German authority: chamomile tea and other flower and fruit tea contain toxic substances

Xinhua news agency, Berlin, July 16 (reporter Guo Yang): chamomile tea, mint tea, anise tea The name of these flower and fruit tea sounds "little fresh" However, the latest investigation by the German authority found that the popular flower and fruit tea in the German market contains excessive toxic substances - pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA), which may cause injury if drunk for a long time   Germany's Federal Institute of risk assessment said Friday that the researchers selected 221 kinds of common flower and fruit tea samples in the German market for testing, including anise tea, chamomile tea, mint tea, Nettle Tea, etc., while black tea, green tea and other samples due to the small number, the risk analysis was not considered   The results showed that the content of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in some tea leaves was "unexpectedly high" Pyrrolizidine alkaloid is a kind of natural toxic alkaloid, which exists in many plants The content of pyrrolizidine alkaloid varies according to plant species, parts and soil conditions Excessive intake can lead to acute liver injury In addition, animal experiments show that some pyrrolizidine alkaloids can also cause cancer and mutation   The German Federal Institute of risk assessment cautioned that if only the short-term drinking of pyrrolizidine alkaloids exceeded the standard tea, it should not cause acute health damage, but there is a health risk of long-term overdose, especially for children, pregnant women and lactating women   In addition, the researchers found that even the same variety of tea, pyrrolizidine alkaloids content is not the same Therefore, it is difficult to point out which tea is at higher risk Experts suggest that the choice of drinks should be diversified, not only to drink a certain kind of tea for a long time.