imply that tea products in China are safe with regard to their PAT content. Even an extreme daily consumption of 25 g of the tea with the highest PAT content (124 ng/g), translates to an intake of only 3 µg/person/day, which is still an order of magnitude below the maximum allowed daily intake of 30 µg for an adult.

Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Quality Control, Industrial Application, Pharmacokinetics and Network Pharmacology of Pogostemon cablin: A Comprehensive Review.

Pogostemonis Herba (PH) is the dried aerial parts of Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth, which is mainly distributed and used in Asian countries. PH is an aromatic damp-resolving drug in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is usually used for the treatment of vomiting, chest tension, tiredness, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and headache. In this review, the summary of chemical constituents in the aerial parts, biological activities, history of uses, quality control methods, industrial applications, pharmacokinetics and network pharmacology are reported. By collating the chemical constituents of various parts of PH, a total of 174 components were identified, including 66 terpenes, 6 pyrones, 40 flavonoids, 21 phenylpropanoids, 9 steroids, 4 polysaccharides and 28 others. Pharmacological research has found that PH possesses multi-pharmacological activities, including regulating the gastrointestinal tract, inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms, and anti-inflammation, which provide more scientific interpretation for the clinical usage of PH. In addition, the shortcomings of the current research on PH and the recommendation of future studies on PH are analyzed. We hope this review can provide some insight for further research and applications of PH in future.