CORRELATION BETWEEN CAFFEINE CONTENT, ANTIOXIDANT POWER, TOTAL POLYPHENOL AMOUNT AND GROWTH HEIGHT OF ARMENIAN MOUNTAINOUS HERBS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46991/PYSUB.2026.60.1.071Keywords:
herbal infusions, caffeine, antioxidant properties, photochemistry, PNDMA, DPPHAbstract
The amount of caffeine and the dependence of its content on the growth height of Armenian mountainous herbal infusions such as Serpylli herba, Menthae piperitae folium, Mentha spicata, and Matricaria chamomilla were studied by virtue of UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy after performing liquid-liquid extraction and multiple Gaussian curve fitting procedure to resolve the overlapping absorption bands. The obtained results were compared with those of Chinese green tea. The height of the plant growth significantly affects the caffeine content. The amount of caffeine in the infusions increases with the increase of the growth height of plants. Antioxidant activity of herbal infusions was studied using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and new developed p-nitroso-N,N-dimethylaniline (PNDMA) assays. The IC50 values for DPPH and the rate constant of reaction between antioxidants derived from infusions and hydroxyl radicals were determined and compared with those of the well-known antioxidant vitamin C. Herbal infusions exhibited significant antioxidant activity comparable to that of green tea. Moreover, two assays revealed some differences, which are explained in the terms of hydrophobic and hydrophilic nature of the antioxidants. The concentrations of some flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides, such as quercetin and rutin, were determined by HPLC. Moreover, the content of total polyphenols was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu method.
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