The chemical properties and functional effects of polysaccharides dissolved in green tea infusion

Abstract

From a green tea infusion, two kinds of polysaccharides, A & B, which have the molecular weight over 105 (A) and of average 104 (B), were separated by using gel-filtration column chromatography. The contents of these polysaccharides in the tea infusion were higher in high grade green tea made from young tea shoots. It was explained that cotton-like precipitates in green tea infusions were formed by the association of the polysaccharides with caffeine-catechins complex (cream down). The blood glucose concentration of normal rats was depressed by oral-administration of the plysaccharides.