Effect of Honey Supplementation on Total Antioxidant Capacity of Herbal Teas

Scientific researchers have revealed that antioxidant components in herbal teas and honey would be beneficial for the health and may help to reduce the risk of development of acute and chronic diseases. However, possible changes in the antioxidant capacity of herbal teas by the addition of honey as a sweetener have not been investigated in detail yet. The aim of this study was to determine the total antioxidant capacity (TOAC) of 9 different mixed or pure herbal teas marketed in Turkey and then possible changes in the TOAC value of these tea samples after addition of either flower or pine honey. For 100 ml tea which is equivalent to a cup of tea, the highest TOAC value was observed in melissa, black tea and white tea and these were followed by green tea> sage> echinacea> daisy> ginger> linden, respectively. The antioxidant activity of these tea samples increased by the addition of both flowers and pine honeys and 7 g of honey exerted higher activity than 3 g of honey. Higher antioxidant activity was observed in some herbal tea samples (melissa, sage, linden, chamomile, lemon ginger) by the addition of pine honey, whereas in some teas (echinacea, black, white and green teas) flower honey supplementation has been found to be more effective. In conclusion, our study suggests that addition of honey to herbal tea increase its antioxidant activity significantly and drinking herbal tea with honey at least once a day may protect the body against the harmful effects of free radicals. However, further studies are required to understand the protective mechanisms of this combination.