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Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Analysis of institutional authors

Fernandez-Pintor, BegonaAuthorCasado, NataliaAuthorMorante-Zarcero, SoniaCorresponding AuthorSierra, IsabelCorresponding Author

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July 31, 2023
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Evaluation of the thermal stability and transfer rate of pyrrolizidine alkaloids during the brewing of herbal infusions contaminated with Echium vulgare and Senecio vulgaris weeds

Publicated to: Food Control. 153 109926- - 2023-11-01 153(), DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2023.109926

Authors:

Fernández-Pintor, B; Casado, N; Morante-Zarcero, S; Sierra, I
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Affiliations

Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Dept Tecnol Quim & Ambiental, ESCET, C Tulip S N, Mostoles 28933, Madrid, Spain - Author

Abstract

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are currently in the spotlight of food safety due to the potential health risk that their intake may entail for consumers. Among the wide variety of food products likely to be contaminated with PAs, teas and herbal teas stand out because of their cross-contamination with weeds from PA-producing plants. Accordingly, this work simulates the cross-contamination of chamomile tea samples with weeds of Senecio vul-garis and Echium vulgare to evaluate the effect of brewing on the PA content at different temperature (100 and 75 degrees C) and time (5 and 10 min) conditions. The results of the thermal degradation study revealed PAs are quite stable compounds under the conditions assayed, being the initial PA concentration the variable that strongly affected the thermal stability of these compounds, rather than the brewing temperature and time. On the other hand, it was confirmed that not all PAs are effectively transferred from the dry material to the infusion during the brewing process, leading to overall transfer rates between 13 & PLUSMN; 1 to 87 & PLUSMN; 10%. Also, it was observed that the extraction efficiency may be influenced by the type of matrix, since transfer rates were lower when the PA migration came from Echium vulgare than from Senecio vulgaris. Moreover, it was confirmed that the real content of PAs in a cup of tea can be overestimated in 2-7 times if their transfer rate is not considered during the brewing process, highlighting the importance of analyzing the infusion samples instead of the dry tea samples to correctly assess the risk exposure of consumers to these contaminants.
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Keywords

Cross -contaminationCross-contaminationEchium vulgareFoodPyrrolizidine alkaloidsSenecio vulgarisTeasThermal degradationTransfer studyZero hunger

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Food Control due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 24/173, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Food Science & Technology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.75. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.97 (source consulted: FECYT Mar 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-02-10, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 11
  • Scopus: 14
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-02-10:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 10 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
    • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/10115/24855
    Continuing with the social impact of the work, it is important to emphasize that, due to its content, it can be assigned to the area of interest of ODS 2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, with a probability of 40% according to the mBERT algorithm developed by Aurora University.
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    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Fernández Pintor, Begoña) and Last Author (Sierra Alonso, María Isabel).

    the authors responsible for correspondence tasks have been Morante Zarcero, Sonia and Sierra Alonso, María Isabel.

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    Project objectives

    Los objetivos perseguidos en esta aportación son los siguientes: evaluar la estabilidad térmica de las alcaloides pirrolizidínicos (PAs) durante la infusión de tisanas contaminadas con Echium vulgare y Senecio vulgaris; determinar el efecto de la temperatura (100 y 75 ºC) y el tiempo (5 y 10 minutos) de infusión sobre el contenido de PAs; analizar las tasas de transferencia de PAs desde el material seco a la infusión; caracterizar la influencia del tipo de matriz vegetal en la eficiencia de extracción de PAs; y cuantificar la posible sobreestimación del contenido real de PAs en la infusión si no se considera la tasa de transferencia, para mejorar la evaluación del riesgo para el consumidor.
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    Most relevant results

    El estudio evaluó la estabilidad térmica y la tasa de transferencia de alcaloides pirrolizidínicos (PAs) durante la infusión de tés contaminados con Senecio vulgaris y Echium vulgare. Los resultados más relevantes fueron: (1) los PAs mostraron alta estabilidad térmica, siendo la concentración inicial el factor principal que afectó su degradación, más que la temperatura (100 y 75 °C) o el tiempo de infusión (5 y 10 min); (2) la tasa de transferencia de PAs al líquido de infusión varió entre 13 ± 1% y 87 ± 10%; (3) la matriz vegetal influyó en la eficiencia de extracción, siendo menor la transferencia desde Echium vulgare que desde Senecio vulgaris; (4) el contenido real de PAs en la infusión puede ser sobreestimado entre 2 y 7 veces si no se considera la tasa de transferencia.
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    Awards linked to the item

    Funding This research was funded by MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE, project number RTI2018-094558-B-I00.
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