Ortiz-Islas Sofia, Espinosa-Leal Claudia A, González-Rodríguez Tzitziki, García-Lara Silverio
Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias (EIC), Tecnológico de Monterrey, Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey C.P. 64849, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Foods. 2024 Oct 16;13(20):3284. doi: 10.3390/foods13203284.
Tea is the second most widely consumed beverage globally, after water, and is known for its substantial antioxidant properties, primarily due to its phenolic content. This study quantifies phenolic compounds and assesses antioxidant activity in ten types of tea and selected herbal infusions, individually and in combination. Our findings reveal that free phenolic compounds and their antioxidant activity were twelve times and eight times greater than bound phenolic compounds. Among individual infusions, white tea exhibited the highest antioxidant activity and phenolic content, with 172.51 µmol TE/1000 g and 7.83 mg GAE/1000 g, respectively. In combination, white/linden flower tea showed the highest antioxidant activity (374.44 µmol TE/1000 g), and white/orange tea contained the highest phenolic content (9.24 mg GAE/1000 g). This study identified primarily two phenolic compounds, epigallocatechin gallate and epicatechin gallate, and one alkaloid, caffeine, in tea and herbal combinations. Compared to other combinations, we observed significant variations in catechins and caffeine between white and dark teas. Integrating specific herbal infusions with tea can enhance antioxidant activity up to three-fold compared to tea alone. This research offers valuable insights into optimizing herbal infusions to maximize antioxidant benefits, creating new opportunities to enhance the health benefits of tea-based products.
茶是全球消费量第二大的饮品，仅次于水，因其富含酚类物质而具有显著的抗氧化特性。本研究对十种茶和选定的草本浸液中的酚类化合物进行了定量分析，并分别及联合评估了它们的抗氧化活性。我们的研究结果显示，游离酚类化合物及其抗氧化活性分别比结合酚类化合物高12倍和8倍。在单一浸液中，白茶的抗氧化活性和酚类含量最高，分别为172.51 μmol TE/1000 g和7.83 mg GAE/1000 g。联合浸液中，白茶/椴花茶的抗氧化活性最高（374.44 μmol TE/1000 g），白茶/橙子茶的酚类含量最高（9.24 mg GAE/1000 g）。本研究在茶和草本组合中主要鉴定出两种酚类化合物，表没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯和表儿茶素没食子酸酯，以及一种生物碱咖啡因。与其他组合相比，我们观察到白茶和黑茶之间儿茶素和咖啡因存在显著差异。与单独的茶相比，将特定的草本浸液与茶混合可使抗氧化活性提高两倍。这项研究为优化草本浸液以最大限度地提高抗氧化益处提供了有价值的见解，为增强茶基产品的健康益处创造了新机会。
