Sensory Performance, Proximate and Antioxidant Activity of Tea from Composite Formulation of Cymbopogon citratus, Lippia multiflora and Ganoderma lucidum

Abstract

Commercially produced herbal green teas consumed in Ghana are mostly those imported into the country. However, there are many plants such as “Srenunum” (Lippia multiflora) and lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), that are used by Ghanaians to brew herbal tea. The objectives of this study were to develop a tea product from the aforementioned herbs and “reishi” (Ganoderma lucidum), a medicinal mushroom. Three formulations (A, B and C) were produced according to the respective percentages (50:30:20, 30:20:50 and 20:50:30 for G. lucidum: L. multiflora: C. citratus). Formulation A came out as the most liked tea through an affective test (7 point hedonic scale) which was then compared to a known control (Lipton-yellow label) by chemical, proximate, antioxidant activity determination and sensory evaluation. The two tea samples (Tea A and Lipton) differed significantly with respect to aroma, colour, after taste and overall acceptability (p < 0.05). Tea A had significantly higher values for proteins, crude fibre and ash contents than Lipton in terms of their proximate compositions whereas Lipton contained higher levels of moisture and lipids (P< 0.05). For increasing concentrations of tea samples (10, 15, 20, 30, 50 µL) used in antioxidant activity determination, tea A recorded between 59.07 and 88.91mgTE/g, significantly higher than for Lipton (between 22.81 and 34.45mgTE/g) (P < 0.05). Given the high performance of Tea A, G. lucidum, L. multiflora and C. citratus can be successfully used to produce tea of equally good quality to encourage local consumption of indigenous herbs as well as reduce tea imports.