Abstract
ABSTRACT Sage (Salvia officinalis L.) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L) are important medicinal plants and their infusions (herbal teas) are the most common form of these plants consumed. In this study, herbal teas of both species cultivated and exported in Anatolia region were prepared using different infusion time (5 and 10 min) and sample amount (2 and 3 g). These herbal teas were analysed for their vitamin C, total phenolics, total flavonoids, total flavanols, free radical scavenging activities (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl and hydrogen peroxide), and also twelve minerals (K, Na, Mg, Ca, Fe, B, Ti, Sr, Ba, Li, Ag and Ga) were determined in each sage and lemon balm dry leaves as well as their herbal teas. Vitamin C in the herbal teas varied from 0.24 to 615.8 µg/mL. Total bioactive contents of the herbal teas ranged from 76.4 to 215.4 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/cup for total phenolics, 16.2 to 69.9 mg quercetin (QE)/cup for total flavonoids, and 363.8 to 906.7 µg catechin equivalent (CE)/cup for total flavanol. The highest total bioactive contents and antioxidant activities were found in lemon balm herbal teas, and also in the herbal teas prepared with 3g sample amount and 10 min infusion time of both specie. As a result, the study also showed that the best sample amount in terms of the analysed minerals and vitamin C in herbal teas was 3 g for both species, but the best infusion time was 5 minutes for sage and 10 minutes for lemon balm.
Highlights
Herbal teas are widely consumed all around the world, drinks usually rich in antioxidants and other medicinal compounds which positive health effects (Atoui et al, 2005)
Up to date there has no any report about vitamin C content related to interactions between infusion time and amount of herbal teas of sage and lemon balm
Vitamin C, total phenolic, total flavonoid, total flavanol, antioxidant activities and mineral contents in infusion herbal teas of lemon balm and sage were analysed in the study
Summary
Herbal teas are widely consumed all around the world, drinks usually rich in antioxidants and other medicinal compounds which positive health effects (Atoui et al, 2005). Different herbal tea belonging to various plant families have been used as therapeutical, disease preventive or refreshment, in many forms of traditional medicine (Poswal et al, 2019). Since herbal teas are rich in antioxidants, their consumption is becoming more and more preferred among health conscious people (Ivanova et al, 2005). They are usually consumed as infusions or oil extracts individually or as mixture of different materials (Costa et al, 2012; Yıldırım et al, 2017). Some sage species are aromatic plants, native to Mediterranean region and consumed herbal teas in folk
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