Antioxidant Capacities of Herbal Plants Used in the Manufacture of Van Herby Cheese: ‘Otlu Peynir’

Abstract

The traditional Van herby cheese incorporates herbs mainly consisting of Allium species as antimicrobial and flavouring aids. The total antioxidant capacities of 16 different herbs (8 species) collected from different locations were assayed for the first time by CUPRAC, ABTS/persulfate, FRAP, and Folin methods. The assay results correlated well among each other, because all were electron-transfer assays. The highest results were obtained with Folin having the highest redox potential. The second highest results were with CUPRAC, especially for the allium sp., because the sulfur containing antioxidants in allium could be best assayed with CUPRAC, whereas FRAP was nonresponsive to thiol-type compounds. The order of CUPRAC antioxidant capacities as trolox equivalents was thymus sp. > chaerophyllum sp. > allium sp. > prangos sp. ≥ ferula sp. On the other hand, the order of Folin findings was thymus sp. > allium sp. > chaerophyllum sp. > ferula sp. ≥ prangos sp.