## 1 Introduction  
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of chemical compounds that have, as a common structural characteristic, the presence of several condensed aromatic rings, with or without heteroatoms. They have become ubiquitous in the natural environment due to the high degree of pollution, being present in the air, water, soil and, implicitly, in food. There are 15 PAHs considered genotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic. Amongthese, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) selected benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene (4 PAH) as indicators of the presence of PAHs in food products [1]. The European Commission, following the opinions expressed by the EFSA, has established strict limits for 4 PAHs in food products, as well as in dried plants and spices [2]. Among the four, benzo[a]pyrene is considered one of the most dangerous compounds, being classified into group 1 (carcinogenic to humans), according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer [3]. For people who do not smoke or who are not exposed to high levels of PAHs due to the nature of their occupation, the primary source of PAHs in their body is food but also other ingested products, including phytotherapeutic products, i.e., infusions and decoctions prepared from medicinal plants collected from the natural environment. Recent studies show that traditional medicine is still widespread in the world, and the use of medicinal plants and natural remedies is rising [4; 5]. Thus, the quality and effectiveness of these products can be seriously affected, with phytotherapy rather becoming, in these conditions, a procedure with harmful effects. Taking into account the fact that phytotherapy is a practice that is more and more frequently approached as a means of treating some minor ailments, the mentioned risks extend to an ever-increasing number of people. There are studies attesting the presence of significant amounts of PAHs in dried medicinal plants or in other plant products intended for the preparation of infusions and widely consumed throughout the world [6; 7]. Also, these are studies on the content of PAHs in Chinese tea (_Camelia sinensis_) processed in different ways or in mate (_Ilex parasquariensis_ St. Hil), which prove the existence of significant amounts of this group of compounds both in the dry leaves and prepared infusions [8; 9; 10; 11]. Fewer and recent studies highlight the transfer of PAHs from dried medicinal plants to infusions intended for consumption [12; 13]. In order to improve the quality of phytotherapy products, there is a need to evaluate not only the content of PAHs and other contaminants (organochlorine pesticides and heavy metals) from dried medicinal plants but also the transfer of these substances into preparations intended for human consumption (infusions, decoctions, timctures, etc.). In this sense, it is worth noting that the accumulation of PAHs and their transfer in extracts can differ from one plant species to other. The purpose of this study is to determine the amount of transfer of PAH compounds from dried medicinal plants in the infusions prepared and consumed for therapeutic purposes. In order to estimate the amounts of PAHs that pass into the infusion from dried plants, we referred to eight well-known and traditionally used plant species for phytotherapy in Europe, all of which have monographs in the European Pharmacopoeia [14]. Some of them come from natural environment, not being cultivated (_Hypericum perforatum_; _Artemisia absinthium_; _Tilia sp. ; _Achillea millefolium_; _Taraxacum officinal_; _Crataegus monogyna_), others can come from both the natural environment and cultures (_Matricaria chamomilla_), and one species can be cultivated (_Calendula officinalis_). Taking into study these eight plants purchased from a pharmaceutical market in Romania, from which we prepared infusions following the instructions on the package exactly, we determined, using gas chromatography, the main PAHs, in parallel, from the dried plants and from the prepared infusions.