Effects of time and extraction temperature on phenolic composition and functional properties of red rooibos (Aspalathus linearis)

Abstract This work was aimed at assessing the time-temperature effects on the phenolic compounds and in vitro functional properties of aqueous extracts from red rooibos ( Aspalathus linearis ). The major phenolic composition (tannins, flavonoids, flavonols, ortho -diphenols, total phenolic content), antioxidant (ABTS and DPPH) and reducing capacities (FRAP and total reducing capacity), antimicrobial effects and inhibition of α-amylase/α-glucosidase were measured. Phenolic compounds were also determined by LC-ESI-MS/MS. Aqueous extracts did not inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , and Candida albicans between 7.81 and 1000 mg L − 1 . Rooibos extracted at 85 °C for 10 min showed a beneficial interaction with the human erythrocytes, reducing the hemolysis. The correlation analysis showed that the phenolic compounds responsible for the inhibition of α-amylase (IC 50 ) were isohrmanetin, isoquercitrin, luteolin, salicylic acid, and syringaldehyde, whereas the inhibition of α-glucosidase was correlated to syringaldehyde, isoquercitrin, and luteolin. Overall, rooibos extracted at 85 °C had the highest antioxidant activity measured by all assays, higher contents of phenolic compounds (spectrophotometric and LC-ESI-MS/MS data), and lower IC 50 values for the digestive enzymes. On the other hand, rooibos extracted at 65 °C had the opposite behavior, while rooibos extracted at 75 °C presented mean intermediate values for the responses. This result clearly indicates that the extraction temperature is the main factor leading to a higher extraction of bioactive compounds from red rooibos.