Biochemical and functional groups characteristics of tea blends from Ficus capensis and Justicia secunda

Abstract Tea is one of the most consumed drinks in the world, second only to water, and is renowned for its wide range of health benefits.This study examined the development of tea blends from blends of Ficus capensis, and Justicias ecunda leaves. Dried leaves of F. capensis and J. Secunda were milled, sieved, and processed into tea using a three-level factorial design. The process was modelled and optimized. The tea was evaluated for physicochemical, phenolic compounds profile, antioxidants, and functional groups using standard procedures. The blood-boosting potentials of the herbal tea blends were investigated through animal experiment and haematological evaluations were carried out on the fed animals. The results gave the optimal extracts blends of 48 g/100 g of F. capensis and 52 g/100 g of J. secunda. Antioxidants showed 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazl value of 6464.95 ± 1.97 µmol Trolox equivalents/100 g, ferric reducing power (40.13 ± 0.07 mmol Fe 2+ /100 g), and metal chelating (57.40 ± 0.62%). Physicochemical property showed total dissolved solids value of 6.51 ± 0.11 mg/g, *L (78.35 ± 0.42), *a (3.14 ± 0.09), and*b (13.57 ± 0.12). Phenolic compounds profile showed the presence of epicatechin (115.63 ± 0.052 mg/100 g), which have been associated with ability to improve healthy-living and lower the risk of some degenerative health issues. The in vivo results showed that developed tea was able to recover up to 95.28% of the packed cell volume, red blood cell (94.78%), and haemoglobin (97.52%), which compared well with the commercial product. The study showed the potential application of F. Capensis and J. Secunda leaves extracts in the formulation of functional beverage. The formulation procedures is scalable and has domestic and industrial applications. The tea blend could serve as a functional food ingredient and beverage to improve human health. Graphical Abstract