## 3 Results and Discussion
### Assessment of the Health Risks Associated with the Consumption of Aluminum from Tea Infusions  
The non-carcinogenic risk of exposure to aluminum from tea infusions was assessed using the THQ hazard quotient, the values of which were calculated for various population groups divided by age and sex and are presented in Table 5. This parameter was determined for each tea sample separately, which gave a total of 595 possible cases. In 14.5% of all analyzed cases, this parameter exceeded the value of 1, indicating the likelihood of adverse  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Aluminum Content (mg/L)**} & \\  & **White Tea** & **Black Granulated Tea** & **Black Leaf Tea** & **Pu-Erh** & **Green Tea** \\ \hline Infusions without & 2.33 \(\pm\) 0.14 d & 6.46 \(\pm\) 0.2 c & 3.16 \(\pm\) 0.29 d & 1.08 \(\pm\) 0.08 d & 5.71 \(\pm\) 0.18 c \\ additives & 2.38 \(\pm\) 0.19 c & 6.92 \(\pm\) 0.59 c & 3.4 \(\pm\) 0.3 d & 1.25 \(\pm\) 0.09 cd & 7.06 \(\pm\) 0.72 b \\ Infusions with citric acid & 3.97 \(\pm\) 0.07 b & 6.56 \(\pm\) 0.21 c & 3.41 \(\pm\) 0.17 d & 1.33 \(\pm\) 0.03 c & 6.83 \(\pm\) 0.2 b \\ solution (quince) & 4.43 \(\pm\) 0.17 a & 9.04 \(\pm\) 0.27 b & 5.53 \(\pm\) 0.21 a & 2.68 \(\pm\) 0.09 a & 10.2 \(\pm\) 0.3 a \\ Infusions with citric acid & 4.55 \(\pm\) 0.22 a & 9.18 \(\pm\) 0.23 b & 5.61 \(\pm\) 0.38 a & 2.69 \(\pm\) 0.12 a & 9.92 \(\pm\) 0.27 a \\ solutions with Japanese & 4.51 \(\pm\) 0.37 a & 8.93 \(\pm\) 0.31 b & 4.95 \(\pm\) 0.23 b & 2.43 \(\pm\) 0.18 b & 10.05 \(\pm\) 0.82 a \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & \\  & & & & & \\  &health effects. When analyzing individual types of tea, it should be noted that in the case of pu-erh tea, the THQ parameter was less than 1 in all analyzed cases. In the case of green tea, this parameter was greater than 1 in 33.6% of cases and in the case of white tea in 4.2%. Regarding the frequency of exceeding the THQ value above 1, black teas can be ranked as follows: granulated black tea 28.6% and loose leaf 5.9%. The THQ parameter was greater than 1 mainly in the group of kids aged 3 to 9 years. Analyzing the type of addition to the tea infusion, it was shown that in 20% of cases, the THQ parameter was greater than 1 in the case of both lemon juice and Japanese quince, along with the corresponding citric acid solutions. In the case of quince juice and citric acid with the same titratable acidity, this share was only 7.6%. Based on the presented results, it can be concluded that the consumption of aluminum from infusions of granulated black and green tea with the addition of lemon juice and Japanese quince is characterized by a much higher health risk compared to other groups of teas with the addition of quince juice. Calculating the share of tea infusion as a source of aluminum in the diet is not easy because there are difficulties in determining the bioavailability of this metal [45]. The bioavailability of aluminum depends on the form in which this element occurs; therefore, in addition to the quantitative determination of aluminum, it is also essential to determine the form in which this element is found [46]. The toxicity of aluminum to living organisms depends on the speciation in which it occurs. Biological toxicology has determined that inorganic forms of aluminum (Al\({}^{3+}\), Al(OH)\({}^{2+}\), and Al(OH)\({}^{2+}\)) are the most harmful. Aluminum fluoride (Al-F) and aluminum in organic combinations (Al-org.) are much less toxic [47]. It is estimated that the average daily intake of this metal in most countries is several milligrams.