ALUMINUM CONTENT OF TEA LEAVES AND FACTORSAFFECTING THE UPTAKE OF ALUMINUM FROMSOIL INTO TEA LEAVES

Numerous studies indicated that aluminum, the most abundant metallic element within the lithosphere, was consid- ered to be related to some human diseases especially the Alzheimer's disease. Tea, economically an important beverage in the world, has been found to contain higher concentration of aluminum than many other drinks and foods. Therefore, tea would be a potentially important source of dietary aluminum. In order to understand the sources of aluminum in tea leaves and factors related with aluminum content of tea leaves, an experiment was designed to investigate the relationships of aluminum in tea leaves with leaf age, soil properties and forms of aluminum in soils. The results showed that there were great distinctions in the concentration of aluminum in tea leaves with different leaf age (Alold leaf>Almature leaf> Alyoung leaf). Moreover, soil pH was the major factor control- ling the uptake of aluminum from soil into tea leaves. Fnrthermore, the content of aluminum in tea leaves was better predicated by the soluble aluminum extracted by 0. 02mol/L CaCl2.