Assessment of Human Health Risk of Toxic Elements Due to Cinnamon Ingestion in the Diet.

This study aimed to investigate the elemental concentration profile in cinnamon powder products available in the Portuguese market and to assess the cumulative non-carcinogenic risk to human health due to the exposure to mixtures of such elements through the inclusion of 6 g of cinnamon in diet. Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, Al, Cl, Mn, and Sr were determined by wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy in different lots of eight branded and one bulk cinnamon powder products. Linear mixed models have revealed significant differences in concentrations of Zn, Fe, Al, and Cl between brands. In particular, bulk cinnamon samples presented the highest contents of Fe (475.0-490.0 mg kg-1) and Al (1139.0-1336.0 mg kg-1). The non-carcinogenic risk was assessed following EPA's guidelines through the hazard quotient (HQ). Estimated HQ values were lower than the USEPA guideline of 1. Additionally, the hazard index (HI), representing the combined non-carcinogenic effects of all toxic elements, revealed no potential human health risk for heavy consumers of cinnamon (HI = 0.660). AbstractGraphical ᅟ. PMID: 30191399 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Biological Trace Element Research - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: Biol Trace Elem Res Source Type: research