Comparison of The Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity in Peppermint Plant According to The Drying Method

Abstract

Objective: Antioxidant activities of the plants were significantly affected by their drying methods. In the current study, total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity of aqueous extracts of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) dried by two different methods, air-dried (AD) and freeze-dried (FD) were measured. The aim was to determine if there were any changes in the antioxidant activity according to the drying method.Material and Method: In order to determine the total phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of air-dried (AD) and freeze-dried (FD) mint, were used Folin Ciocalteu, CUPRAC, DPPH, ABTS, DMPD methods.Result and Discussion: Results were evaluated by comparing with the known antioxidant standards, such as gallic acid, trolox, ascorbic acid, and butylatedhydroxyanisole (BHA). The total phenolic contents (TPC) were calculated as 59.9 mg/g GAE for AD plant extract and 58.2 mg/g GAE for FD extract. According to the obtained results from all methods, radical scavenging activities were found to be slightly higher in AD samples than in FD samples. In conclusion, the results show that air-drying does not cause degradation in compounds that contribute to the antioxidant activity of the peppermint.

Phytochemicals, antioxidant activity and essential oil components of Mentha longifolia genotypes

“…In another research, the free radical scavenging capacity in M. longifolia was detected 23.8% 53 . In general, the antioxidant capacity of medicinal plants is related to the presence of phytochemical compounds 54 . Antioxidants are essential elements that protect most organisms against free radicals 55 .…”