Antioxidant activity of fresh and dry herbs of some Lamiaceae species

The herbs of lemon balm, oregano, and peppermint were analysed immediately after harvest and after drying to determine their antioxidant activity and content of total phenolics, l-ascorbic acid, and carotenoids. The strongest inhibition of linoleic acid (LA) peroxidation was found for fresh and drie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food chemistry 2005-11, Vol.93 (2), p.223-226
Main Authors: Capecka, Ewa, Mareczek, Anna, Leja, Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antioxidant activity
antioxidants
Ascorbic acid
Biological and medical sciences
Carotenoids
dried herbs
food analysis
food composition
Food industries
food quality
free radicals
fresh herbs
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
lemon balm
linoleic acid
lipid peroxidation
Melissa officinalis
Mentha piperita nothosubsp. piperita
Mentha × piperita
oregano
Origanum vulgare
phenolic compounds
Phenolics
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Summary:The herbs of lemon balm, oregano, and peppermint were analysed immediately after harvest and after drying to determine their antioxidant activity and content of total phenolics, l-ascorbic acid, and carotenoids. The strongest inhibition of linoleic acid (LA) peroxidation was found for fresh and dried oregano. For peppermint and lemon balm it was significantly lower and decreased after drying. The ability to scavenge the free radical DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) was very high in almost all tested samples, exceeding 90%. The three species tested had a very high content of total phenolics and drying of oregano and peppermint resulted in their considerable increase. The highest content of ascorbic acid was determined in fresh peppermint and lemon balm and carotenoid content was at a similar level in all the species tested. Drying caused great losses of these compounds.
ISSN:0308-8146
1873-7072
DOI:10.1016/j.foodchem.2004.09.020