Analysis of herbal bioactives

Abstract The use of aromatic herbs has been part of our history and customs, since they have been employed as a remedy for combating all kinds of diseases since prehistoric times. Therefore, it is not surprising that their consumption has gradually increased in the last years due to the high demand for functional foods rich in bioactive compounds. It has been reported that aromatic herbs contain several bioactive compounds with potential health-promoting effects, such as phenolic compounds, lipids, proteins, sugars, vitamins, and minerals. Thus, the main goal of this chapter is to present the analytical techniques generally employed to determine herbal bioactives in the last 5 years (2015–19), which could help to facilitate their identification, determination, and characterization. The chapter is laid out according to the different families of bioactive compounds, indicating the most common analytical techniques used to determine them, the supposed health-promoting effects for each category, and some of the most significant applications.