Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9600
ISSN: 2155-9600
Fombang EN and Saa WR
Overproduction of free radicals is implicated in the pathogenesis of most chronic diseases. Antioxidant phytochemicals thus play an important role in the prevention of these diseases. Tea is consumed across different cultures and is a major source of phenolic compounds in our diets. The aim of this study was to optimize extraction conditions for the preparation of a phytochemical-rich Moringa oleifera functional tea with antioxidant potential using Response Surface Methodology. Extraction conditions (temperature (°C), solid to liquid ratio (mg/mL) and time (min)) were optimized for recovery of total polyphenols (TP), total flavonoids (TF) and total tannins (TT). At the optimal conditions, Moringa tea was produced and its antioxidant capacity determined using the 2,2’-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and total reducing power assays. The amount of phytochemicals extracted was significantly (p<0.05) influenced by the extraction variables and their interactions in some cases. All 3 response variables (TP, TF and TT) exhibited the same optimal extraction conditions which were a solid to liquid ratio of 1/20 mg/mL, a temperature of 97°C and time of 35 min with optimal yields of 56.96, 34.66 and 3.53 mg/100 mL for TP, TF and TT respectively. Moringa olifera functional tea prepared at these optimal conditions was able to inhibit 81% of free radical using the DPPH assay, slightly higher than ascorbic acid (77%) used as reference; and had a reducing potential of 1.75 g Ascorbic Acid Equivalence/100 g DM. The tea could thus be considered an antioxidant rich tea for use in the prevention of chronic diseases.