Improving the Concentrations of the Active Components in the Herbal Tea Ingredient, Uraria crinita: The Effect of Post-harvest Oven-drying Processing

Sci Rep. 2017 Jan 12:7:38763. doi: 10.1038/srep38763.

Abstract

Uraria crinita is widely used as a popular folk drink; however, little is known about how the post-harvest operations affect the chemical composition and bioactivity of UC. We assessed three drying methods (Oven-drying, Air-drying, Sun-drying), as well as the Oven-drying temperature using metabolomics approaches and bioactivity assays. The samples processed at 40 degree show a greater effect on the levels of estrogen receptor-alpha activity and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 activity, anti-oxidative activity, and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition compared with the other samples. A multivariate analysis showed a clear separation between the 40 degree Oven-dried samples and the other samples, which is consistent with the results of bioactivity assay. These results are ascribed to at least two-fold increase in the concentrations of flavonoids, spatholosineside A and triterpenoids in the oven-dried samples compared with the other groups. The proposed Oven-drying method at 40 degree results in an improved quality of UC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Desiccation / methods*
  • Drug Compounding / methods*
  • Fabaceae / chemistry*
  • Flavonoids / analysis
  • Glycosides / analysis
  • Phytochemicals / analysis*
  • Plant Structures / chemistry*
  • Teas, Herbal*
  • Temperature
  • Terpenes / analysis

Substances

  • Flavonoids
  • Glycosides
  • Phytochemicals
  • Teas, Herbal
  • Terpenes
  • spatholosineside A