Explore the vast range of titles available.

Insufficient milk production is a common problem affecting breastfeeding women, in particular following Cesarean delivery. Wang Nam Yen herbal tea is a promising traditional Thai medicine used by postpartum women to stimulate milk production, as an alternative to pharmaceutical galactagogues. We aimed to compare the efficacy of Wang Nam Yen herbal tea, domperidone, and placebo, in increasing milk production in mothers who underwent Cesarean delivery. Women who underwent uncomplicated cesarean delivery at Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital were randomized into three groups. The participants received the treatments daily for three consecutive days. The primary outcome was breast milk volume at 72 hours after delivery. Secondary outcomes were pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, adverse events, and participant satisfaction. Of the 1,450 pregnant women that underwent cesarean delivery, 120 women were enrolled. Their mean age and gestational ages were 28.7 years and 38.4 weeks, respectively. Breast milk volume at 72 hours postpartum was significantly different among the three groups (p = 0.030). The post hoc Bonferroni correction indicated a significant difference in breast milk volume between Wang Nam Yen herbal tea group and placebo control group (p = 0.007) while there was no difference between Wang Nam Yen herbal tea group and domperidone group (p = 0.806) and between domperidone group and placebo control group (p = 0.018). There was no difference in pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, adverse events, and participant satisfaction among the three groups. Wang Nam Yen herbal tea was effective in augmenting breast milk production at 72 hours postpartum in mothers following cesarean delivery, and there was no evidence that herbal tea and domperidone differed in terms of augmenting breast milk production. The study was approved by the institutional review board of Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital (No.061/2559) and was registered TCTR20170811003 with the Thai Clinical Trial Registry.

Teas and various herbal teas are well-known beverages and are commonly consumed around the world. In this study, we focused on kuromoji tea. Kuromoji is a deciduous shrub of the Lauraceae family, and the plucked leaves and branches have been drunk as a tea in production areas for a long time. However, no studies have investigated the subjective and physiological effects of kuromoji tea. In this study, the effects of kuromoji tea were examined on the basis of the measurements of heart rate variability and cerebral blood flow, core body temperature and subjective assessments. Moreover, the results of this study showed that a pleasant subjective feeling could be obtained by sniffing the aroma of kuromoji teas, especially tea leaves. It was also found that the aroma of kuromoji teas has the potential to stimulate saliva secretion and increase subjective and physiological excitements in the oral cavity. 1,8-Cineole, linalool, terpinen-4-ol, carvone and geraniol were determined in both kuromoji leaves and branches. In this study, the beneficial effects of kuromoji teas when drunk conventionally were investigated.

Flavonoids in cocoa and yerba mate have a beneficial role on inflammation and oxidative disorders. Their effect on HIV individuals has not been studied yet, despite the high cardiovascular risk of this population. This study investigated the role of cocoa and yerba mate consumption on oxidative and inflammatory biomarkers in HIV+ individuals. A cross-over, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted in 92 individuals on antiretroviral therapy for at least six months and at viral suppression. Participants were randomized to receive either 65 g of chocolate or chocolate-placebo or 3 g of yerba mate or mate-placebo for 15 days each, alternating by a washout period of 15 days. At baseline, and at the end of each intervention regimen, data regarding anthropometry, inflammatory, oxidative and immunological parameters were collected. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, lipid profile, white blood cell profile and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were assessed. There was a difference between mean concentrations of HDL-c (ANOVA; p ≤ 0.05) among the different regimens: dark chocolate, chocolate-placebo, yerba mate and mate-placebo. When a paired Student t-test was used for comparisons between mean HDL-c at baseline and after each regimen, the mean concentration of HDL-c was higher after supplementation with dark chocolate (p = 0.008).

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) and PA-N-oxides (PANO) are a large group of secondary plant metabolites comprising more than 660 compounds. Exhibiting geno- and hepatotoxic properties, they are responsible for multiple cases of food and feed poisoning over the last 100 years. For food and feed safety reasons, relevant PA/PANO should be monitored extensively in the main sources of PA/PANO intake. In this study, a sensitive analytical method was developed for detecting a broad range of 44 commercially available PA/PANO compounds, and in-house validation procedures were performed for several (herbal) teas. Various extraction solvents and procedures, as well as solid phase extraction materials for sample clean-up and analyte concentration, were tested to establish the methods’ efficiency and effectiveness. Chromatographic conditions were optimised to obtain the best possible separation of isomers for the 44 PA/PANO analytes. The final method was proven very sensitive and accurate, with detection limits ranging from 0.1 to 7.0 μg/kg and precisions between 0.7 and 16.1%. For 40 of the analytes, the recovery rates ranged from 60.7 to 128.8%. The applicability and trueness of the method were examined by analysing tea samples from a local supermarket and comparing them to a reference material. At least one PA/PANO analyte was detected in 17 of the 18 samples under investigation, and the sum contents of the samples ranged from 0.1 to 47.9 μg/kg. Knowledge of the PA/PANO composition in a sample can be used to indicate the botanical origin of the impurity and, thus, the geographical region of cultivation.

Herbal teas are a valuable source of bioactive compounds, which affect their pro-health properties. Especially polyphenols may play an important role against oxidative stress and could also bring tangible benefits in the treatment of bacterial and viral infections. Nowadays, the consumption of various herbal infusions is becoming more popular. Therefore, the aim of this study has been to evaluate antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of selected herbal teas. The research material was composed of eight herbal infusions: Cistus incanus L., Camellia sinensis L., Achillea millefolium L., Centaurium erythraea Rafn, Leonurus cardiaca L., Salvia officinalis L., Melissa officinalis L., Mentha piperita L. Antioxidant capacity (DPPH, ABTS), total polyphenol (TP, FBBB) and total flavonoid (TF) content were determined. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity and the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) were evaluated. The results showed the highest antioxidant properties for herbal teas from Melissa officinalis L., Cistus incanus and Camellia sinensis . The lowest values were determined for Achillea millefolium and Centaurium erythraea teas. All tested herbal infusions presented varied antibacterial activity, although all of them were more efficacious against Gram-positive than Gram-negative bacteria. The highest antimicrobial properties were identified for teas from Cistus incanus and Camellia sinensis . Only Melissa officinalis tea showed activity against some Gram-positive test strains, mainly S. aureus and E. faecalis . Herbal infusions presented a high polyphenol content but had quite a low total flavonoid content, which suggests that other compounds determine their antioxidant properties, probably numerous phenolic acids, tannins and others. Further studies including the structure of polyphenols should be conducted.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) and herbal tea have been recognized as rich sources of bioactive constituents with the ability to exert antioxidant actions. The aims of this study were to analyze phenolic, carotenoid and saccharide contents in a set of Vietnamese tea and herbal tea and compare the results with those of green and black teas marketed in the U.S. In total, 27 phenolics, six carotenoids and chlorophylls, and three saccharides were quantitatively identified. Catechins, quercetin glycosides and chlorogenic acid were the predominating phenolics in the teas, with the concentrations following the order: jasmine/green teas > oolong tea > black tea. Lutein was the dominant carotenoid in the teas and its concentrations were generally found to be higher in the jasmine and green teas than in the oolong and black teas. The study showed that the green teas originating in Vietnam had much higher levels of phenolics and carotenoids than their counterparts stemming from another country. The application of partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) as a chemometric tool was able to differentiate phenolic profiles between methanolic extracts and tea infusions. Through principal component analysis (PCA), the similarities and dissimilarities among the jasmine, green, oolong, black teas and herbal teas were depicted.

The use of teas made from locally cultivated Artemisia annua to fight malaria in remote areas where access to care is difficult is a matter of debate. This study aimed at document differences in the composition of A. annua teas cultivated in Benin to be sold as antimalarial teas, and in France, and their impact on antiplasmodial activity. A. annua teas were prepared with plants from one location in south France and from ten different plantations in Benin. Artemisinin was quantified in herbal teas with a liquid chromatography system coupled to mass spectrometry and multiple reaction monitoring detection methods. The herbal teas were tested against chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum using isotopic microtest to determine IC 50 values and calculate the concentration of artemisinin corresponding to the IC 50 of the teas [ART(tea)_IC 50 ]. Chemical profiles were determined by liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry and a metabolomic analysis was performed to annotate compounds statistically linked to the antiplasmodial properties of the teas. Artemisinin content varied between 0.3 mg/L for tea with plants from France to 15.7 mg/L for teas made with plants from Benin with differences between locations. Artemisinin content was decreasing after a one-year storage of the plant for 3 localities in Benin with loss of 33%, 48% and 24% (P < 0.05). Artemisinin concentrations and antiplasmodial activity of teas were positively correlated although the comparison of ART(tea)_IC 50s to IC 50 of pure artemisinin suggested that other compounds present in the tea were involved in the activity, either enhancing or limiting it. Unknown alkaloids in A. annua teas correlated to antiplasmodial activity were also detected. These findings suggest that A. annua teas deserve further studies to identify other metabolites of interest and determine their role in antiplasmodial activity in relation to other molecules, particularly artemisinin.

In the current study, we assessed health risk posed to Iranian consumers through exposure to metals via oral consumption of coffee, tea, and herbal tea of various trademarks collected from Iran market. Level of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, and Pb in 243 samples was quantified by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The metal levels in coffee samples from different trademarks of a specific country had statistically similar levels of metals; however, metal levels differed significantly among brand names form different countries. Metal levels in tea samples differed significantly between domestic and imported products, while different trademarks of similar countries did not show significant variations in this respect. Metal level in herbal tea samples did not show significant variations among different trademarks. Nevertheless, it should be highlighted that mean concentrations of metals statistically differed among different herbal tea samples. Deterministic hazard quotients (HQs) were <1.0 for all non-carcinogenic metals and total hazard index (HI) values indicated no risk; however, probabilistic assessment calculated HI values >1. In both deterministic and probabilistic scenarios, carcinogenic metals As and Ni had an estimated incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) of medium level while that of Pb indicated no cancer risk. Sensitivity analysis showed that the concentration of metals had the most significant effect on non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks.

Volatile composition is an important feature that determines flavor, which actively affects the overall evaluation of chrysanthemum tea. In this study, HS-GC-IMS (headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry) was performed to characterize the volatile profiles of different chrysanthemum tea subtypes. Forty-seven volatiles of diverse chemical nature were identified and quantified. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) revealed that four chrysanthemum teas were distinct from each other based on their volatile compounds. Furthermore, this work provides reference methods for detecting novel volatile organic compounds in chrysanthemum tea plants and products.

A simple and effective method for determining five pyrethroid residues in herbal tea by ultrasound-enhanced temperature-controlled (UETC) ionic liquid dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (IL-DLLME) coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was developed. The use of ultrasonication and heating improved the ability of the ionic liquid to extract the analytes. Various parameters that affect the extraction efficiency were investigated and optimized using single factor experiments and response surface design. The optimum conditions of the experiment were 121 µL of [HMIM][PF6] (extraction solvent), 794 µL of acetonitrile (dispersive solvent), a heating temperature of 40°C, a sonication time of 3.6 min and a pH of 2.9. Under optimized conditions, the linearity was in the range of 0.05–5 mg L −1 with correlation coefficients above 0.9993. The limits of detection and quantification were 1.25–1.35 µg L −1 and 5 µg L −1 , respectively. The mean recoveries of the five pyrethroids ranged from 74.02% to 109.01%, with RSDs below 9.04%. The proposed method was reliable for the analysis of pyrethroids in Chinese herbal tea.