Composition And Phenolic Compounds In Tea

Objectives

1. Gain knowledge on the origin of tea in the world and in India

2. Learn about the types of tea
3. Identify the various phenolic compounds present in tea

1 Introduction

1.1 What is Tea?

Tea beverage is an infusion of the dried leaves of Camellia sinesis, a member of

Theaceae family. It is an evergreen shrub or tree that can grow to a height of 30 feet,
but is usually clipped to a height of 2.5 feet in cultivation. The tree or shrub is heavily
branched with dark-green, hairy, oblong, ovate leaves cultivated and preferentially
picked as young shoots. Older leaves are considered to be inferior in quality. Freshly
harvested tea leaf is processed differently in different parts of the world to give oolong
tea (2%), green tea (20%) or black tea (78%). Green tea is prepared from the fresh tea
leaf and widely consumed in Japan and China. Western cultures favour black tea which
is prepared through the oxidation, curing process of maceration and exposure to
atmospheric oxygen. The consumption of oolong tea is mostly confined to China and
Taiwan, and roasted tea is consumed mostly in Japan. Presently, it is cultivated in at
least 30 countries around the world.

1.2 History

Tea is nearly 5000 years old and was discovered, as legend has it, in 2737 B C
by a Chinese emperor when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling
water. In the 1600’s tea became popular throughout Europe and the American colonies.
During last century, two major American contributions took place in the tea industry. In
1904, iced tea was created at the World Fair in St. Louis, and in 1908, Thomas Sullivan
of New York developed the concept of tea in a bag. Amongst cultivated C. sinensis
there are two types: ‘China' and ‘Indian’ The former type is a slow-growing smaller tree
with narrow leaves, while the latter is fast growing with large drooping leaves. The yield
from Indian types is higher than that of the China type. The important tea, growing
countries are India, China, Sri Lanka, Japan and Kenya.
Tea leaves are usually plucked by hand. The average interval between plucking
is about a week. In India, about 5-6 plucking are made in a season. Usually, the
terminal bud and two terminal leaves from the end of each shoot are plucked. In some
cases, the bud and three leaves are taken giving a higher yield and a poorer quality
product. Some of the best teas come .from high-altitude areas, such as Darjeeling,
while teas from the plains are often of ‘common’ quality. The yield at high elevation is
poor compared to that at lower elevation for the same kind of plant

2. Production in India
In India, the two main tea-growing regions are the hilly districts of Assam and
West Bengal, and the Western Ghats of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. India tops
the list in production and export of tea, in the world. In 1998, the world production of tea
was 2.96 million tonnes of which India’s share was 0.87 million tonnes. Of the total
world export of about 1.13 million tonnes during that year, India exported 203,000
tonnes valued at Rs. 990 Crore. The tea exported from India is mostly black tea and the
export of green tea is small. However, large quantities of tea waste and fluff (pieces of
leaves, leaf hair, fibre, etc.) are exported and used for the manufacture of caffeine. India
has also been exporting consumer tea packets instead of bulk tea chests and instant
tea.

3. Types of Tea

The three principal types of tea based on the method of processing are green, black
and oolong tea.

3.1 Green tea is processed in a manner designed to prevent enzymatic oxidation of

catechins. In other words, green tea is unfermented tea prepared by steaming the
plucked leaves to inactive enzymes, rolling the leaves to rapture the cell walls to
facilitate brew extraction, and drying or firing the leaves. The leaves retain much of
their original colour. The beverage made from green tea has a greenish yellow
colour and is distinctly bitter and astringent. Types of green tea based based on
maturity of leaves include Gunpowder (smallest leaves), Hyson (medium sized
leaves), and Imperial (largest leaves). Japan, China, North Africa and Middle East
are traditionally the sites of greatest consumption of green tea.

3.2 Black tea is the dominantly manufactured tea world – wide made through a phenol
oxidase catalyzed oxidation of fresh leaf catechin. Black tea is enzymatically
fermented tea prepared by withering the plucked leaves to soften them: passing the
withered leaves under roller to rapture cell walls and release the enzymes;
fermenting the rolled leaves by exposing them to air at 27 0C for 2 – 5 hours to bring
about the desired colour and flavor changes; and drying the fermented leaves to
inactivate enzymes. The fermentation renders about half the tannin insoluble and
changes colour to black. The beverage made from black tea has an amber colour, is
less bitter and astringent than green tea. It has rich aroma and flavor.
3.3 Oolong is partially fermented tea manufactured primarily in China and Taiwan. The
fermentation period is too short to cause darkening of the leaves and hence they are
only partially blackened. It has some characteristics of both green tea and black tea.

4.Preparation of Tea

A good cup of tea will be sparklingly clear and not have a surface film. It should
have maximum flavour with minimum polyphenol compounds which contribute to
bitterness. In order to obtain this, the water used in making tea should be fresh and soft.
If water is hard, the dissolved salts form an undesirable precipitate with polyphenols and
this will be present as an unattractive film that floats on the surface of tea. The water
should be freshly boiled but still contain sufficient oxygen to give the tea fresh and
pleasant odour. Metallic teapots impart a metallic flavour.

It is best to use china, glass or enameled ware. Water heated to 85°C to

boiling should be added to the appropriate amount of tea (generally one teaspoonful for
150 ml contained in the pot). The pot should be covered with a lid which helps retain the
heat and prevents the escape of volatile compounds. Flavour substances and caffeine
are readily extracted by short infusion periods. Generally, a steeping period of about 3
min gives a stimulating, but not astringent, beverage.

A very convenient method of making tea is by the tea-ball or bag method. In this
method, water at the boiling temperature is poured over tea contained in a cheese cloth
or paper bag or a silver ball. The bag or ball is allowed to remain in contact with water
till the desired strength is obtained. Milk or lemon may be added to the tea infusion for
body and flavour, and sugar for taste.

5. Phenolic compounds

The differences of varieties, the environmental effects, various methods of

processing and modes of propagations cause the change of chemical composition of
tea leaves.The composition of fresh tea flush contains various components, such as
polyphenol (include catechins),caffeine,amino acids, vitamins,flavonoids,
polysaccharides and fluorine. Polyphenols and caffeine are the most important
chemicals of tea, considerable pharmacological significance. Polyphenols are present to
the extent of 30-35 % in the dry tea leaf matter and their content determines the quality
of the beverage.
All teas are rich in polyphenolic compounds which are also present in red wine,
fruit and vegetables. Fresh tea leaf is rich in water soluble polyphenols, particularly
flavanols, flavanolgallate and flavanol glycosides.
6. Composition of Black Tea

The precise composition of black tea is markedly influenced by the nature of the
green shoots used and by procedures in their subsequent processing which take place
in the producing countries. Differences in chemical composition are reflected in the
various flavour grades and origins offered on the market, which are from mixed seedling
populations with characteristics intermediate between two extreme genotypes, Camellia
sinensis var. assamica (larger leaves) and C. sinensis var. sinensis (small leaves). The
composition varies with the cultivation conditions and subsequent processing of the tea.
Black tea used in this context relates solely to the method of leaf processing and not to
the optional addition of milk to the beverage before consumption is produced from fresh
green leaf by ‘enzymatic browning processes driven by polyphenol oxidase and
coupled chemical oxidation of the flavanols and flavanolgallates and, to lesser extent,
the flavanol ,especially myricetin glycosides and the non-flavanoidtheagallin. These
transformations produce a unique range of pigments including the brownish
thearubigins and the red-orange theaflavins, theaflavic acids and theaflavins. The
thearubigins are the major polyphenols of black tea leaf andbeverage. Their content has
been variouslyestimated as 3-6%. In this process, commonlyreferred to as fermentation,
the caffeine contentin the tea leaves is not significantly changed.Theaflavins contribute
to the taste, the bright red orange colour of black tea, and account for 2% to 6% of the
dry weight of black tea extracts. The major theaflavins are theaflavin-3-digallate,
theaflavin-30-gallate and theaflavin-3, 30- digalalte.

6..1 Black tea contains greater proportion of the complex catechins such as
epigallocatechingallate and other phenols such as theaflavins and the rubigins
generated by the oxidation processes used in tea production. The presence of
flavonoids and phenolic compounds (p-coumeric and ferulic acid) in about 10% of
dry weight in yerba mate.

In making green tea, the tea leaves are heated to inactivate the enzymes and
dried. Thus the constituents of the tea leaves are preserved in the dried tea
leaves. When the tea leaves are brewed, for example 2.5 g in 250 ml of hot water
for 3 minutes, about 30% of the solid materials are extracted into water. The
spray-dried powder of the water extract, known as green tea solids, has been
used for animal experiments.
7. Iced tea:

Iced tea is popular in some countries. Hot tea is prepared in the usual way by
using twice as much tea leaves. The hot tea is thoroughly chilled before pouring it over
ice. It may also be poured over ice while it is still hot. This will result in a beverage which
dilute to normal strength as ice, melts. Cloudiness is generally a problem with iced tea,
as tannins precipitate when tea cools.

8. Instant Tea

Instant tea (soluble tea) products have become popular in recent times. These
products are hot and cold water solubles, iced tea concentrates, carbonated tea, etc. In
the preparation of hot water soluble instant tea, the fermented tea leaves are extracted
with hot water, centrifuged and dried in drum drier or freeze drier. For the manufacture
of cold water Soluble tea, the aqueous extract is cooled to 5 oC, the Separated i
compound is removed by centrifugation and then dried. Iced tea concentrate is cold
water soluble and contains Sugar, Citric acid and essences. Ready tea is instant tea
with sugar and milk powder. India produces all these varieties of instant tea and
sizeable quantities are exported. The export in 1980-81 was 10.76 million kg. Instant tea
is largely used in making iced tea because of its solubility in cold water. However, the
flavour and aroma of instant tea is less full than that of the beverage freshly prepared
from tea leaves.

9. Flavonoids

Black and green tea both contain similar amount of flavonoids but these differ in
their chemical structure. Green teas contain more of the simple flavonoids called
catechins, while the oxidization that the leaves undergo to make black tea converts
these simple flavonoids to the more complex varieties called theaflavins and
thearubigins. Following table provides average values for the different flavonoids
present in green and black tea although they may differ depending on the variety of leaf,
growing environment, manufacturing, particle size of ground tea leaves and infusion
preparation.

9.1 Health benefits of flavonoids

‘Healthy Foods’ containing active scavengers of free radicals are very

popular nowadays.Advertisements in newspapers and magazines regarding a
“Wonder Cure” that prevent damage to the body are becoming ubiquitous. It is
widely accepted that phenolic compounds contained in certain foods have
 potential health benefits. Tea is linked to beneficial effects on human health with
the polyphenols as the responsible constituents. Tea leaves as well as the
resulting beverage tea are known to possess high amounts of polyphenols,
especially flavanols, the so called catechins. Many in vitro and in vivo effects of
tea polyphenols have been reported including antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and
hypolipidemic properties.
Although the oxidization process modifies the type of flavonoids present,
the total level and their overall antioxidant activity is similar I both teas.
Researchers suggest that antioxidants, such as those found in both green and
black tea, may have a protective role to play in certain conditions such as heart
disease, stroke and some cancers.

10. Antioxidant property of tea

In human body, different protection mechanisms are present to combat free

radicals. Also, there is equilibrium between pro-oxidative and antioxidant process, and
when this equilibrium is disturbed in flavour of free radicals, oxidation stress results. The
powerful antioxidant properties of the tea are generally attributed to its flavonoid
components; theaflavins, bisflavanols and theaflavicacids. These compounds are all
potent antioxidant in vitro and, when consumed, may act as the free radical scavengers
which remove endogenously generated superoxide,peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals. The
antioxidantproperty of tea is also associated with several other mechanisms e.g.
depolarization of electrons, formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonds, rearrangement
of the molecular structure. These compounds may also prevent oxidative reactions by
chelating free copper and iron, which may catalyze the formation of reactive oxygen
species in vitro. The antioxidant flavanoids appear to be readily taken up by the human
gastrointestinal tract.

Tea catechins, from both green and black teas, appear in human plasma and in
circulating lipoprotein fractions. Five cups of tea consumed at 2-hours intervals was
sufficient to elevate plasma catechin concentrations by up to12-fold in a UK based
study. Tea consumption had no effect on total plasma antioxidant status. Conversely,
reported that green and black teas significantly elevated plasma antioxidant potential,
as measured using afluorescence assay. Beverage tea, rich in antioxidant polyphenols,
affects host biochemistry and carcinogenesis at important target organs such as colon
or mammary glands in rats. This depletion of antioxidant power is observed with soya
milk as well as cow’s milk and in less marked with skimmed and semi-skimmed milks. It
suggests that the depletion of antioxidant effect is due to associations between the tea
flavanoids and milk fat rather than proteins.
11. Tea has anticancer property.

Many epidemiological, case-control, and cohort studies have been conducted to

investigate the effects of tea consumption on human cancer incidence. In a Japanese
cohort study, a negative association was found between green tea consumption and
total cancer incidence, especially among females drinking more than 10 cups per day.
The effect of tea on stomach cancer has been the most extensively studied. A large
study of pancreatic, colon, and rectal cancers indicated decreased incidents of these
cancers with consumption of tea. There is also some evidence that green tea
polyphenols have a chemopreventive effect against cancers in smokers. In a seven-
year follow-up study of patients with breast cancer, it was found that increased
consumption of green tea was associated with decreased numbers of axillary lymph
node metastases especially among premenopausal patients with stage I and II breast
cancers. Early studies have linked tea drinking to both increased and decreased risks of
esophageal cancers, but recent studies have shown that the positive association
between tea and esophageal cancer was because of the high temperature at which the
tea is consumed. The anti-carcinogenic activities of tea polyphenols are generally
believed to be related to their antioxidative properties.

Conclusion

Tea is not just a refreshing drink but it has an interesting history behind it.
Information on the types of tea and the phenolic compounds will surely help you in
gaining knowledge on the composition and chemistry of this tasty drink. Moreover, the
anti oxidant and the anti cancer property of tea will open up new avenues in your
research . This beverage is a treasure of health.