## 3 Results  
The dry mass content and approximate composition of basic nutrients of the studied herb species are presented in Table 1.  
The dry matter content varied among the herb species tested. Peppermint of the Schoko variety had the lowest content, with an average of 22.49 g/100 g FM. However, lemon balm and lavender did not differ significantly in this parameter (Table 1). It was determined that peppermint had a higher protein content compared to other herbs. No differences were found between the tested herb species in terms of crude fat content. The tested herbs also differed in their total carbohydrate content. Lavender and lemon balm were richer in total carbohydrates (88.76 and 88.18 g/100 g DM, respectively) compared to peppermint. The tested herb species contained a similar amount of ash, ranging from 0.22 to 0.48 g/100 g of DM. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Component**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Herbs**} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(p\)**-Value**} \\ \cline{2-2} \cline{4-5}  & **Peppermint** & **Lemon Balm** & **Lavender** & \\ \hline Dry mass & 22.49 \(\pm\) 0.35 a & 35.67 \(\pm\) 0.43 b & 35.59 \(\pm\) 0.76 b & 0.000 \\ Protein & 12.60 \(\pm\) 0.06 b & 8.92 \(\pm\) 0.52 a & 7.65 \(\pm\) 0.51 a & 0.003 \\ Fat & 2.61 \(\pm\) 0.32 a & 2.47 \(\pm\) 0.37 a & 3.37 \(\pm\) 0.04 a & 0.091 \\ Total carbohydrates & 84.31 \(\pm\) 0.40 a & 88.18 \(\pm\) 0.97 b & 88.76 \(\pm\) 0.45 b & 0.012 \\ Ash & 0.48 \(\pm\) 0.02 a & 0.43 \(\pm\) 0.08 a & 0.22 \(\pm\) 0.11 a & 0.089 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* FM—fresh mass; ** DM—dry mass. Results are expressed as mean \(\pm\) SD; mean values with different letters (a,b) within the individual rows (other than the last column) are statistically different (\(p\leq\) 0.05).  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Dry mass (g/100g FM *) and proximate composition of different varieties of tested herbs (g/100 g DM *). Based on the results obtained, different contents of total polyphenolic compounds and different degrees of antioxidant activity were found depending on the plant species and the solvent used (Table 2). The highest ABTS values were found in methanolic lemon balm extract (0.57 umol Trolox/1 g DM). However, methanolic peppermint extract also had a similar level of antioxidant properties. In turn, the lowest ABTS values were obtained in solutions with acidified methanol. Regardless of the solvent used, lemon balm was the leading species and showed the highest antioxidant potential using the ABTS radical, while lavender had the lowest. The high antioxidant potential of mint and lemon balm has also been confirmed by the FRAP method. In this method, the greatest antioxidant potential was observed in aqueous solutions. The highest values were observed for peppermint and then lemon balm, 6117.76 and 2770.60 umol Trolox/1 g DM, respectively. Methanolic extracts were less effective in terms of activity, and in this case, mint and lemon balm obtained similar values that were not statistically different at \(p\) = 0.007. Similarly to the use of water extracts, lavender was characterized by the lowest antioxidant capacity. When acidified methanol was used, no significant differences were found between the tested herb species (\(p\) = 0.721). The total content of polyphenols in the tested herb species was also assessed using various solvents. The highest polyphenol content was found in the water extract. In this case, the highest values were obtained for peppermint, followed by lemon balm, and the lowest were obtained for lavender (Table 2). In the extract using acidified methanol, mint and lemon balm were at the forefront, and no significant difference was found between them. The total content of polyphenols present in both extracts decreased significantly when lavender was used in this study. The content of selected phenolic compounds was affected by the type of herbs and extraction. The higher content of naringin, rutin, hesperidin and rosmarinic acid was determined in peppermint water and acidified methanol extract (Table 3).