Phenolic Constituents of the Chilean Herbal Tea Fabiana imbricata R. et P.

??Pichi?? or ??pichi romero?? (Fabiana imbricata R. et. P., Solanaceae) is a Chilean plant used as a tea in the Andean regions of Chile and Argentina. A very simple and direct method was developed for the qualitative analysis of polyphenols in the tea by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The phenolic constituents identified in the teas were chlorogenic acid (3-O-caffeoylquinic acid), p-hydroxyacetophenone, scopoletin and quercetin derivatives. The glycosides were mainly glucosides from p-hydroxyacetophenone and scopoletin while di- and tri-glycosides from quercetin were the main flavonoids. The content of the main phenolic compounds in the teas (g/100?g lyophilized infusion) was 0.8?C1.9?% for scopoletin, 0.4?C6.2?% for p-hydroxyacetophenone and 2.1?C4.3?% for rutin, respectively. The health-promoting properties reported for this herbal tea can be associated with the presence of several phenolics with known antioxidant, diuretic and antiinflammatory activity.