The aim of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant potential of teas prepared from twenty-four commercially available berries and flowers of Sambucus nigra L. in relation to their phenolic profile, as reflected by the most representative phenolic acids (caffeic, chlorogenic, p-coumaric, ferulic, gallic and syringic acids); flavonols (quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin and rutin); and total phenolic (TPC), phenolic acid (TAC) and flavonoid (TFC) contents. The infusions prepared from elderflowers contained more abundant phenolic compounds than the elderberry infusions. The TPC of these infusions ranged from 19.81 to 23.90 mg of gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight of sample (GAE/g DW) for elderberries and from 15.23 to 35.57 mg GAE/g DW for elderflowers, whereas the TFC ranged from 2.60 to 4.49 mg of rutin equivalents/g dry weight of sample (RUTE/g DW) in elderberry infusions and from 5.27 to 13.19 mg RUTE/g DW in elderflower infusions. Among the phenolic compounds quantified in this study, quercetin (2.07–9.48 mg/g DW) and myricetin (1.17–9.62 mg/g DW) had the highest concentrations in the teas prepared from berries and flowers, respectively. Moreover, the antioxidant potential of elder infusions assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays revealed that the teas prepared from flowers had higher mean DPPH and FRAP activities than the teas prepared from berries. Therefore, elder beverages could be important dietary sources of natural antioxidants that contribute to the prevention of diseases caused by oxidative stress.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11130-016-0594-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Morus alba L. (white mulberry) has been commonly used as a functional food and for medicinal purposes. Hence, the aim of the study was to compare the phenolic profile of white mulberry commercial samples in relation to their antioxidant potential and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity. It is of interest to determine whether herbal products originating from different commercial sources differ in their phenolic profiles. For this purpose, a simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used for the separation and determination of ten major phenolic compounds. Total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoid (TFC), and total phenolic acid contents (TPAC), as well as l(+)-ascorbic acid (ASA) contents, were determined. The antioxidant potential was assessed by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical) scavenging activity and ferric-reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, while the AChE inhibitory activity was determined by the Ellman assay for water extracts. The study revealed that excluding two herbal products containing fruits and a sample containing leaves of white mulberry, yerba mate and lemon, the remaining samples were generally consistent in terms of phenolic composition as well as antioxidant potential and AChE inhibitory activity. This reflects the health-promoting properties of the samples under study. Moreover, the results showed that the water extracts of white mulberry were richer in phenolic compounds and presented higher antioxidant activity than the hydromethanolic extracts. However, the water extracts showed low inhibitory activity against AChE. Moreover, the correlation analysis indicated a high positive relationship between phenolic composition and antioxidant activity in extracts of white mulberry. Overall, the obtained results may be useful in the evaluation of new dietary supplements and food products. The water extracts of white mulberry could be used for antioxidant purposes, while the hydromethanolic extracts could be incorporated in antioxidant formulations.

The aim of the research was to compare chemical composition and antioxidant activity of black and green teas with those of erva-mate. Therefore, essential elements (P, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu), phenolic acids (gallic, caffeic, pcoumaric, and ferulic), flavonoids (catechin, rutin, myricetin, apigenin, and quercetin), and alkaloids (caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline) were determined. Phenolics and alkaloids were quantified by HPLC, metallic elements by atomic absorption spectrometry, and antioxidant activity by a 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid method. Total P, inorganic P, and Mg expressed in milligrams per gram dry weight (d.w.) and other metals expressed in milligrams per kilogram d.w.) in the order Mn > Zn > Fe > Cu were assayed. Caffeine was found above 25 mg/g d.w. in all samples. Among the phenolic compounds, caffeic acid and quercetin were on the highest level, whilst apigenin and p-coumaric acid were on the lowest. Correlation analysis revealed frequently occurring relations between P and several metals and phenolics and also between Zn and other metabolites from flavonoids, phenolic acids, and alkaloids. Within organic compounds, correlations were often found among gallic and caffeic acids and other analytes, like p-coumaric, ferulic acids, and myricetin. Antioxidant activity of studied infusions from different types of teas was very similar. Cluster analysis grouped the studied materials into clear clusters, generally separating erva-mate samples from Camellia sinensis. Principal component analysis indicated total P, Mg, Cu, caffeic acid, myricetin, and p-coumaric acid as factors influencing mostly the diversity among analyzed samples.

Chamomile has been used as an herbal medication since ancient times and is still popular because it contains various bioactive phytochemicals that could provide therapeutic effects. In this study, a simple and reliable HPLC method was developed to evaluate the quality consistency of nineteen chamomile samples through establishing a chromatographic fingerprint, quantification of phenolic compounds and determination of antioxidant activity. For fingerprint analysis, 12 peaks were selected as the common peaks to evaluate the similarities of commercial samples of chamomile obtained from different manufacturers. A similarity analysis was performed to assess the similarity/dissimilarity of chamomile samples where values varied from 0.868 to 0.990 what indicating that samples from different manufacturers were consistent. Additionally, simultaneous quantification of five phenolic acids (gallic, caffeic, syringic, p-coumaric, ferulic) and four flavonoids (rutin, myricetin, quercetin and keampferol) was performed to interpret the quality consistency. In quantitative analysis, the nine individual phenolic compounds showed good regression (r > 0.9975). Inter- and intra-day precisions for all analyzed compounds expressed as relative standard deviation (CV) ranged from 0.05% to 3.12%. Since flavonoids and other polyphenols are commonly recognized as natural antioxidants, the antioxidant activity of chamomile samples was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between antioxidant activity and phenolic composition, and multivariate analysis (PCA and HCA) were applied to distinguish chamomile samples. Results shown in the study indicate high similarity of chamomile samples among them, widely spread in the market and commonly used by people as infusions or teas, as well as that there were no statistically significant differences among them, which in turn is a proof of high quality of commercially available samples of chamomile. The study indicated that the combination of chromatographic fingerprint and quantitative analysis can be readily utilized as a quality consistency method for chamomile and related medicinal preparations. Moreover, the applied strategy seems to be the most promising for the assessment of the investigated plant material.