## 1 Introduction  
In 2015, the WHO (World Health Organization) recommended the consumption of sugar to be no more than 10% of the total daily energy intake [1]. However, in Mexico, in the last decades, sugar consumption has increased due to processed food, particularly sweetened beverages. Results of the National Health and Nutrition Survey of _Medio Camino2016 [2], revealed that 85.3% of the Mexican population regularly consumes non-dairy sweetened beverages. This survey also exposed that 81.6% of adults like the taste of sweetened beverages, although the majority (92.3%) do not consider them healthy. The high intake of sweetened non-alcoholic drinks is a risk factor to suffer from non-communicable chronic diseases (NCCD) such as overweight, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases [3]. Mexico has one of the highest prevalence of NCCD [4; 5], 72.5% adult population (>19 years old) present overweight and obesity [2]. This is due, in part, to the fact that sweetened drinks do not promote satiety, leading to their excessive consumption [6]. Mexican intake level of flavored non-alcoholic beverages is one of the highest worldwide, reaching 45.3 billion liters in 2016, and it is expected to increase to 52 billion in 2021 [7]. No meaningful impact has so far been observed on Mexicans' sugar consumption by applying strategies such as the taxation of food with more than 275 kcal, such as sodas and other non-alcoholic flavored beverages [3]. As a response to the described issue, in the last years, the development of healthy products, including functional beverages, \"health and wellness drinks\" and flavored water; has increased worldwide [8; 9], as well as the consumption of those high qualities and easy to drink new products [10; 11]. Recently, the demand for alternative beverages to replace sweetened drinks has been increasing [12; 13]. Consumers' need for healthy and functional beverages along with simple hydration has led to the growth of the market for functional beverages and flavored water [12]. Healthy and functional beverages include dairy-based, energy and sports, weight management and, plant-based drinks [14]. Despite the natural composition of these drinks, most of them contain a high proportion of added sugars in their formulation. There are a few low-calorie presentations produced by using artificial sweeteners as saccharin, cyclamate, aspartate, and acesulfame-k [15]. However, the consumption of this type of additives is not recommended due to its association with some health problems. Plant-based beverages generally are made from fruits, vegetables, and herbs, alone or combined with other ingredients such as fiber, vitamins and minerals. Besides their nutritional properties, these beverages also contain bioactive compounds [16] such as antioxidants (polyphenols, flavonoids, terpen among others). Several epidemiological, experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated the biological efficiency of antioxidant compounds in decreasing and preventing the negative effect of diseases related to oxidative stress [17; 18]. Tea and herbal infusions can be major sources of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and flavonoids which possess strong antioxidant activity and metal chelating properties [19; 20]. Melissa and lemon verbena are two plants commonly used in Mexican traditional medicine. They are consumed as herbal infusions to relieve a wide variety of diseases. Several studies have revealed their antioxidant properties [21; 22]. Some flowers, such as chamomile and bougainvillea, are also used as part of infusions against several health disorders [23; 24; 25]. Fruits are a source of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, carbohydrates, water) and phytochemicals (terpenoids, sulfur derivatives and phenolic compounds) that present antioxidant, immunological and anti-inflammatory properties [26; 27]. In Mexico, there is a large variety of fruits including berries, exotic and citric. Some of them are affordable and widely consumed, for example, guava, pineapple, orange, and tangerine.