Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2023 Jun;78(2):336-341. doi: 10.1007/s11130-023-01048-8. Epub 2023 Mar 27.
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) is commonly consumed as an herbal tea for its antioxidant health benefits. Young seedlings known as microgreens are popular for their distinct flavors and can contain higher mineral content on a dry weight basis compared to their adult counterparts. However, the use of microgreens for herbal teas has not been previously investigated. In this study, lemon balm was grown to adult and microgreen harvest stages and prepared as herbal teas by brewing with boiled (100 °C) water for 5 minutes and room temperature water (22 °C) for 2 hours. The effects of harvest time and brewing method on the mineral content, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity of lemon balm herbal teas were assessed. Results showed that adult lemon balm tea contained higher total phenolics, total flavonoids, rosmarinic acid, and antioxidant capacity than microgreen teas, with hot preparations containing the highest amounts (p ≤ 0.05). In contrast, microgreen lemon balm teas contained higher amounts of minerals (p ≤ 0.05), including calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, copper, and zinc. In general, brewing conditions did not impact the content of most minerals. Overall, the results support the potential of using dried microgreens as herbal teas. Microgreen lemon balm teas prepared hot and cold offer antioxidant compounds and are richer sources of minerals than adult teas. The ease of growth for microgreens offers consumers the opportunity for home preparation of a novel herbal tea beverage.
柠檬香蜂草（ Melissa officinalis L.）常被用作具有抗氧化功效的草本茶饮用。其幼苗，即所谓的芽苗菜，因其独特的风味而广受欢迎，并且与成株相比，其干重基础上的矿物质含量可能更高。然而，芽苗菜是否适用于草本茶的制作尚未得到研究。本研究将柠檬香蜂草分别种植至成株和芽苗菜收获阶段，然后通过沸水（100°C）冲泡 5 分钟和室温水（22°C）浸泡 2 小时的方式制备成柠檬香蜂草草本茶。评估了收获时间和冲泡方法对柠檬香蜂草草本茶中矿物质含量、酚类化合物和抗氧化能力的影响。结果表明，与芽苗菜茶相比，成株柠檬香蜂草茶的总酚、总黄酮、迷迭香酸和抗氧化能力更高，热泡制备的茶中含量最高（p≤0.05）。相比之下，芽苗菜柠檬香蜂草茶中含有更多的矿物质（p≤0.05），包括钙、钾、镁、钠、磷、铜和锌。一般来说，冲泡条件不会影响大多数矿物质的含量。总的来说，研究结果支持使用干燥的芽苗菜作为草本茶的潜力。热泡和冷泡的芽苗菜柠檬香蜂草茶提供了抗氧化化合物，并且比成株茶含有更丰富的矿物质来源。芽苗菜易于生长，为消费者提供了在家中制备新型草本茶饮料的机会。
