Bioactivity of fruit teas and tisanes – A review

In recent times, there is a growing interest in nutrition and preventive health care in the development and evaluation of natural bioactive and antioxidant active products from plant materials. Tea, the commonly drunk beverage after the water has significant quantities of polyphenols, vitamins, amino acids, volatile compounds. It is well documented that green tea contains substantially higher amounts of polyphenol substances than black tea, which are known for their radical scavenging capacity. Tisanes are basically the herbal tea made from addition of herbs to the black tea or the green tea. Likewise fruit teas are made by addition of fruits like lime, pomegranate, blueberry, apple in a given ratio as preferred by the manufacturer. This article provides a critical review on different polyphenolic compounds and the antioxidant properties present in various fruit/herbal teas available in the local and international market.