Antioxidant Activity and Preferences Test of Agarwood Leaves Tea

(Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk) Based on Leaves Drying Methods

Ridwanti Batubara

1, 2

, T. Ismanelly Hanum

3,4

, Iwan Risnasari

1, 2

, Herawaty Ginting

and Lusi Amelia Lubis

Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, 20155, North Sumatera, Indonesia

Natural Resources Technology Based Center, Mangrove Group and

Bio-Resources, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan.

Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Sumatera Utara

Jl. Tridharma 5 Kampus USU Medan 20155

Keywords: drying methods, Agarwood tea, antioxidant, hedonic test

Abstract: Gaharu (Agarwood) leaf tea can be used as as raw materials brewed drinks. This study aims to known the

antioxidants activity and to test the consumer preference to agarwood leaf tea (Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk)

based on leaves drying method. The drying method of gaharu leaves was conducted by using three methods

(dried under direct sunlight, roasted and heated at 40

C in an oven ). Then, extract of the leaves in water was

tested for the antioxidant activity by DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method. The hedonic test of

agarwood leaf tea was performed to determine the consumer preference. The extraction of this leaf showed

antioxidants activities with IC

values accounted for 33,91 μg/ml with the oven drying at 40

C, 25,54

μg/ml with roasted, and 32,16 μg/ml under direct sunlight drying. The preference level based of

consumption based on hedonic test of leaves drying methods on 3-4 scale in moderately favorable.

Although the oven drying method was preferably, the roasted drying method had very strong antioxidant

activity despite of the oven drying method.

1 INTRODUCTION

The changes of community life as well as improper

diet and age increase leads to the formation of free

radicals in the body. The effort to prevent or reduce

the risk posed by free radical activity is to consume

foods or supplements that contain antioxidants.

Phenolic compounds, in particular, phenolic acids,

tannins and flavonoids are known to be potent

antioxidants and they are abundantly found in plant

termasuk pada daun

Agarwood leaves (Aquilaria malaccensis

Lamk.) are utilized as a brewed beverage (tea).

Phytochemical screening of simplisia and ethanolic

extract of agarwood leaves have the secondary

metabolites namely flavonoids, glycosides, tannins

and steroids/triterpenoids potential as antioxidants

(Surjanto, et.al 2015). The results of antioxidant

activity test that agarwood leaves have very strong

antioxidant activities, as well as the age and the

growth difference of agarwood leaves. So, as a

brewed drinking, agarwood leaves could be as an

alternative in replacing tea even though the leaves

are collected differently without separating them

based on ages or methods.

Generally, tea is consumed in to refresh the

body. These days, tea is collected from the tea plants

i.e. Camelia sinensis. Today, tea has a mass of

random variables from the leaves which are

delicious and has health benefits. One of them is the

leaves of gaharu tea as a variety of tea.

Previous studies linked to the safety of the

product have shown that no toxic symptoms after

test in mice (male and female), agarwood tea in all

doses showed that no effect on the behavior, weight,

organ weight and macroscopic observation of male

and female mice. The products of agarwood leaves

tea are safe to be consumed (Batubara, at al, 2016).

Agarwood leaf tea is feasible to be produced and

consumed. It requires to be considered more

particularly regarding to the processing of tea from

Batubara, R., Hanum, T., Risnasari, I., Ginting, H. and Lubis, L.

Antioxidant Activity and Preferences Test of Agarwood Leaves Tea (Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk) Based on Leaves Drying Methods.

DOI: 10.5220/0009843700002406

In Proceedings of BROMO Conference (BROMO 2018) - Symposium on Natural Product and Biodiversity, page 1

ISBN: 978-989-758-347-6

agarwood leaves before being consumed by people.

One phase of the processing is the operation of leaf

drying. This research objective to determine

antioxidant activity and preference test to consumers

in agarwood leaf tea (A. malaccensis Lamk) based

on leaves drying method.

2 METHODS

2.1 Materials

Samples agarwood leaves were gathered from the

gaharu trees in the Pekan Bahorok village, Langkat,

North Sumatera, Indonesia authenticated by The

Biology Department of Faculty of Mathematics and

Sciences, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan. The

other chemicals applied in this study were toluene,

ascorbic acid, methyl alcohol, distilled water and

they all were supplied by Bratachem corporation.

2.2 Preparation of Gaharu Leaves

This study used dry leaves which have not been

fermented. The drying methods used were common

methods applied by the society. They are heating at

C, roasting and drying directly under sunlight.

2.3 Determination of Water Content

The process of measuring the water content of

agarwood leaves was performed according to the

azeotroph distillation method (P.O.M Ditjen, 1995).

2.4 Hedonic Test

The Hedonic test is a test of the consumer's

preference for agarwood leaf tea. The test involved

three methods of drying which are heated 40

roasted, and dried directly under sunligth. It is

performed to obtain what methods are the most

favorable given by the consumer.

2.5 Preparation of Extraction of Gaharu

Leaves in Water

The dried leaves were extracted by infundation

method using distilled water as the solvent (P.O.M

Ditjen, 1972)

2.6 Antioxidant activity test

The antioxidant activities extract water were tested

and compared between extraction solvents used

using DPPH free radical scavenging activity.

Ascorbic acid was used as positive control. The

measurement of absorbance was performed by UV-

Vis spectrophotometer at 516 nm wavelength.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Water Content

The determination of water content is performed to

provide a minimal boundary of water content that

can still be permitted in the dried agarwood leaves.

The determination of water content is also useful for

presuming the durability or resilience of samples in

storage with the result that relate to the quality of the

dried agarwood leaves.

The water content of agarwood leaves based on

three drying methods (direct sunlight, roasted, and

oven drying) is listed in Table 1. The water content

has fulfilled Indonesian National Standard (INS) of

tea. This result also fulfilled the POM standard, i.e.

the water content of the dried agarwood leaves does

not exceed 10 % (Ditjen POM, 1995).

Table 1. Water Content of Agarwood Leaves

Drying Method

Drying Time

(Days)

Water Content

(%)

Direct sunlight

4.00

Roasted

4.00

In oven

6.00

Hidayat (2004) moisture content affects the

quality of materials, the lower the moisture content,

the better the quality of the material. High water

content can trigger microbial growth, especially

fungi that can decay chemical content of the leaves.

In Table 1 also depicts the period of time needed

to dry the agarwood leaves. The drying operation is

affected by temperature and drying time (Huriawati,

2016). The stable temperature was performed in

dried oven method but it occupied a long time.

Direct sunlight drying is influenced by daily

temperature, usually fluctuate. While on the roasting

process the temperature depends on the heating

devices are employed.

BROMO 2018 - Bromo Conference, Symposium on Natural Products and Biodiversity

3.2 Preference (Hedonic) Test

The hedonic test (preference test) was conducted to

determine the opinion of the consumer to the color,

flavor, and aroma of agarwood leaf tea. Test results

are listed it in Table 2.

Table 2. Results of Preference Test Against Agarwood

Leaf Tea Based on Leaves Drying Method

Drying method

Aroma

Flavor

Color

In oven

3.833

3.900

3.700

Roasted

3.300

3.433

3.033

Direct sunlight

3.766

3.667

3.533

1= Dislike very much, 2= Dislike moderately, 3= Neither

like nor dislike, 4 = Like moderately, 5 = Like very much

Table 2 shows that the results of consumers

regarding to the samples in terms of aroma, flavor

and color are averagely in a scale > 3.00 (Neither

like nor dislike until like moderately). Based on

Table 2, it is known that the consumers prefer

agarwood leaf tea which is dried with oven due to

the drying temperature was constant so that the

leaves are evenly dry. While on drying in an oven

with 40

C, essential oil contained in it, has not been

vaporized. However, the volatile compounds

evaporated when being brewed, so that the aroma is

preferred.

The flavor is one of the most important

parameters that influence the consumer acceptability

of a drinking product. According to Saragih (2014),

the flavor produced is influenced by presence of the

chemical components. The taste becomes a very

decisive factor in the consumers’ final decision

when rejecting or accepting a beverage despite the

good color and aroma.

The most favored taste parameter chosen by

consumers was the agarwood leaf tea dried by oven.

According to Ningrum (2015), the preference for

consuming tea occurs because of the habit that has

been done since childhood throughout their family

culture. In this study, the tested tea is a new tea from

agarwood leaves not been consumed by the public

commonly.

Color is a physical attribute that can be used as a

measure to determine the taste, texture, nutritional

value and microbiological properties. Harahap

(2016) has reported that color can affect the

beverage interesting and this can be a hint whether

the beverages have good quality or not. Based on the

hedonic test, the most favored color parameter

chosen by the consumens was the tea treated in oven

drying. It was chosen because the thermal is

distributed evenly in the oven, and the same happens

to the color of simplicial that is more uniform in

greenish.

Drying under sunlight method is very dependent

on the sun's heat. The color after drying is usually

brown and the simplicial steeping is more

concentrated. Drying with the roasted method is very

dependent on the temperature of the stove, and the

stirring of the simplicia, so the dryness of the leaves

is also less uniform.

The aroma produced by agarwood tea leaves is

caused by the volatile oil contained in the leaves.

The aroma of tea is composed by volatile oil

(essential oil) which is originated from the treatment

in the plantations and it is partially developed during

the process of making tea (Winarno (1993), Saragih,

(2014). Based on the preference test, the most

favored aroma parameter selected by the panelists

was the leaves dried by the oven which is the same

to the color treated by the same method. Because the

leaves are relatively dried in the same condition, the

aroma was also evenly distributed when being

brewed.

Based on the results obtained from preference

test, it can be stated that the consumens accept the

existence of agarwood leaf tea as an alternative for

tea. It is because the results of the research shows

that the color, taste and aroma were moderately

favorable. The flavor becomes a crucial factor in the

consumer's final decision to reject or accept a

foodstuff, although the other rating parameter is

better, if the taste of food is not favored then the

product will be rejected.

The type, grade, and taste of tea steeping water

attributes the quality of the products, so that

customers prioritize in consuming tea. From this

research, it is projected that the agarwood leaves tea

become an alternative in replacing the tea, and to be

offered in market. Therefore, the color, taste and

aroma parameters are essentially important. The

level of consumer preferences based on the results of

three drying methods, were measured in 3-4 scale

within moderately favourable, and the most favoured

drying method was heated technique inside an oven.

In practise, the most important factors that can be

conducted quickly in determining the quality of the

tea is based on colours, aromas, and flavours.

3.3. Antioxidant Activity of Agarwood

Leaves Water Extract

The IC50 value is a number indicating the

concentration of test sample which gives DPPH

absorbance by 50% or, able to reduce DPPH

oxidation process by 50% (Andayani, at. Al, 2008)..

Antioxidant Activity and Preferences Test of Agarwood Leaves Tea (Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk) Based on Leaves Drying Methods

The capability of the test sample in trapping

DPPH as free radicals in methanol solution with

values (the concentration of the test sample

which is capable of trapping free radicals by 50%)

was utilized as a parameter to determine the

antioxidant action of the test sample (Prakash,

2001). IC

values of agarwood leaf extracted water

based on three drying methods are listed in Table 3.

The antioxidant activity of the extracted of

agarwood leaves in all drying methods shows the

same values that are < 50 μg /ml. According to

Mardawati (2008), if IC

values < 50 μg /ml are

classified as a very strong category indicating there

are no differences among three drying methods.

Table 3. The IC

Value of Agarwood Leaf Water Extract

(μg /ml)

Drying method

value (μg /ml)

Direct sunlight

32.158

Roasted

25.544

In oven

33.913

Strong or weak antioxidants are determined by

several factors, in which is the chemical composition

contained within the leaves. Geochemically

speaking, the chemical composition is also

influenced by the habitats of the plants (Firdiyani,

2015). The main compounds that cause strong

antioxidants are phenolic group compounds, such as

flavonoids. An Ethanolic extract of the agarwood

leaves have classes of secondary metabolites namely

flavonoids, tannins, and steroids/triterpenoids

potential as antioxidants.

The agarwood leaf tea has a very strong

antioxidant content compared to others. The highest

results antioxidant activity from ten steeping quality

types of Indonesian black tea is categorized as Type

Dust I, with IC50 values of 97.00 μg/ml. While for

the lowest antioxidant activity with IC

value

accounted for 178.56 μg/ml is categorized as Type

BTL quality (Sudaryat, at. al, 2015). These

antioxidants content is an important thing that must

be considered in processing the agarwood leaves tea.

Based on the three drying methods used on this

research, the antioxidants content is maintained very

well.

Antioxidants can trap free radicals in the body

resulted from the process metabolism, air pollution,

contamination of food, sunlight. Werdashari (2014)

explains that various plants commonly consumed in

Indonesia contain antioxidants. The research result

of agarwood leaves tea has high antioxidant content

so that if it is consumed, then it can be as the source

of antioxidant for human body.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the use of agarwood leaves in

replacing tea leaves is considered acceptable. Based

on the research, the society accepts this leaves

because of the colour, flavor, and aroma are

considered the same. The most favourable tea leaves

is the one which has been dried in oven with

temperature of 40

C because the steeping water is

acceptable regarding the similarity to colour, flavor,

and aroma. While, the analysis of the IC

shows

that oven-dried method has the highest value among

three techniques, so the ability of trapping free

radicals is the best.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Acknowledgements are given to University of

Sumatera Utara for its funded based on the program

of Dana Riset Pengabdian Masyarakat USU Non

PNBP USU Tahun 2018 and the farmers located in

Langkat regency for their participation in aiding this

research.

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Antioxidant Activity and Preferences Test of Agarwood Leaves Tea (Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk) Based on Leaves Drying Methods