Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Given the increasing consumers demand for novelty, tea companies have been presenting new added value
products such as reserve lots of aromatic plants. Herein, infusions from different lots of three aromatic plants
were assessed in terms of phenolic composition (HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS) and antioxidant properties (reducing
power, free radical scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibition capacity). Cymbopogon citratus (C. citratus; main
compound 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid) and Aloysia citrodora (A. citrodora; prevalence of verbascoside) reserve lots
revealed higher phenolic compounds concentration than the respective standard lots. Thymus×citriodorus (T.
citriodorus; main compound rosmarinic acid) standard lot presented higher amounts of phenolic acids than the
reserve lot, nonetheless, total flavonoids and phenolic compounds were not significantly different. The differences
between both lots antioxidant activity were more noticeable in C. citratus, with the reserve lot presenting
the highest activity. This study provides evidence of the differences between these plants chemical composition
and bioactivity depending on the harvesting conditions.
Description
Keywords
Antioxidant activity Aromatic plants HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS Phenolic composition Standard and reserve lots
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Rita, Ingride; Pereira, Carla; Barros, Lillian; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R. (2018). Exploring reserve lots of Cymbopogon citratus, Aloysia citrodora and Thymus × citriodorus as improved sources of phenolic compounds. Food Chemistry. ISSN 0308-8146. 257, p. 83-89