Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) infusions and probabilistic risk assessment of exposure

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the risk of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from yerba mate infusions in Uruguay using the margin of exposure approach (MOE) and a probabilistic method (Monte Carlo simulation). Servings/day, portion size, weekly frequency of mate consumption and body weight were the factors considered. The amount in infusions of benz[a]pyrene (B[a]P), PAH2 (sum of chrysene and B[a]P), and PAH4 (sum of benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benz[b]fluoranthene and B[a]P) were used as markers of PAH exposure. Total content of PAH in infusions had large inter-brand variability (48-54 %) with significant differences among brands. PAH content in infusions prepared as habitually consumed was about 40 % of total content. The probability of occurrence of MOE < 10,000 varied according to the infusion preparation and the marker of exposure used, being higher for infusions prepared for total content and when B[a]P was used as marker of exposure. When the average B[a]P amount in infusion as habitually consumed was used in the simulation model, the probability of MOE < 10,000 was 9 %. The main factors contributing to B[a]P MOE variance were B[a]P amount (28.4 %), servings/day (17.3 %), and portion size (9.6 %). Heavy drinkers of yerba mate with high B[a]P content are those at risk to PAH exposure from mate infusions.

Keywords: Benz[a]pyrene; HPLC-FLD; Margin of Exposure (MOE); Monte Carlo simulation; PAH.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

PAH content in cumulative partial sequential infusions prepared as habitually consumed¹, expressed as % of total content. ¹Five sequential partial infusions (200 mL each), obtained from 50 g of yerba mate M2 to a final cumulative total volume of 1000 mL. PAH content in each cumulative sequential infusion was expressed as a percentage of total content (Table 3). The bars represent mean ± SE of two independent analyses.Different letters indicate a significant difference (two-way ANOVA followed by LSD Fisher, p < 0.05).

Fig. 2

Contribution of characteristics of the population and intake habits to the variance of B[a]P MOE in infusions as habitually consumed¹. ¹ Servings/day was set as a binomial distribution with a minimum of 1, a maximum of 3 and a probability of 0.5. Portion size was set as a normal distribution with a median of 50 g and a standard deviation of 12.5 g. Truncation limits were set at a minimum 12.5 g and a maximum of 100 g. Body weight was set as a Pearson V distribution with a median of 74.1 kg and a standard deviation of 16.4 kg. Weekly frequency was set as a minimum of 1, a maximum of 7 times per week and probability of 0.9. B[a]P amount was set as a normal distribution of the average content of the 12 yerba mate brands infusion corrected by 38 % according to the partial infusion test.