Phytochemical density of some promising commercial tea brands

Abstract

Black Tea (Camellia sinensis) is an important source of phytochemicals with proven health benefits. The core objective of the present investigation was to characterize some promising commercial tea brands available in Pakistan for their active ingredients with special reference to flavanols. The results indicated that total phenolic contents were in the range of 26.42 to 29.74 g/100 g liquid tea, while antioxidant activity and DPPH reduction was in the range from 45 to 50 g/100 g liquid tea and 47 to 50 g/100 g liquid tea, respectively. Tea quality parameters including theaflavins, thearubingins, and theabronins were observed to be 1.71-1.79, 1.74-1.83, and 17.05-20.22 g/100 g liquid tea. Likewise, total catechins and caffeine were 1.01-1.28 and 1.22-1.25 g/100 g liquid tea, respectively. Tea extract of commercial brands containing a larger particle size exhibited better quality. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.