Extractability of polyphenols from local herbs using traditional extemporaneous preparations

Abstract

A poster presentation regarding the extractability of polyphenols from local herbs using traditional extemporaneous preparations. Introduction: With the increasing consumption of herbal teas, a number of public health issues e.g. efficacy, safety and quality assurance have attracted concern. Comprehensive phytochemical and pharmacological analysis is very crucial as a key step in determining the toxic effects of plant constituents in herbal infusions. By studying the influence of various factors, such as time and temperature of extraction, on antioxidant activity and solid to liquid polyphenolic extraction can lead to more information on the efficient preparation of herbal teas. Aims: • To investigate the physicochemical properties of eight different locally available herbal tea infusions. • To determine the polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity in relation to steep time and temperature. • To investigate the heavy metal content in the herb material and herbal infusion using Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (MP-AES).