Abstract

Brine shrimp lethality assay is a useful tool for preliminary assessment of toxicity. Food items and material safety are of necessity a regular exercise for routine check. Tea, a widely consumed drink after water therefore, needs to be assessed periodically and brine shrimp lethality assay is a suitable tool for this assessment. Toxicity assessment was conducted for various tea brands obtained from supermarkets in Ilorin, Nigeria using the brine shrimp lethality assay. Solutions of the different tea brands and aqueous extract of Cymbopogon citratus (1000, 100, 10 ppm) were prepared and the effect of these tea solutions on brine shrimp larvae, Artemia salina was investigated. All the tea solutions were toxic at high concentration with caffeinated Tetley tea, decaffeinated Tetley tea and raw lemon grass being the most toxic against the brine shrimps. None of the tea brands constitute health hazard at the concentration level of usual human consumption. Processed and refined teas generally have lower toxicity and sweet aroma.

Key words: Cymbopogon citratus, green tea, black tea, caffeinated tea, decaffeinated tea, toxicity, brine shrimps.