Abstract:
Herbal teas are simple, effective, inexpensive, drugfree, and caffeine-free ways to enjoy the flavor and benefits of
herbs and spices, which are commonly consumed by people
since they are natural, harmless, and can assist in treating
or controlling various therapeutic illnesses. The purpose of
this study was to develop guava leaf-based herbal tea with
a combination of supporting and activating herbs such as
Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon) leaf and bark, Senna
auriculata (avaram senna) flower, Gymnema sylvestre (gurmar),
Ocimum tenuiflorum(holy basil) leaf, and Citrus limon (lemon)
leaf in order to improve guava tea. Herbal teas were prepared
using nine various combinations of the above-mentioned plant
materials along with guava tea for comparative purposes.
The extraction of tea was done by infusing tea bags, and
phytochemicals were screened with a standard procedure. Total
polyphenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC)
were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu approach and the
aluminum chloride spectrophotometric method, respectively.
Total antioxidant capacity was determined by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, while radical scavenging
activity was determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH) assay. The toxicity of developed tea bags was assessed
using a brine shrimp micro-well cytotoxicity assay. According
to the findings, all of the prepared herbal teas and guava tea are
rich in essential phytochemicals. Moreover, the combination of
guava leaf, cinnamon bark, cinnamon leaf, avaram senna flower,
gurmar leaf, holy basil leaf, and lemon leaf (35:20:1:1:1:1:1)
exhibited the highest TPC (2027.12 mg GAE/ml) and antioxidant capacity (82.33 mg ascorbic acid eq/ml). During sensory
evaluation, this composition was most preferred to guava tea
by the semi-trained panel, and it showed nontoxicity to brine
shrimp (LC50 values higher than 1000 mg/L). In conclusion,
even though guava tea has already been developed and proven
to have anti-diabetic and antioxidant properties, the herbal tea
formulation from seven medicinal plants showed the greatest
preference due to the highest TPC and highest antioxidant
capacity. Further studies are needed to determine the antidiabetic properties of developed herbal teas and compare the
anti-diabetic properties of guava tea.
