Effects of phenolic acids and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside on the bitterness and astringency of green tea infusion.

Phenolic acids are important taste components in green tea. The aim of this study was to analyze the taste characteristics of phenolic acids and their influence on the bitterness and astringency of green tea by sensory evaluation and chemical determination. The major tea phenolic acids and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (Que-rut) were significantly positively correlated with the bitterness (r = 0.757, p < 0.01; r = 0.605, p < 0.05) and astringency (r = 0.870, p < 0.01; r = 0.576, p < 0.05) of green tea infusion. The phenolic acids have a sour and astringent taste, whereas Que-rut has a mild astringent taste. Phenolic acids and Que-rut can increase the bitterness of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). However, these components behaved differently for astringency on EGCG. Gallic acid (GA) enhances the astringency throughout all the concentrations in this study. While it seemed to be double effects of caffeic acid (CA), chlorogenic acid (CGA), and Que-rut on that, i.e., the inhibition at lower concentrations (CA: 0-0.2 mM; CGA: 0-0.2 mM; Que-rut: 0-0.05 mM) but enhancement at higher ones. The phenolic acids and Que-rut interacted synergistically with tea infusion and as their concentration increased, the synergistic enhancement of the bitterness and astringency of tea infusion increased. These findings help provide a theoretical basis for improving the taste of middle and green tea.

Effect of Ferrous Ion on Heat-Induced Aroma Deterioration of Green Tea Infusion.

Aroma deterioration is one of the biggest problems in processing tea beverages. The aroma of tea infusion deteriorates fast during heat sterilization and the presence of ferrous ion (Fe2+) aggravates it. The underlying mechanism remains unveiled. In this study, Fe2+ was verified to deteriorate the aroma quality of green tea infusion with heat treatment. Catechins were necessary for Fe2+-mediated aroma deterioration. By enhancing the degradation of catechins, Fe2+ dramatically increased the production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Fe2+ and H2O2 together exacerbated the aroma of green tea infusion with heat treatment. GC-MS analysis revealed that the presence of Fe2+ enhanced the loss of green/grassy volatiles and promoted the formation of new volatiles with diversified aroma characteristics, resulting in a dull scent of green tea infusion. Our results revealed how Fe2+ induced aroma deterioration of green tea infusion with heat treatment and could help guide tea producers in attenuating the aroma deterioration of tea infusion during processing.

Effect of chemical composition of black tea infusion on the color of milky tea.

Milky tea is popular in many countries and its color is an important sensory property. The effects of black tea infusion on the color of milky tea prepared with non-dairy creamer were investigated. The results showed that the redder black tea infusion produced milky tea with more redness, and the color of milky tea was a pleasant pink when the a* value (redness indicator) was in the range of 6.0-7.0. Correlation analysis revealed that the respective theaflavins (TFs), thearubigins (TRs), thearubigins (TBs), (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and chlorogenic acid contents significantly correlated with the a* values of milky tea. A series of complementary experiments were performed to elucidate that TFs and EGCG contributed to the redness of milky tea. The color formation was mainly associated with the binding of phenols to the proteins in the non-dairy creamer. These results contribute to understand the mechanism of color formation in milky tea.

A predictive model for astringency based on in vitro interactions between salivary proteins and (-)-Epigallocatechin gallate.

Astringency is an important quality attribute of green tea infusion, and (-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the main contributor to astringency. Turbidity was used to predict the intensity of astringency for EGCG. The interactions between the selected proteins and EGCG, and the impacts of temperature, pH, protein structure, and EGCG concentration were studied. Mucin was selected as the protein in study for the prediction of EGCG astringency intensity. A predictive model (R2 = 0.994) was developed based on the relationship between the astringency of EGCG and the turbidity of EGCG/mucin mixtures at pH 5.0 and 37 °C. The fluorescence quenching analyses showed the interactions between EGCG and the selected proteins, which induced the reversible protein molecule conformational changes. The interactions were considered as the main reason that causes the astringency of tea infusions. The results provided a biochemical approach to explore the sensory qualities of green tea.

Flavor characteristics and chemical compositions of oolong tea processed using different semi-fermentation times.

Flavor characteristics and chemical compositions of Tieguanyin oolong tea processed using different semi-fermentation times were investigated. Six flavor attributes of the teas, namely, astringency, bitterness, umami, sweet aftertaste, floral flavor, and green fruity flavor, were analysed. With extended semi-fermentation time, the taste intensity of sweet aftertaste increased, and the aroma intensity of floral and green fruity flavors increased, while the intensities of astringency, bitterness, and umami showed no clear trend. With increasing semi-fermentation time, the concentrations of gallated catechins, myricetin-rhamnose, quercetin-rutinoside, myricetin, and theanine greatly decreased, while those of total theaflavins, vitexin-rhamnose, kaempferol-galactose, kaempferol-rutinoside, vitexin, quercetin, and kaempferol increased significantly. The intensity of bitter taste was positively correlated with the concentrations of total catechins and gallated catechins. The intensity of astringent taste strongly correlated with the flavonoid concentrations, and that of sweet aftertaste positively correlated with the concentrations of (-)-epigallocatechin and (-)-epicatechin. However, dose-over-threshold analysis revealed that catechins, theaflavin, flavonol glycosides, and caffeine are the main taste-active compounds contributing to the taste of Tieguanyin oolong tea. The concentrations of total volatiles and most of the esters increased markedly with the semi-fermentation time, while the concentrations of low aldehydes showed a significant decrease. The flavor index was consistent with the intensity of floral aroma, increasing from 0.59 (12 h) to 0.84 (24 h) and then decreasing to 0.63 (32 h). Results of this work suggest that the flavor change is mainly due to the variation of taste-active and aroma-active compounds in oolong tea.

Effect of the type of brewing water on the chemical composition, sensory quality and antioxidant capacity of Chinese teas.

The physicochemical characteristics, sensory quality, and antioxidant activity of tea infusions prepared with purified water (PW), mineral water (MW), mountain spring water (MSW), and tap water (TW) from Hangzhou were investigated. The results showed that the taste quality, catechin concentration, and antioxidant capacity of green, oolong, and black tea infusions prepared using MW and TW were significantly lower than those prepared using PW. Extraction of catechins and caffeine was reduced with high-conductivity water, while high pH influenced the stability of catechins. PW and MSW were more suitable for brewing green and oolong teas, while MSW, with low pH and moderate ion concentration, was the most suitable water for brewing black tea. Lowering the pH of mineral water partially improved the taste quality and increased the concentration of catechins in the infusions. These results aid selection of the most appropriate water for brewing Chinese teas.

Sediments in concentrated green tea during low-temperature storage.

The formation and the main chemical components of sediments, including reversible tea sediments (RTS) and irreversible tea sediments (IRS), in concentrated green tea during low-temperature storage were studied. RTS was mainly formed in the first 10 days, and IRS was mainly formed between 20 and 40 days of storage. The RTS were the primary sediment, contributing more than 90% of the total sediment. The RTS comprised of polyphenols, total sugar, caffeine, flavones and proteins, while the IRS mainly comprised of oxalates of Ca, Mg, Ga and Mn. The total mineral content in the IRS (17.1%) was much higher than that in the RTS (2.6%) after 80 days of storage. The Ca, Mg, Mn and Ga contents in IRS were over 1.0% (w/w) each. About 75% of the IRS was soluble in 0.1 M aqueous HCl, with the oxalate accounting for 68%. Minerals and oxalic acid were the crucial factors in the IRS formation.

Irreversible sediment formation in green tea infusions.

The formation of irreversible tea sediment (IRS) and its chemical components in green tea infusions were investigated. The results showed that the amounts of IRS in the green tea infusions from various tea cultivars ranged from 0.10 to 1.47 mg/mL. The amount of IRS was influenced remarkably by the chemical components in the green tea infusion. Principal component analysis and regression analysis indicated that gallated catechins, Mn, Ca, caffeine, Na, and (-)-gallocatechin gallate (GCG) were the principal components. IRS (mg/mL) = -4.226 + 0.275 gallated catechins + 79.551 Na + 7.321 Mn + 21.055 Ca + 0.513 caffeine - 0.129 GCG (R2 = 0.697). The contents of the main chemical components in the reversible tea sediment (RTS) and IRS were markedly different, especially the minerals. Large amount of minerals participated in the formation of irreversible green tea sediment. The amount of IRS increased with the extraction temperature.

[Evaluation of a compound with dan-shen root and azone for scar treatment].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of the compound of Dan-shen root and azone for scar treatment. METHODS: The rat skin in vitro and the human skin in vitro and vivo were separately examined their permeability of the mixture of the Dan-shen root and azone. The 301 patients with hypertrophic scar were randomly divided into two groups: one treated with elastic cloth paste (including silicone) contained in Dan-shen root with azone, and the another treated with only elastic cloth paste (including silicone). RESULTS: The permeability of Dan-shen root with azone, passing through the rat skin in vitro and the human skin in vitro and vivo was significantly higher than both the distilled water and the normal saline (P < 0.05). In the clinical study for treatment of the hypertrophic scars, the efficient rate of the group with the Dan-shen root with azone was significantly higher than the control (91.4% vs. 71.3%) (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The Dan-shen root with azone could be easier to permeate the skin and more effective to treat the hypertrophic scar.