Abstract
White tea is the rarest of all kinds of tea and has numerous health benefits. Sri Lankan white tea fetches the highest premium price on the market because of its distinct color and flavor. This is the first report on the chemical and biological activities of Sri Lankan white tea. This study evaluated the total polyphenol content, major catechins, including, (+)-catechin, (-)-epigallo catechin-3-gallate (EGCG), epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin (EC), and caffeine content of white tea collected from different elevations in Sri Lanka. The inhibitory effects of white tea on α-amylase, α-glucosidase, lipase, acetylcholine esterase, xanthine oxidase, and tyrosinase enzymes were evaluated. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), DPPH, and ABTS radical scavenging activities were performed to determine the antioxidant capacity. The total polyphenol and catechin contents of white tea ranged from 18.21 % to 22.52 % and 5.32–12.22 %, respectively. White tea exhibited xanthine oxidase, acetylcholine esterase, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with the IC50 values in the range of 2.51–48.96, 14.2–54.21 and 6.38–33.14 ppm., respectively. Sri Lankan white tea has strong antioxidant activity as well as acetylcholine esterase, α-glucosidase, and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities. In addition, white tea showed moderately inhibiting activities of lipase and tyrosinase.
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