Fresh culinary herbs provide antioxidant benefits

You could probably use a little spice in your life

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture measured the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of 27 culinary herbs and 12 medicinal herbs under laboratory conditions. The medicinal herbs faired well; familiar names like periwinkle, gingko biloba, garden sage, St. John’s Wort, valerian, and sweet Annie all showed significant antioxidant content.

But the fresh culinary herbs blew them away.

Oregano was found to have 42 times more antioxidants than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges, and 4 times more than blueberries! That means that one tablespoon of fresh oregano has the same free-radical fighting power as one medium-sized apple.

Overall, oregano had 3 to 20 times more antioxidant content than the other herbs tested. The other good herb antioxidant sources included dill, thyme, rosemary, and peppermint all ranked high.

But the dried herbs didn’t quite cut it.

According to the study’s authors, fresh herbs are the best choice, as some of the antioxidant concentration is lost in processing.