Antioxidant properties of cold and hot water extracts of cocoa, Hibiscus flower extract, and ginger beverage blends

Beverages with bioactive compounds are consumed for their food value, thirst quenching ability and the health benefit they confer on consumers. Hot and cold cocoa:Hibiscus-flower-extract:ginger beverages were prepared in the laboratory. These ready-to-drink beverages were evaluated nutritionally for their antioxidant properties. The cold and hot water extracts of the beverages contained total phenolic content ranging from 11.61 to 22.01 mg GAE/g; the ferric reducing property ranged from 10.84 to 26.88 mg/g, while the vitamin C content ranged from 1.77 to 4.82 mg/g. The DPPH inhibition by the cold and hot water extracts of the beverages ranged from 38.60 to 87.53%. The ABTS scavenging ability was the lowest in the ginger extract with no significant differences among the other blends. Both 100% cocoa and 100% Hibiscus-flower-extract have high antioxidant properties and their combined effect increased the free radical scavenging potentials of the beverages. The cocoa–zobo–ginger beverage mixtures all have complimentary effect thus possessing high antioxidant activities.