Plant drug mixtures are widely used in the adjuvant therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus for the prevention of complications. The drug mixtures generally contribute to the efficiency of the therapy and may also reduce undesirable side effects. Two herbal extracts (lyophilized aqueous extracts of plant drug mixtures 1: Myrtilli folium, Phaseoli fructus sine seminibus and 2: Myrtilli folium, Phaseoli fructus sine seminibus, Salviae folium) were investigated in in vitro rat models. The content of bioactive constituents (polyphenol, flavonoid and vitamin C) in plant drug mixtures and lyophilized samples was evaluated. The antioxidant activity of lyophilized extracts was determined by measuring the ferric reducing ability of the plant, Fe2+ induced lipid peroxidation (LPO) in rat brain homogenates and NADPH (beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced form) induced LPO in cerebral microsomes. The antioxidant activity of lyophilized extracts was compared to that of quercetin and rutin. Both teas of lyophilized extracts had significant reducing ability (2694 and 2771 micromol/l) and inhibited LPO (IC50 28.0 and 20.6 microl in NADPH induced LPO, 17.3 and 8.7 microl in Fe2+ induced LPO). The high concentration of polyphenol/flavonoid (12.38-13.00 and 1.45-5.22 g/100 g, respectively) and vitamin C (0.099-0.165 g/100 g) in the herbal extracts is related to their significant antioxidant properties. The tea mixtures have significant nutritional value, since the consumption of 2 or 3 cups of tea a day covers 50% of the daily requirement of vitamin C and it is also relevant polyphenol source. The high polyphenol/flavonoid content may restore the redox imbalance and contribute to the prevention of diabetic complications.

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