Background: Metals can be present in tea infusion as ions or as complexes with endogenous bioligands naturally occurring in tea, especially with polyphenols. Their chemical form, i.e. free or metal complexes, can affect their actual bioavailability, gastrointestinal absorption and possible toxicity.
Results: The total amount of Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn in black tea infusions was determined by inductively coupled plasma--atomic emission spectroscopy after mineralization and compared with their fractions occurring as polyphenol complexes, extracted using two different polymeric resins: Amberlite XAD-2 and Amberlite XAD-7.
Conclusion: The obtained results demonstrated the suitability of Amberlite resins for the extraction of Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn–polyphenol complexes from black tea infusions and for the evaluation of the actual distribution of the considered metals among different chemical species, i.e. as free metals and as polyphenol complexes.