Development of Mussaenda frondosa sepal infused functional tea with enhanced antioxidant and alpha amylase inhibitory activities

Abstract

Mussaenda frondosa (MF) is an edible species of the genus Mussaenda (Rubiaceae) that contains a wide array of medicinal compounds. The present study was conducted to evaluate the physicochemical and functional properties of the MF sepals, to develop a novel herbal tea with improved functional properties. Remarkably high antioxidant and α-amylase inhibitory activities were exhibited by water and ethanol extracts of MF, subsequent to their high phenolic and flavonoid contents. None of the extracts showed a toxicity, as evaluated by brine shrimp lethality assay. A tea was formulated by blending different proportions of dry sepals of MF with black tea. The sensory analysis showed a significantly high level of acceptancy for the formula that containing 40% MF (MFT-40) with augmented phenolic contents, antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities. This study revealed the potential use of MF as a source for the development of new functional teas with enhanced health benefits.