Preparation of Echium amoenum herbal tea enriched by Malva and Althaea rosea var. nigra

Echium amoenum is most commonly used herb after tea with high nutritional values. The purpose of this research was to produce Echium amoenum herbal tea, enriched by Malva and Althaea rosea var. nigra, in order to enhance the sensory properties and antioxidant activity of herbal tea.

In this study, antioxidant activity of alcoholic extract was evaluated by DPPH method. The turbidity was determined using spectrophotometer at 800 nm wavelength. Total ash, insoluble ash in acid, moisture content and sensory evaluation were performed according to the national standard methods. The moisture content of the whole samples was higher than the standard range for Echium amoenum. Therefore, for better grinding, the Echium amoenum will be dried again before the packaging process to remove additional moisture absorbed from the environment.

The results showed that all samples had high antioxidant activity, but the sample containing 0% of the Malva, 30% of Althaea rosea var. nigra and 35% of Echium amoenum showed the most radical inhibition properties (95.04%) (p <0.05). Also, in sensory evaluation, this sample had the highest point with a significant difference (p <0.05) compared to other samples. So, it can be concluded that such a combination of studied herbs is suitable for preparation of herbal tea with high antioxidant and acceptable sensory properties.

 The results of this study showed that the use of Echium amoenum and Althaea rosea var. nigra can produce herbal tea as a new product, with high antioxidant and desirable sensory properties.