The volatile fraction of herbal teas

The use of herbal teas, infusions or tisanes in folk medicine, medicinal phytotherapy as well as for food purposes is still very popular. In classical phytotherapy the active principles of herbal teas are often attributed to their volatile constituents. On the other hand, safety concerns could arise from volatiles as ingredients of infusions. In any case, information on the aromatic composition and volatile fraction of herbal teas is limited. There is a lack of qualitative and quantitative data on the volatile compounds in infusions as well as on the changes of volatile composition during the tea preparation process. For isolation of the volatile compounds from infusions several methods like liquid–liquid extraction, hydrodistillation or solid phase micro extraction have been used. Primarily, the composition has been determined by GC-FID or GC–MS analysis, in exceptional cases by HPLC-PDA or HPLC–MS analysis. The profile of the volatile fraction of herbal teas classified by chemical functionalities of the compounds (hydrocarbons, oxides, alcohols/ethers, aldehydes/ketones, acids/esters) differs from the profile of the corresponding genuine essential oil. Remarkable are losses of hydrocarbons in infusions. This review will cover the phytochemical research that has been carried out on the volatiles of herbal teas and will focus on results of the volatile fraction especially from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare subsp. vulgare), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and chamomile (Matricaria recutita) infusions.