Multi-response optimization of antioxidant and total phenols-flavonoids content of polyherbal extract drink from turmeric, java tea, and seed-under-leaf

The research aimed to evaluate quality profiles, optimize the antioxidant activity, and total phenolic and flavonoid content in a mixture of three crude drug: turmeric, java tea, and seed-under-leaf, using the Simplex Lattice Mixture Design. Ultimately, a quadratic model was used, as it best adjusted to the experimental behavior. It predicted the optimal composition of herbal mixtures antioxidant activity, determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and Ferri Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) techniques, also in Total Phenolic Content (TPC) and Total Flavonoid Content (TFC). The crude drugs were of good quality according to selected pharmacognostic quality parameters of the official Malaysian herbal monograph (MHM). The optimum responses with the highest synergistic effect were composed of 5% (w/w) of turmeric, 40% (w/w) of Java tea, and 55% (w/w) of seed-under-leaf. The values were 1796 mM TE/g, 2230 mM TE/g, 355 mg GAE/g, and 177 mg QE/g for DPPH, FRAP, TPC, and TFC, respectively. The greatest contribution of antioxidant activity was shown in that mixture as potential as a functional beverage.