Varying strengths for herbal antioxidants

Norwegian and Japanese scientists have confirmed several culinary and medicinal herbs as important sources of dietary antioxidants. But they say their results demonstrate that there is more than a 1000-fold difference among antioxidant concentrations.

The scientists, from the Norwegian Crop Research Institute, Oslo University and the Akita University School of Medicine in Japan, assessed the contribution of culinary and medicinal herbs to the total intake of dietary antioxidants.

Of the dried culinary herbs tested, oregano, sage, peppermint, garden thyme, lemon balm, clove, allspice and cinnamon as well as the Chinese medicinal herbs Cinnamomi cortex and Scutellariae radix all contained very high concentrations of antioxidants (i.e. greater than 75 mmol/100 g).

The scientists suggest that in a normal diet, intake of herbs may therefore contribute significantly to the total intake of plant antioxidants, and be an even better source of dietary antioxidants than many other food groups such as fruits, berries, cereals and vegetables.

In addition, the herbal drug, Stronger Neo-Minophagen C, a glycyrrhizin preparation used as an intravenous injection for the treatment of chronic hepatitis, was found to boost total antioxidant intake. The scientists thus conclude that it is tempting to speculate that several of the effects due to these herbs are mediated by their antioxidant activities.

Full details of the study can be found in the May 2003 issue of the Journal of Nutrition​.