Diana Barragan Ferrer, Jesus Manuel Barragan Ferrer, Inga Aukštikalnė, Ingrida Viliušienė
Abstract
The interest in natural antioxidants as an alternative for inhibiting the oxidation processes that cause various human diseases has led to an increase in the analysis of natural antioxidant sources, particularly in herbal teas. The herbal tea is a valuable source of phenolic compounds that act as natural antioxidants to neutralize free radicals. Thus, the aim of this research is to analyze the total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity of different Lithuanian herbal teas (lime, chamomile, calendula, thyme, mint, raspberry, lemon balm, cranberry, cumin, oak bark). The (TPC), expressed as gallic acid equivalents (GAEs), was measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method. The value of antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH radical scavenging method. Summarizing the results of the work, we can conclude that phenolic compounds content depend on the extraction time of tea. In other words, the phenolic compounds content in the studied teas was increasing by the increasing of the extraction time. Examination of selected medicinal teas found that all the teas analyzed exhibited antioxidant activity and total phenolic content in the range of 21.37 mg/g and 664.66 mg/g. It is found that while the lowest antiradical activity and phenolic compounds content were found in the cumin tea, the highest were found in the raspberry tea.
Keyword(s): Herbal teas; phenolic compounds; antiradical activity.
DOI: 10.5200/sm-hs.2016.109
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