Green and roasted mate: phenolic profile and antioxidant activity

Mate infusions have been recently and frequently used as dietary supplements because of their health effects to prevent atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease and to be antioxidant. The aim of this study was to determine phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of green mate (GM) and roasted mate (RM) extracts and compare them with green tea (GT). Total polyphenol content of GM and RM extracts was found to be similar and to range from 237.20 to 438.50 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) g-1 dry extract and from 256.72 to 473.11 mg GAE g-1 dry extract depending on the solvent used and type of fraction, respectively. Polyphenol yield of GM and RM extracts were in the range of 20.94-101.72 mg GAE g-1 dw leaf and 22.08-74.56 mg GAE g-1 dw leaf, respectively. GM and RM extracts exhibited similar antioxidant activity when measured by reducing power. However, RM extracts had significantly higher protection factor (PF) values determined by rancimat assay and radical scavenging activity (RSA) determined by DPPH radical scavenging compared to GM extracts. In general, RM extracts had higher antioxidant activity than GM extracts although both mate leaves were found to have similar phenolic profiles and contain mainly chlorogenic acid and isomers as a phenolic matter.