Herbal teas are beverages made from herbs, fruits, seeds or roots steeped in hot water. Known as tisanes, herbals teas are different from true tea, which are prepared from cured leaves of the tea plant, <i>Camellia sinensis</i>) and contain caffeine. The consumption of herbal teas has increased lately due to their health benefits. Among these herbal teas commonly used are those from ginger, ginseng, hibiscus, jasmine to name a few. In this study, the phenol content and antioxidant properties of infusions of several commercially available herbal teas were evaluated and compared with one another. The total phenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method with gallic acid used as the standard. The antioxidant properties evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay system. Results show a direct relationship between the phenol content and the antioxidant activities of the different samples analyzed. Most of the herbal teas were found to have less phenol content and exhibited less antioxidant activity in comparison with green tea.

Nutraceutical properties of several commercial herbal tea samples

2019 Spring National Meeting

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