The estimation of the TFC in crude extracts was conducted using the protocols explained by Karadeniz et al. (2005) and Ozsoy et al. (2008) with slight modifications. Briefly, 0.25 mL of crude extract was mixed with 1.25 mL of deionized water and 75 μL of 5% sodium nitrite. After 6 min, 150 μL of 10% aluminum chloride-6-hydrate was added. In the next 5 min, 0.5 mL of 1 M sodium hydroxide solution and 275 μL deionized water were added and mixed. The reaction mixture absorbance was immediately recorded at 510 nm on a Uvi light spectrophotometer (Model XTD 5, Secomam, France). The TFC measurements were determined in triplicate and expressed as catechin equivalents (CE), in milligrams of CE per 100 grams of DW by using catechin (50 – 800 μg/ mL) as standard (y = 0.0033x; R2 = 0.9991).