Changes in Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity between Twinings English breakfast Tea Bags and Opened Tea Bags

ABSTRACT

Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and is recognized as having numerous beneficialhealth effects due to its phenolic content. The current study aimed to evaluate and compare the phenolic andflavonoid content of two forms of Twining English Breakfast Tea tea bags (TBs) and opened tea bags (OTBs).The antioxidant activity was also assessed using DPPH, FRAP, and CUPRAC assays. The results obtainedrevealed that the OTB infusion exhibited significantly higher phenolic and flavonoid content than the TB infusionat 5 and 10 minutes. The OTB infusion also significantly showed higher iron and cupper reducing powers thanthe TB infusion at the same time points. However, both samples demonstrated the same scavenging activity acrossall infusion times. These results suggest that the tea bags used with Twinings English Breakfast Tea may affectthe phenolic and flavonoid content released by the tea and subsequently influence the antioxidant ability of thetea as a reducing agent.