engleski

Bioactive potential of herbal infusions prepared from traditional medicinal plants

The aim of this study was to evaluate the polyphenolic compounds and antioxidant properties of 10 medicinal plants prepared as infusions. The content of total phenols, flavonoids, flavan-3-ols and tannins of herbal infusions of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.), mint (Mentha piperita L.), nettle (Urtica dioica L.), blackberry leaf (Rubus fructicosus), olive leaf (Olea europaea), chamomille (Matricaria recutita L.), yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.), black locust (Acacia pseudorobinia) and horsetail (Equisteum arvense) were evaluated quantitatively by using UV/Vis spectrophotometric methods. Antioxidant capacity of herbal infusions was evaluated by using the ABTS (2, 2`-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) and FRAP (ferric reducing/antioxidant power) assays. The highest content of total phenols was found in the infusion prepared from the leaves of lemon balm, followed by infusion made from mint, while the infusion prepared from the flowers of camomile contained the lowest phenolic content. Linden infusion was characterized with the highest flavan-3-ols content, while the raspberry leaf infusion exhibited the highest tannin content, which is in accordance with the results obtained by previous findings of other authors. The ranking of herbal infusions based on their decreasing antioxidant potential correspondes to the one obtained for the total phenol content, which is confirmed by a high correlation obtained between the results, pointing out to the fact that the phenolic compounds are responsible for the antioxidant capacity of herbal infusions.

Antioxidant capacity; Herbal infusions; Polyphenols; Tannins

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