Elemental Composition of Commercial Herbal Tea Plants and Respective Infusions

This study evaluated the elemental composition of 25 herbal tea plants commonly used in infusions by Portuguese consumers and the contribution to the elemental daily intake of some essential elements. (L.), (L.), and (L.) samples are a rich source of K with around 6.0 mg g while the Asteraceae (L.) and (DC.) exhibited 4.9 and 5.6 mg g Ca, respectively. The highest concentrations of S and Zn were noted in (L.), while the highest concentration of Sr was found in (Vahl.). In general, a large variability in the concentrations among different families and plant organs had been observed, except Cu with levels around 30 μg g . The principal component analysis (PCA) showed positive correlations between Zn and S and Sr and Ca, also revealing that (L.), (DC.), (L.), and (Vahl.) samples, stands out about all other samples regarding the enrichment of macro and micronutrients. The elemental solubility of macronutrients in the infusion is greater than the micronutrient solubility, despite the contribution to the recommended daily intake was weak. As a whole, (L.) and (L.) are the species with the best elemental solubilities, followed by (L.). No harmful elements, such as As and Pb, were observed in both the raw material and the infusions.