Mixture Herbal Tea is Oxidant or not?

Abstract

In recent years, many people have been using various plants and herbal products for preventive or therapeutic purposes. These herbal products, especially herbal teas, have become very popular and have been widely consumed in daily life. We wanted to see whether random, uncontrolled and unmeasured use of these herbal teas, which are consumed without question because they are natural, affect their antioxidant potential. Therefore, in this study, a mixed tea prepared by mixing 10 different herbs, known to be beneficial among the public, in different proportions, sold as "winter tea" in herbalists was used. The antioxidant and oxidant activities of all the plants in this tea were tested separately and in combination, and oxidative stress indexes were calculated. The results showed that no plant included in the winter tea alone had an oxidative stress index as low as the mixture of winter tea. We can say that for the winter tea mixture we chose as the trial material; There is a strong synergistic effect between the herbs in this combination, and the oxidant effect of one was eliminated by the antioxidant effect of the other, resulting in a very safe herbal blend tea. As a result of our study, it has been shown that it is important to determine the oxidative stress state created by different herbal mixtures sold in the market before use. As a result, we cannot say that every herbal tea is harmful or beneficial, and it is not possible to say this for mixture teas. Considering our study result, we can say that winter teas prepared and consumed in this combination do not increase the oxidative stress of the body. Further studies are needed to detail its effects on the body.