From Spent Black and Green Tea to Potential Health Boosters: Optimization of Polyphenol Extraction and Assessment of Their Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities

Tea, one of the most popular beverages worldwide, generates a substantial amount of spent leaves, often directly discarded although they may still contain valuable compounds. This study aims to optimize the extraction of polyphenols from spent black tea (SBT) and spent green tea (SGT) leaves while also exploring their antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Response surface methodology was utilized to determine the optimal experimental conditions for extracting polyphenols from SBT and SGT. The total phenolic content (TPC) was quantified using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, while antioxidant activity was evaluated through the DPPH assay. Antibacterial activity was assessed using the disk diffusion method. Additionally, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed to analyze the phytochemical profiles of the SBT and SGT extracts. Optimal extraction for SBT achieved 404 mg GAE/g DM TPC and 51.5% DPPH inhibition at 93.64 °C, 79.9 min, and 59.4% ethanol-water. For SGT, conditions of 93.63 °C, 81.7 min, and 53.2% ethanol-water yielded 452 mg GAE/g DM TPC and 78.3% DPPH inhibition. Both tea extracts exhibited antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, with SGT showing greater efficacy against <i>S. aureus</i> and slightly better inhibition of <i>B. subtilis</i> compared to SBT. No activity was observed against the Gram-negative bacteria <i>E. coli</i> and <i>S. typhimurium</i>. HPLC analysis revealed hydroxybenzoic acid as the main phenolic compound in SBT (360.7 mg/L), while rutin was predominant in SGT (42.73 mg/L). The optimized phenolic-rich extracts of SBT and SGT demonstrated promising antioxidant and antibacterial potential, making them strong candidates for use as natural health boosters in food products.