Assessment of fluoride content and daily intake from different brands of tea bags in Iran

Tea is the second most commonly consumed beverage world wide. Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a naturally rich source of fluoride. The quantity of fluoride intake is important in optimizing its dental caries-preventive role. Intense concentration of fluoride in tea, can lead to excessive fluoride intake which may cause health problems in turn. The measurement of fluoride intake usually requires information on the fluoride concentration in food and beverages. The main objective of this study was to investigate the fluoride content of various commercial brands of tea bag available on the market in Iran. Furthermore, daily fluoride intake from these brands is assessed. The results of this study showed that among 15 brands of tea bag assessed in this study, NemoonehTM had the highest fluoride concentration (0.41 ± 0.01 mg/100 ml/3 min), whereas AhmadTM had the lowest level (0.10 ± 0.01 mg/100 ml/3 min). The average fluoride concentration was 0.23 ± 0.01 mg/100 ml/3 min. Thus, it seems that daily consumption of four cups of tea could provide up to 73% of recommended daily dose of fluoride in children 2-5 years old and up to 50% recommended daily dose for adults. It seems that existing tea bag in Iranian market contain proper amounts of fluoride and there is no toxicity with their regular consumption.