Zhuang Xin, Chen Yue, Wang Shuiqing, Zhong Kai, Sui Wenjie, Ma Chao, Wu Maoyu
State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.
Jinan Fruit Research Institute, All-China Federation of Supply & Marketing Co-Operatives, Jinan 250014, China.
Foods. 2025 Apr 14;14(8):1345. doi: 10.3390/foods14081345.
Low-grade tea, often underutilized due to its coarse texture and limited bioavailability, represents a significant resource waste. This study systematically investigated the synergistic effects of steam explosion (SE) and superfine grinding on enhancing the structural deconstruction, powder property, instant solubility, and diffusivity of low-grade. SE treatment induced critical physicochemical modifications, including hemicellulose degradation, lignin recondensation, and cellulose crystalline reorganization, which significantly weakened the lignocellulosic matrix. Subsequent superfine grinding via ball milling achieved ultrafine particles, with median diameter = 10.4 ± 0.17 μm, and almost completely destroyed the cell wall by 99.9%. Extraction kinetics revealed that SE-ball milling synergistically accelerated the diffusion behavior of bioactive compounds, reducing equilibrium time by 24 times and increasing maximum yields of polysaccharides, polyphenols, caffeine, and water-soluble solids by 925% compared to untreated samples. Homogenization combined with 0.08 mg/mL CMC-Na further improved the suspension stability of tea powder and reduced its centrifugal sedimentation to 9.85%. These findings demonstrate a scalable strategy to transform low-grade tea into high-value ingredients with enhanced accessibility and solubility of bioactive compounds, offering promising applications in instant beverages, fortified foods, and nutraceuticals.
低级茶叶由于其质地粗糙且生物利用度有限，常常未得到充分利用，这造成了大量资源浪费。本研究系统地探究了蒸汽爆破（SE）和超微粉碎对促进低级茶叶结构解构、粉末特性、速溶性和扩散性的协同作用。SE处理引发了关键的物理化学变化，包括半纤维素降解、木质素再缩合和纤维素晶体重排，这些变化显著削弱了木质纤维素基质。随后通过球磨进行的超微粉碎得到了超细颗粒，其平均直径为10.4±0.17μm，并且几乎完全破坏了99.9%的细胞壁。提取动力学表明，SE-球磨协同加速了生物活性化合物的扩散行为，与未处理的样品相比，平衡时间缩短了2至4倍，多糖、多酚、咖啡因和水溶性固体的最大产率提高了9%至25%。均质化结合0.08mg/mL的羧甲基纤维素钠（CMC-Na）进一步提高了茶粉的悬浮稳定性，并将其离心沉降率降低至9.85%。这些研究结果证明了一种可扩展的策略，即将低级茶叶转化为具有更高生物活性化合物可及性和溶解性的高价值成分，为速溶饮料、强化食品和营养保健品提供了广阔的应用前景。
