Tea and fluorosis

Tea trees (Camellia sinensis), abundant in fluoride, selectively absorb F from the soil and air in the surrounding, and accumulate mainly in the tea leaves in the form of AI and F complex. Long-term consumption of high fluoride tea could result in chronic fluoride intoxication. This review summarized those data of the fluoride content in various tea commodities, and estimated the risk of fluorosis caused by high fluoride tea commodities. We also introduced fluorosis caused by tea from case reports, epidemiology observations and animal models. Fluorosis was easily misdiagnosed and over-looked and people made little acquaintance in the high fluoride in some tea commodities. So it is the time to pay more attentions on the over-looked safety problem of tea and tea products and some measures should be taken to the fluorosis caused by tea. Large-scale epidemiological investigations and further studies on tea-type fluorosis are in need for those tea-drinking areas. In addition, it is urgent that governmental and international agencies adopt safe standards of fluoride content in tea commodities. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.