Comparison of Quantity Characteristics and Antioxidant Potentials of Different Tea Extracts for In-flight Beverage

Author(s): Jae-il Kwon

Tea is a famous non-alcoholic beverage worldwide. Various types of tea are prepared to meet the demand of different people. Among the various tea types, green tea (GTE), black tea (BTE), and Pu-erh tea (PEE) are major ones. The objective of this study was to investigate the physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant potential of three tea extracts to be considered as an in-flight beverage. The pH (5.62) of GTE was significantly highest whereas the titratable acidity (0.18 g/100 mL) was significantly highest in BTE. The highest lightness value was found in GTE (87.12) and redness and yellowness in BTE (30.15 and 85.32). The amount of total free amino acid was significantly highest in PEE (174.52 g/ mL), followed by GTE (31.28 g/ mL) and BTE (24.98 g/ mL). Similarly, the antioxidant potential of PEE was significantly high among the three tea extracts. The results indicated that Pu-erh tea could be a good in-flight beverage.

Antioxidant Potential, Black Tea, Green Tea, In-flight Beverage, Pu-erh Tea

1. Ahmed S, Unachukwu U, Stepp JR, et al (2010) Pu-erh tea tasting in Yunnan, China: Correlation of drinkers’ perceptions to phytochemistry. J Ethnopharmacol 132:176–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2010.08.016
2. Atoui A, Mansouri A, Boskou G, Kefalas P (2005) Tea and herbal infusions: Their antioxidant activity and phenolic profile. Food Chem 89:27–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2004.01.075
3. Basarova G, Janousek J (2000) Importance of amino acids in beer technology and quality. Kvasny Prumysl 46:314–318
4. Chen H-Y, Lin-Shiau S-Y, Lin J-K (2009) Pu-erh tea; its manufacturing and health benefits. pp. 9–15. In: Tea and Tea Products: Chemistry and Health-Promoting Properties. Ho C-T, Lin J-K, Shahidi F (ed). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
5. Choi S-H, Kim I-D, Dhungana SK, Kim D-G (2018) Comparison of quality characteristic and antioxidant potential of cultivated Pu-erh and Gushu Pu-erh tea extracts at two temperatures. J Pure Appl Microbiol 12:1155–1161. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.12.3.14
6. Dhungana SK, Kim I-D, Adhikari B, et al (2019) Reduced germination and seedling vigor of weeds with root extracts of maize and soybean, and the mechanism defined as allelopathic. J Crop Sci Biotechnol 22:11–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12892-018-0251-0
7. Dhungana SK, Kim I-D, Kwak H-S, Shin D-H (2016) Unraveling the effect of structurally different classes of insecticide on germination and early plant growth of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. Pestic Biochem Physiol 130:39–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pestbp.2015.12.002
8. Du W, Peng S-M, Liu Z, et al (2012) Hypoglycemic effect of the water extract of Pu-erh tea. J Agric Food Chem 60:10126–10132. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf302426w
9. Fan JP, Fan C, Dong WM, et al (2013) Free radical scavenging and anti-oxidative activities of an ethanol-soluble pigment extract prepared from fermented Zijuan Pu-erh tea. Food Chem Toxicol 59:527–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2013.06.047
10. Frankel EN, Meyer AS (2000) The problems of using one-dimensional methods to evaluate multifunctional food and biological antioxidants. J Sci Food Agric 80:1925–1941. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0010(200010)80:13<1925::AID-JSFA714>3.0.CO;2-4
11. Gloess AN, Schönbächler B, Klopprogge B, et al (2013) Comparison of nine common coffee extraction methods: instrumental and sensory analysis. Eur Food Res Technol 236:607–627. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-013-1917-x
12. Harbowy ME, Balentine DA, Davies AP, Cai Y (1997) Tea chemistry. Crit Rev Plant Sci 16:415–480. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352689709701956
13. Hertog MGL, Hollman PCH, Katan MB, Kromhout D (1993) Intake of potentially anticarcinogenic flavonoids and their determinants in adults in the Netherlands. Nutr Cancer 20:21–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/01635589309514267
14. Hilal Y (2017) Morphology, manufacturing, types, composition and medicinal properties of tea (Camellia sinensis). J Basic Appl Plant Sci 1:107
15. Hu Y, Jia J, Qiao J, et al (2010) Antimicrobial activity of Pu-erh tea extracts in vitro and its effects on the preservation of cooled mutton. J Food Saf 30:177–195. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4565.2009.00199.x
16. Je J-Y, Park P-J, Jung W-K, Kim S-K (2005) Amino acid changes in fermented oyster (Crassostrea gigas) sauce with different fermentation periods. Food Chem 91:15–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2004.05.061
17. Jt B, Je D (2020) Black tea flavonoids: A focus on thearubigins and their potential roles in diet & health. Nutr Food Technol Open Access 6(2). https://doi.org/10.16966/2470-6086.168
18. Kim I-D, Lee J-W, Kim S-J, et al (2014) Exogenous application of natural extracts of persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) can help in maintaining nutritional and mineral composition of dried persimmon. Afr J Biotechnol 13:2231–2239. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJB2013.13503
19. Krogsgaard-Larsen P (1989) GABA receptors. In: Receptor Pharmacology and Function. Williams M, Glennon RA, Timmermans PMWM (eds). Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, NY, USA, pp 349–383
20. Lin JK, Liang YC (2000) Cancer chemoprevention by tea polyphenols. Proc Natl Sci Counc Repub China B 24:1–13
21. Lin Y-L, Cheng C-Y, Lin Y-P, et al (1998) Hypolipidemic effect of green tea leaves through induction of antioxidant and phase II enzymes including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione S -transferase in rats. J Agric Food Chem 46:1893–1899. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf970963q
22. Lin Y-L, Juan I-M, Chen Y-L, et al (1996) Composition of polyphenols in fresh tea leaves and associations of their oxygen-radical-absorbing capacity with antiproliferative actions in fibroblast cells. J Agric Food Chem 44:1387–1394. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf950652k
23. McKenzie JS, Jurado JM, de Pablos F (2010) Characterisation of tea leaves according to their total mineral content by means of probabilistic neural networks. Food Chem 123:859–864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.05.007
24. Mody I, De Koninck Y, Otis TS, Soltesz I (1994) Bridging the cleft at GABA synapses in the brain. Trends Neurosci 17:517–525. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-2236(94)90155-4
25. Nikmaram N, Dar B, Roohinejad S, et al (2017) Recent advances in γ -aminobutyric acid (GABA) properties in pulses: An overview. J Sci Food Agric 97:2681–2689. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.8283
26. Oh C-H, Oh S-H (2004) Effects of germinated brown rice extracts with enhanced levels of GABA on cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. J Med Food 7:19–23. https://doi.org/10.1089/109662004322984653
27. Oi Y, Hou I-C, Fujita H, Yazawa K (2012) Antiobesity effects of Chinese black tea (Pu-erh tea) extract and gallic acid. Phytother Res 26:475–481. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.3602
28. Peng C, Wang Q, Liu H, et al (2013) Effects of Zijuan pu-erh tea theabrownin on metabolites in hyperlipidemic rat feces by Py-GC/MS. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis 104:226–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2013.07.011
29. Scott D, Rycroft JA, Aspen J, et al (2004) The effect of drinking tea at high altitude on hydration status and mood. Eur J Appl Physiol 91:493–498. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-003-1015-z
30. Takemoto M, Takemoto H (2018) Synthesis of theaflavins and their functions. Molecules 23:918. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23040918
31. Tyl C, Sadler GC (2017) pH and titratable acidity. pp. 389-406. In: Food Analysis. Nielsen SS (ed). Springer Science, Basel, Switzerland.
32. Widowati W, Herlina T, Ratnawati H, et al (2015) Antioxidant potential of black, green and oolong tea methanol extracts. Biol Med Nat Prod Chem 4:35–39. https://doi.org/10.14421/biomedich.2015.42.35-39
33. Zhao C-N, Tang G-Y, Cao S-Y, et al (2019) Phenolic profiles and antioxidant activities of 30 tea infusions from green, black, oolong, white, yellow and dark teas. Antioxidants 8:215. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8070215
34. Zhao L, Jia S, Tang W, et al (2011) Pu-erh tea inhibits tumor cell growth by down-regulating mutant p53. Int J Mol Sci 12:7581–7593. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms12117581
35. Zhou HJ, Li JH, Zhao FL, Han J, Yang XJ, Yang W, Wu XZ (2004). Study on main microbes on quality formation of Yunnan Pu-erh tea during pile-fermentation process. Journal of Tea Science 24: 212-218 (in Chinese).