FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF HERBAL TEA POWDER

Herbal tea is essentially a concoction of many medicinal plant parts that are highly medicinally valuable. Herbal tea, which is a blend of herbs, is considered to have optimum therapeutic effects and is safe to drink. The aim of this study is to formulate an herbal tea with known health benefits using Moringa oleifera, Zingiber officinale (Ginger) and Ocimum tenuiflorum (Tulsi). The phytochemicals present were also evaluated. Tea powder containing the above medicinal plants is evaluated for qualitative and quantitative estimations for carbohydrate, proteins, tannins, glycosides, alkaloids, flavonoids and phenolic acid. The plants selected here are reported for various activities such as anti-inflammatory, immunostimulant, anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, preservative etc. The phytochemical contents of the tea indicated that the herbal teas contained tannins, flavonoids, carbohydrates, proteins and glycosides. Further study is necessary to make combinations of specific herbs for treatment of different types of diseases and other health uses.