Antioxidant capacity of herbs in dried, fresh and blended herb paste form

Abstract

Herbs have high antioxidant concentrations, comparable to or higher than many fruits and vegetables. Recently, in addition to fresh and dried forms, a commercially available herb paste has been developed. Antioxidant phytochemicals in herbs include anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, sulfur-containing compounds, and monoterpenes. The antioxidant capacity (AC) of water extracts of 10 different herbs (basil, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, chile pepper, oregano, parsley, cilantro, dill, and Italian seasoning) was compared from dried herbs, fresh herbs or from a ready-to-use blended herb paste using the Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity assay. The AC was calculated in Trolox Equivalents (TE) per standard amount of herb used per recipe (1 g dried, 5 g fresh and 10 g paste). The highest AC was in oregano (480–540 TE), garlic (271–705 TE) and Italian seasoning (313–509 TE) in all three forms. The AC was higher for the herb blend paste compared to dry and fresh form in 6 out of 10 herbs (chili pepper, cilantro, dill, garlic, ginger and parsley) and equal to fresh in oregano suggesting that the processing may help retain AC. While the bioactivity of individual antioxidants is known, their effects on health may not be as significant as the combination of the whole class of bioactives working through multiple mechanisms of action. In summary, herbs in paste, dried or fresh form may contribute significant AC to the diet.