De-ionized water from MilliQ (Millipore Corp., Bedford, MA) was used throughout the procedure. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) was carried out on a vacuum manifold system (Lichrolut, Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) using StrataC18-E cartridges (500 mg, 3 mL, 55 μm, 70 Å) from Phenomenex (Torrance, CA) for the determination of steviol glycosides.
6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (Sigma-Aldrich, Germany) were used to determine the total antioxidant activity. Sodium nitrite, (+)-catechin, sodium hydroxide (Sigma-Aldrich, Germany) and aluminum chloride hexahydrate (Fluka, Germany) were used to analyse the flavonoids. Sodium carbonate, gallic acid and Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (all purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, Germany) were utilized for phenolic determination.