Evaluation of the antioxidant capacity and total polyphenols in different fruit teas

A diet rich in antioxidants is a heath choice most people make when it comes to options in fighting free radicals, that are formed natural in the body, but that cause damage to DNA and are connected to aging. The study was done in order the evaluate fruit teas that are a sources of antioxidants that can be easily introduce in the diet and are found all year along. 20 tea samples were analyzed to evaluate the antioxidant capacity and total polyphenols content. For the antioxidant capacity a photochemiluminescence methods was used and the Photochem instrument from AnalytikJena and for the total polyphenols content the Folin-Ciocalteu method was used. The average results where compared to the results obtained from black tea. The antioxidant capacity values obtained where from 0,53 to 2,27 mg/l Ascorbic Acid equivalents. The total polyphenols content was between 54 to 96 mg/l Gallic Acid equivalents. A positive correlation of 0.9664 was obtained between the antioxidant capacity and the total polyphenols content. A negative correlation of -0.962031201 was obtained between the antioxidant capacity and the number of the ingredients found in the tea samples. Key words: antioxidants, tea, polyphenols, Gallic acid, Ascorbic acid, antioxidant capacity