Should we drink an drive tea?

Research on biofuels recently suggested compounds that are already known as solvents or flavors to be alternatives for fossil fuels. We investigated the three candidate substances ethyl levulinate, methyltetrahydrofuran, and 2-methylfuran regarding their embryotoxic effectiveness using zebrafish.

Especially ethyl levulinate gave considerable toxicity. Very specifically it tended to reduce head length of zebrafish larvae. As a consequence, we recommended to not further continue developing this substance into a potential biofuel. Moreover, use of ethyl levulinate in, e.g., flavored tea should be critically revised. Read the full story on "Acute embryo toxicity and teratogenicity of three potential biofuels also used as flavor or solvent" (fulltext only with a subscription to the journal, sorry...).