What’s in the world’s most popular beverage-tea? Mark Stoeckle helped
lead three NYC high school students on a DNA barcoding investigation
of commercial tea products, published today in Nature’s online
journal Scientific Reports.
Together with tea expert Selena Ahmed, Tufts University, and
senior plant biologist Damon Little, The New York Botanical Garden,
they analyzed DNA barcodes of 146 tea products (73 regular teas, which
are prepared from leaves of tea plant, Camellia sinensis, and 73
herbal teas) from 25 NYC locations, representing 33 manufacturers, 17
countries, and 82 plant common names. One-third of herbal teas had
ingredients not listed on the label–including weeds such as annual
bluegrass and herbal plants such as chamomile. More on their Tea
Barcode of Life project on PHE website.