Phytochemical and Antioxidant Properties of Instant Beverage Infusion Produced from Blends of Lemongrass (<i>Cymbopogon citrates</i>), Oyster Mushroom (<i>Pleurotus pulmonarius</i>) and Leaf of Life (<i>Bryophllum pinnatum</i>)

Abstract

This study investigated the antioxidant properties, phytochemicals content and sensory evaluation of instant beverage infusions obtained  from lemongrass (Cymbopogon citrates), leaf of life (Bryophllum Pinnatum), and Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius) mixed  in different proportions, packaged in tea bags and labelled. The selected instant beverage infusion samples were analysed for  antioxidant, phytochemical and sensory attributes. The beverage samples were found to contain substantial amounts of antioxidants of  90.75-93.93%, 0.91-2.72 mg/g, 8.00 -13.23 mg/g and 402.17- 507.85 mg/g for DPPH, FRAP, flavonoid and total phenols content,  respectively. Their obtained phytochemicals ranges are 11.45-45.63, 4.05-5.17, 4.66-20.90, 3.22-12.57 and <9.09 mg/g for saponin, tannin,  terpenoid, cardiac glycoside and steroid contents, respectively. The saponin and tannin contents of the instant beverage infusion increased with an increase in the amount of added leaf of life and mushroom with observed reduction in terpenoid and glycosides. The  antinutrients present in the samples are phytate (8.65-14.83 mg/g) and oxalate (0.68-2.03 mg /g). The outcomes of the sensory evaluation  showed no significant (p>0.05) differences in all the sensory attributes of the tested beverage blends. Hence, the blends  investigated could be promising novel medicinal beverage infusions in human health applications.