Development of Mussaenda frondosa sepal infused functional tea with enhanced antioxidant and alpha amylase inhibitory activities

Mussaenda frondosa (MF) is an edible species of the genus Mussaenda (Rubiaceae) that contains a wide array of medicinal compounds. The present study was conducted to evaluate the physicochemical and functional properties of the MF sepals, to develop a novel herbal tea with improved functional properties. Remarkably high antioxidant and α-amylase inhibitory activities were exhibited by water and ethanol extracts of MF, subsequent to their high phenolic and flavonoid contents. None of the extracts showed a toxicity, as evaluated by brine shrimp lethality assay. A tea was formulated by blending different proportions of dry sepals of MF with black tea. The sensory analysis showed a significantly high level of acceptancy for the formula that containing 40% MF (MFT-40) with augmented phenolic contents, antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities. This study revealed the potential use of MF as a source for the development of new functional teas with enhanced health benefits.