Tea Flowers Research Articles

Effects of microwave drying on the contents of functional constituents of Eucommia ulmoides flower tea

In order to make male flower tea of Eucommia ulmoides, this paper systematically investigated the effects of microwave drying, a newly emerging drying method, on the contents of functional constituents contained in the flower (such as total flavonoids, chlorogenic acid, aucubin and geniposidic acid) from the aspects of microwave output power and time of treatment. A comparison was conducted in the view of tea quality between microwave drying and conventional drying methods used in tea manufacturing, such as pan baking drying and oven ventilation baking drying. The results indicated that microwave drying method could maximally maintain the functional constituents. Further comparison on sensory quality showed that by microwave drying mode, the shape of the stamens of the flower was intact, the color was greenish, the liquor of the flower tea was fresh with strong Eucommia male flower flavor.

Structural Characterization and Antioxidant Activities of 2 Water‐Soluble Polysaccharide Fractions Purified from Tea (Camellia sinensis) Flower

The water-soluble crude polysaccharide tea flower polysaccharide (TFP), obtained from tea (Camellia sinensis) flower by boiling-water extraction and ethanol precipitation, was fractionated by Sephadex G-100 column chromatography, giving 2 polysaccharide fractions termed TFP-1 and TFP-2. The structural features of TFP-1 and TFP-2 were investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gel-permeation chromatography (GPC), rheometer, infrared (IR) spectra, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscope (AFM), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results indicated that TFP-1 was composed of glucose: xylose: rhamnose: galactose=1.0:1.2:0.81:0.98 with a molecular weight of 167.5 KDa, while TFP-2 comprised glucose: xylose: rhamnose: arabinose=1.0:0.76:2.3:2.3 with a molecular weight of 10.1 KDa. The 1H NMR revealed that TFP-1 contained α-L-Rhap, α-D-Galp, α-D-GalpNAc, α-D-Xylp, α-D-Glcp, and β-D-Glcp residues, while TFP-2 was illustrated to have α-L-Rhap, α-L-Arap, α-D-Xylp, α-D-Glcp, and α-D-GlcpNAc residues. Antioxidant activities of these fractions were investigated using various in vitro assay systems compared with ascorbic acid. In conclusion, TFP-2 exhibited the higher antioxidant activities and could be explored as a novel potential antioxidant. At present, commonly low-grade tea is preferred to extract the tea polysaccharide, to take full advantage of tea flower resource to extract polysaccharides can greatly reduce the cost of tea products. Thus, the search for plant-derived biomaterials from this study could generate natural value-added products from underutilized tea plant waste and used as a medicinal agent against chronic health problems, such as cancers, aging, and atherosclerosis caused by reactive free radicals that produced from oxidation.

Constituents of the Green Tea Seeds of Camellia sinensis

Green tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves are known to contain active ingredients such as catechins and caffeine, and are widely useful materials. Recently, green tea flowers also have been in the spotlight. However, little attention has been paid to the tea seeds. In this work, the constituents of green tea seeds and green tea leaves were compared. Caffeine was found in the seeds, whereas catechins (usually obtained from green tea leaves) were not observed. Next, we investigated the constituents of hexane extracts and methanol extracts of green tea seeds. We found that the hexane extracts contained high amounts of oleic glyceride (79.9%) in addition to linoleic glyceride (20%). We confirmed the structures of these glycerides by NMR spectroscopy and by synthesis from a fatty acid and glycerol. The methanol extract was found to contain naringenin glucosides by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopic analysis.

Sugar compositions, α-glucosidase inhibitory and amylase inhibitory activities of polysaccharides from leaves and flowers of Camellia sinensis obtained by different extraction methods

The sugar compositions, α-glucosidase inhibitory and α-amylase inhibitory activities of polysaccharides from leaves and flowers of green tea (Camellia sinensis) obtained by hot water extraction (HWE), boiled water extraction (BWE) and enzymatic extraction (EE) were investigated. The yields, sugar contents and monosaccharide compositions of tea leaves polysaccharides (TLPS) and tea flower polysaccharides (TFPS) were all significantly affected by extraction methods. The contents of acidic polysaccharides (APS) extracted by BWE and EE were both much more than those by HWE. The yields of TLPS and TFPS were determined as EE>BWE>HWE. Enzyme and higher temperature could improve the contents of APS and yields of TLPS and TFPS. TLPS and TFPS were all mainly composed of Rha, Ara, Gal, Glu and GalA, very little molar contents of GluA, Xyl and Man. It seemed that enzyme extraction could be more conducive to increase the content of Ara, Gal and GaLA. The molecular weights of TFPS were larger than those of TLPS. The molecular weights of polysaccharides obtained by EE decreased. Proteins in tea leaves and tea flowers might be decomposed by EE by observing UV peaks and IR absorption. peaks. The α-glucosidase inhibitory and amylase inhibitory activities of TLPS and TFPS obtained by EE were lower than those by water extracted method. The inhibitory percentages of TLPS and TFPS against α-amylase were all lower than α-glucosidase for different extractions.

Immunomodulatory and Antitumor Activity of Polysaccharide Isolated From Tea Plant Flower

Tea plant flower is a product of the tea plant during its growing. Polysaccharide are abundant in tea flower. However, the components in tea flower are underutilized at present. The study aimed at evaluating the antitumor activity and immunomodulatory effect of tea plant flower polysaccharide (TFP) via various in vivo assay systems. The inhibition effect of TFP on sarcoma 180 tumor (S180)-bearing mice was observed at dosages of 75, 150 and 300 mg/kg by systematically to measure the S180 tumor inhibition rate, mice survival rate and cellular immunity. The result showed that continuous administration of TFP for 10 day continuously was found to inhibit the growth of transplanted S180, prolong the mice survival days, promote the plasma interleukin-2, interferon-γ levels and improve the T-lymphocyte subsets CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ percentages after treatment with TFP. In addition, TFP was found to increase the delayed-type hypersensitivity response and macrophage phagocytosis significantly. These results strongly suggest that TFP enhances the host defense response to tumor due in part to the immunomodulatory activity.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes coated fibers for solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometric determination of pesticides in Tea samples

Using a single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as stationary phase of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers, a simple, low cost and environmentally friendly method for extraction of 13 pesticides in Tea samples has been developed following gas chromatography–mass spectrometric determination. Potential factors affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated and optimized, including extraction and desorption time, extraction temperature, stirring rate, solution pH and ionic strength. Under optimized conditions, the linearity of the developed method was in the range of 0.125–25 ng/mL with correlation coefficients greater than 0.9928 and the limits of detections (LODs) were 0.027–0.23 ng/mL ( S/ N = 3). Meanwhile, the relative standard deviations (RSDs) for five successive measurements with single fiber, fiber-to-fiber, day-to-day were 2.3–13.0, 8.2–14.6 and 4.1–12.5%, respectively, indicating good reproducibility of the proposed method. The fiber had high extraction efficiency for studied pesticides in comparison with commercial poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and polyacrylate (PA) fibers and could be used for more than 70 times without decrease of efficiency. The developed method was successfully applied for the analysis of real samples including green Tea, oolong Tea, white Tea, and flower Tea, and the recoveries of the pesticides spiked in these samples ranged from 75.1 to 118.4%. Chlorfenapyr and λ-cyhalothrin were found in the Tea samples bought randomly from local market. The results demonstrated that the developed SWCNTs-SPME method was a simple, efficient pretreatment and enrichment procedure for pesticides in complex matrices.

Analysis of free amino acids in Chinese teas and flower of tea plant by high performance liquid chromatography combined with solid-phase extraction

An effective liquid chromatographic method that involved precolumn derivatisation with o-phthaladehyde combined with solid-phase extraction has been developed for the determination of free amino acids in tea. Firstly, tea infusion was treated by C18 cartridge before derivatisation, resulting in great improvement of separation by Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C 18 column. Then, the contents of free amino acids in Chinese green, black, and Oolong teas and the flower of plant Camellia sinensis have been determined. The results showed that theanine was the most abundant amino acid in teas, and green tea contained much higher amounts of free amino acids than fermented ones. While the contents and composition of free amino acids in tea flower were quite different from those of teas. The tea flower contained much higher content of free amino acids. Furthermore, although theanine was the most abundant amino acid in tea flower as tea, histidine became the second one.

Study on the purification and characterization of a polysaccharide conjugate from tea flowers

In this paper, the crude polysaccharides from the flowers of tea plant (Camellia sinensis) (TFPS) extracted with hot water were fractionated on a DEAE Sepharose FF chromatography to get TFPS1 with a yield of 18%. The properties and chemical compositions of TFPS1 were analyzed with GC, HPGPC, IC, IR methods and its morphology was observed with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results showed that TFPS1 was a neutral glycoprotein conjugate with a molecular weight 500 kDa. The alanine, threonine, glycine, valine, serine, histidine, glutamic acid, histidine and tyrosine were found in TFPS1 and the total content was 2.03%. TFPS1 was consisted of rhamnose, arabinose, mannose, glucose and galactose, with a mole ratio of 1.0:2.9:0.5:1.3:3.3. Sugar backbone of TFPS1 may consist of glucose and galactose, but branched chain may consist of arabinose, galactose and rhamnose. The IR spectrum of TFPS1 revealed the typical characteristics of polysaccharides and protein. TFPS1 was spherical particle structure with a diameter of 50–70 nm.

Composition and bioactivity of tea flower polysaccharides obtained by different methods

The effects of different extraction methods on the composition and bioactivity of tea flower polysaccharides (TFPS) were investigated. Traditional water extraction (TWE), microwave-assisted water extraction (MAE), and ultrasound-assisted water extraction (UAE) were compared to extract TFPS. TWE was found to be the optimal method with highest yield of TFPS and highest neutral and acid saccharides contents in TFPS. TFPS obtained by TWE mainly consisted of two kinds of polysaccharides with the molecular weight of 31 kDa and 5000 Da. TFPS obtained by MAE and UAE generally had very low inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase. TFPS (2 mg/mL) obtained by TWE exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase with the inhibitory rate of 83.3%. TFPS obtained by TWE had stronger proliferation effect on lymphocyte at the concentration of 3.0 μg/mL than that of tea leave polysaccharides (TPS).

ChemInform Abstract: Medicinal Flowers. Part 25. Structures of Floratheasaponin J and Chakanoside II from Japanese Tea Flower, Flower Buds of Camellia sinensis.

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Isolation and identification of compounds from the ethanolic extract of flowers of the tea (Camellia sinensis) plant and their contribution to the antioxidant capacity

Abstract While beneficial health properties of tea leaves have been extensively studied, less attention has been given to that of flowers of the tea ( Camellia sinensis ) plant. In this work, the ethanolic extract and its ethyl acetate-soluble fraction (EEA) from the tea flowers were found to possess the potent antioxidant activity using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging assay. The compounds present in EEA had comparatively strong DPPH scavenging activity and strongly contributed to the antioxidant activity of the tea flowers. From EEA, besides eight catechins, five flavonol glycosides were isolated and their structures were elucidated on the basis of mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as myricetin 3- O -β- d -galactopyranoside, quercetin 3- O -β- d -galactopyranoside, kaempferol 3- O -β- d -galactopyranoside, kaempferol 3- O -β- d -glucopyranoside, and kaempferol 3- O -[α- l -rhamnopyranosyl-(1-6)-β- d -glucopyranoside]. In addition, epigallocatechin gallate and epicatechin gallate were found as the major active components responsible for the antioxidant activity of tea flowers through the use of a combination of preparative liquid chromatography separation and DPPH assay.

Cloning and Sequencing of a Full-Length cDNA Encoding the RuBPCase Small Subunit ( RbcS) in Tea ( Camellia sinensis)

This study was aimed to isolate ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase small subunit ( RbcS) from tea plant [ Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze]. In the study of transcriptional profiling of gene expression from tea flower bud development stage by cDNA-AFLP (cDNA amplified fragment length polymorphism), we have isolated some transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) occurring in both the young and mature flower bud. One of them showed a high degree of similarity to RbcS. Based on the fragment, the full length of RbcS with 769-bp (EF011075) cDNA was obtained via rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). It contained an open reading frame of 176 amino acids consisting of a chloroplast transit peptide with 52 amino acids and a mature protein of 124 amino acids. The amino acids sequence presented a high identity to those of other plant RbcS genes. It also contains three conserved domains and a protein kinase C phosphorylation site, one tyrosine kinase phosphorylation site and two N-myristoylation sites. Analysis by RT-PCR showed that the expression of RbcS in tea from high to low was leaf, young stem, young flower bud and mature flower bud, respectively. The isolation of the tea Rubisco small subunit gene establishes a good foundation for further study on the photosynthesis of tea plant.

Medicinal Flowers. XXV. Structures of Floratheasaponin J and Chakanoside II from Japanese Tea Flower, Flower Buds of Camellia sinensis

Following the investigation of floratheasaponins A, B, and C, a new acylated oleanane-type triterpene saponin termed floratheasaponin J and an aromatic glycoside called chakanoside II were isolated from the flower buds of Japanese tea plant (Camellia sinensis). The structures of the new glycosides were determined by chemical and physicochemical evidence.

Beneficial effects of different tea flowers against human breast cancer MCF-7 cells

Tea is a popular beverage with health benefits. The enriched tea polyphenols including catechins have been reported to perform anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial activity. In this study, we compared the levels of catechins and caffeine in tea flowers from six different species of Camellia japonica, Camellia tenuifolia, Camellia oleifera, 2 savoury Camellias and Camellia sinensis. C. sinensis detected a variety of catechins, while only (+)-catechin and (−)-epicatechin can be detected by the isocratic HPLC system in other tea flowers. The total catechin content was also lower in these tea flowers. In addition, the water extract of tea flowers was used to test the biological functions including anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. The water extract of C. sinensis remained most active among six different species using both MTT assays and the cleavage analysis of apoptosis-related molecules, PARP and Bid. The major bioactivity of C. sinensis comes from (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate and (−)-epigallocatechin, not detected in other five species. Interestingly, we found that C. tenuifolia still had potent bioactivity. It is likely that bioactive molecules other than catechins exist in C. tenuifolia.

덖음 횟수에 따른 감국(Chrysanthemum indicum L.) 꽃차의 품질 특성

Quality characteristics of Chrysanthemum indicum L. flower tea were investigated with the number of pan-firing. Total nitrogen, tannin and caffeine contents of tea were increased as the number of pan-firing increased, whereas chlorophyll and total amino acid (AA) contents were decreased. TAA content was in the range of 5,226~6,561 mg% with the number of pan-firing. The content of caffeine and chlorophyll was not changed with the number of pan-firing. As the number of pan-firing increased, total polyphenol, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity was also increased. The highest total polyphenol and flavonoid content was 17.44 and 11.09 mg/g at 7 times pan-firing, respectively. Total antioxidant activity was the highest value of 16.45 mg AA eq/g at 7 times of pan-firing. Based on the sensory evaluation, the best overall quality of the tea was obtained with 5 times of pan-firing.

Functional Saponins in Tea Flower (Flower Buds of <i>Camellia sinensis</i>): Gastroprotective and Hypoglycemic Effects of Floratheasaponins and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis Using HPLC

As a part of our characterization studies on the bioactive saponin constituents of tea flowers (Camellia sinensis, flower buds), the methanolic extract and 1-butanol-soluble portion (the saponin fraction) from the flower buds were found to exhibit potent inhibitory effects on ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric mucosal lesions in rats and on serum glucose elevation in sucrose-loaded rats. Among the constituents of the 1-butanol-soluble portion, floratheasaponins A, B, and C showed gastroprotective and hypoglycemic activities. Furthermore, we have developed qualitative and quantitative methods using HPLC for the principle saponins, floratheasaponins A-F, in tea flowers, which were previously found to show antiallergic and antiobesity effects. Using those methods, the saponin composition of Indian tea flowers were found to be similar to those of Chinese (Anhui) but not of Japanese tea flowers. On the other hand, it was found that the floratheasaponin contents in tea flowers varied markedly during the blooming period, and they were abundant at half-bloom. Additionally, the contents of caffeine in the tea flowers were examined using HPLC.

Study on the antioxidant activity of tea flowers (Camellia sinensis).

Major chemical compounds in different extracts from tea flowers (Camellia sinensis) were analyzed. Distilled water or 70% ethanol extracts were then fractionated with chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol, respectively. Each extract fraction was tested its scavenging activities on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl free radicals. The results showed that ethyl acetate fraction of ethanol-extract of tea flower (EEA) exhibited the highest quenching activity to hydroxyl radicals (SC50 11.6 mug/ml), followed by ethanol-extract (EE) of tea flower (SC50 19.7 microg/ml). Same tea flower extract showed big different scavenging activities on different free radicals. EEA quenched 80% of hydroxyl radicals generated by Fenton's reaction, however, only 40% of DPPH radical was scavenged in the Fe (II)-H2O2 -luminol system. The contents of flavones, polyphenols and catechins in EE and EEA fractions were higher than those in other fractions. We suggest that the stronger scavenging abilities to free radicals might be due to polyphenols, EGCG, ECG and flavones. However, the water extracts of tea flower and their fractions showed lower antioxidant activity for their inhibitory effect on hydroxyl radicals and DPPH radicals.

Application to cooking and characterization of tea flower pollen

Application to cooking and characterization of tea flower pollen

Flavanols in Somatic Cell Division and Male Meiosis of Tea(Camellia sinensis)Anthers

Young anthers excised from closed tea flower buds ( Camellia sinensis L.) were stained as fresh tissues with p-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde reagent to localize flavanols associated with nuclei and chromosomes, apart from those flavanols stored in vacuoles. This staining reagent yields a blue colour for flavanols. In the nonsporogenic somatic cells of developing anthers, flavanols were found to be attached to chromosomes at all mitotic stages. Male meiosis started at a bud size of about 3.5 mm in diameter in pollen mother cells which displayed generally more or less pronounced blue nuclei and cytoplasm. The meiotic divisions from prophase I to telophase II were characterized by blue stained nuclei and chromosomes, but within the cytoplasm there was, if any, a random and very poor reaction for flavanols. Metaphase and telophase of meiotic divisions showed maximally condensed chromosomes staining dark blue. Early in telophase II, the cytoplasm was again stained blue; this faded at late tetrad stage. Flavanols of young mitotic and older non-mitotic anthers were determined using high pressure liquid chromatography--chemical reaction detection (HPLC-CRD). Catechin, epicatechin, B2, and epigallocatechin were minor compounds, whereas epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate were found in higher amounts. The major flavanol compound of the anthers, epicatechin gallate, exhibited a significant affinity to histone sulphate, as shown by UV-VIS spectroscopic titration.

Nuclei of Tea Flowers As Targets for Flavanols

The tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.) is famous for its flavanol-based constituents being valuable for human health. These flavanols associate with the nuclei of tea flowers, which is demonstrated histochemically by blue colouration using the selective staining reagent p-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde (DMACA). Sepals, petals, stamens, pollen tubes, ovaries and ovules were studied. All these organs were shown to contain flavanols in vacuolar compartments, in nuclei and, exceptionally, also in the cytoplasm of pollen tubes. In all cells, even in those lacking vacuoles, the nuclei stained blue for flavanols. The extremely divergent development, shape and function of the diverse flower organs did not basically influence the nuclear flavanol association. Nevertheless, within the limits of this study, a few tissue-dependent differences in staining intensity were obvious. Interactions between epicatechin and nuclear histone proteins (histone sulphate) were studied by UV-VIS spectroscopic titration and by means of Mauser diagrams. The results show that the observed association equilibria are strongly dependent on pH (8.0 and 7.4) and on the buffer used (Tris, phosphate).