Antioxidant Activity and Phenolic Content of Herbal Infusions from Medicinal Plants used in Argentina

GALLIA, MARÍA C.; FERRARI, ANA; LEONARDO BAJDA; BONGIOVANNI, GUILLERMINA A.

Food Production, Processing and Nutrition

BMC Springer Nature

Año: 2023

2661-8974

Currently, teas and herbal infusions represent an important part of the human diet.Most contain phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity, usually associatedwith human health protective functions. This attribute defines teas and infusions asnutraceutical foods. In Argentina, several native species are traditionally used formedical purposes. Some of those species are Larrea cuneifolia, Larrea nitida,Grindelia chiloensis, Pteromonnina dictyocarpa, Mandevilla laxa, and Monttea aphylla.The objectives of this study were to analyze the antioxidant power and the scavengingcapacity of infusions obtained from those six medicinal plants, to characterize thephenolic profile, and to study in vitro their safety or cytotoxicity. Additionally, thepotential use of two infusions as antioxidant additives in a food model was evaluated.The results indicated that the analyzed plant species are rich in phenolic acids (e.g.,caffeic, ferulic, and chlorogenic acid), and flavonoids (e.g., quercetin and kaempferol),with high antioxidant power. The infusion blend obtained with G. chiloensis and L.cuneifolia exhibited the highest value of antioxidant capacity measured with the FRAPtechnique (193.4 µg EAA/mg DW). On the other hand, L. cuneifolia infusion showedthe greatest antioxidant capacity determined by FRAP (131.9 ± 5.2 µg EAA/mg DW)and DPPH assays (0.453 mL/mg s). Additionally, L. cuneifolia infusion showed thehighest phenolic content (232.8 µg GAE/mg DW) and flavonoid content (153.3 µgQE/mg DW). None of the infusions showed toxicity in mammalian cells, except for G.chiloensis. Furthermore, the L. cuneifolia and L. nitida infusions showed a highinhibitory effect on lipid oxidation in ground beef (55 % and 51% at 4 days of storage,respectively). The results suggest that the studied infusions are safe and a rich sourceof antioxidants which supports their use in traditional medicine. However, furtherexhaustive studies of G. chiloensis infusion are needed to ensure its safety, as it hasshown cytotoxicity. Besides, it is worthwhile to advance the study of L. cuneifolia and L.nitida as sources of dietary antioxidants, due to their high antioxidant power and abilityto protect against lipid peroxidation.