Traditional Tea Research Articles

젊은 여성과 중년 여성의 차와 음료 소비 비교에 관한 연구

This study compared the differences in tea and beverage intakes of young and middle-aged women. This study investigated the preference and frequency of consumption of beverages and four teas (green tea, black tea, oolong tea, and Pu'er tea), the reasons for consumption and avoidance, and the recognition of the efficacy of green tea and black tea. The young women enjoyed coffee the most, followed by carbonated beverages. The middle-aged women enjoyed coffee the most, but milk and dairy ranked second, resulting in significant differences (p<0.001, p<0.01). In the frequency of beverage intake over the past year, the percentage of carbonated beverages (p<0.001) was significantly higher in young women, while coffee (p<0.001), milk and dairy products (p<0.05), and traditional tea (p<0.001) were significantly higher in the middle-aged women. The young women preferred black tea over green tea, and the middle-aged women preferred Pu’er tea over green tea. The middle-aged women's green tea intake rate was higher than that of the young women (p<0.05). In the young women, ‘taste’ and ‘scent’ were important in both the reasons for tea consumption and avoidance, and the proportion of health-related reasons, such as ‘health care,’ ‘diet,’ and ‘caffeine,’ was high in the middle-aged women (p<0.001). Recognition of the efficacy of green tea was significantly higher in young women than in middle-aged women in the areas of ‘health promotion,’ ‘adult disease prevention,’ ‘weight control,’ and ‘skin beauty.’ In conclusion, the tea intake rate was significantly lower than coffee in both groups. Although the young women group had a higher awareness of the efficacy of green tea than the middle-aged women group, the frequency of green tea consumption was lower, showing a difference due to age. In addition, differences appeared in the reasons for drinking tea and avoiding it between young women who value preference and middle-aged women who value health.

The occurrence and probabilistic risk of exposure to parabens from bottled and hand-shaken teas in the general adult population of Taiwan.

Parabens (PBs) are esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and there are growing concerns due to their potential to disrupt endocrine function and their wide use as preservatives in foodstuffs, including beverages. The consumption of bottled and hand-shaken teas is gradually replacing traditional tea consumption through brewing. However, no study has reported PB concentrations in different types of teas or packaging and their associatedhealth risks. Our aimwasto determine the concentration of PBs (methyl- (MetPB), ethyl- (EthPB), propyl- (PropPB), butyl-paraben (ButPB)) in green, black, and oolong teas in two varieties of products (bottled and hand-shaken teas), using UPLC-MS/MS. Additionally,we estimated thehealth risks associated with tea consumption in the general adult population of Taiwan. A Monte Carlo simulation was applied to estimate the distribution of daily PB intake through bottled (n = 79) and hand-shaken (n = 71) tea consumption. Our findings revealed geometric mean concentrations in bottled green/black/oolong teas were 714.1/631.2/532.1ng/L for MetPB, 95.2/ 30.5/14.9 ng/L for EthPB, 77.9/28.3/non-detected (ND) ng/L for PropPB, and 69.3/26.6/ND ng/L for ButPB. Hand-shaken green/black/oolong teas exhibited concentrations of 867.5/2258/1307ng/L for MetPB, 28.5/28.8/14.5 ng/L for EthPB, 25.4/18.3/17.8 ng/L for PropPB, and 30.3/18.0/15.5 ng/L for ButPB. The median MetPB concentrations in hand-shaken black (2333ng/L) and oolong teas (1215ng/L) were significantly higher than those in bottled black (595.4ng/L) and oolong teas (489.3ng/L). Conversely, median concentrations of EthPB, PropPB, and ButPB in bottled teas were significantly higher than those in hand-shaken teas. MetPB was the predominant PB, constituting 73.2-91.9% in bottled teas and 85-94% in hand-shaken teas. Our results showed no health risks associated with bottled or hand-shaken tea consumption based on reference doses. However, the study highlights the importance of continued vigilance given the potential chronic exposure to PBs from various sources, necessitating ongoing concern despite the absence of immediate risks from tea consumption.

Defining Raku Ceramics: Translations, Elisions, Evolutions

Raku ceramics were first produced in Kyoto in the late sixteenth century, and have continued to be made and used in the context of ritualized Japanese tea culture (chanoyu) up to the present day. This essay examines the interest of Charles Lang Freer in Raku ceramics, and considers how his acquisitions—largely collected between 1895 and 1910, a period of some turmoil in the Japanese art market—serve as a useful index to changing assessments of the Raku ceramic tradition and its place in the broader landscape of arts associated with traditional tea culture in Japan and abroad.

Chemical Constituents and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory, Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activities of Ampelopsis grossedentata.

Ampelopsis grossedentata is a valuable medicinal and edible plant, which is often used as a traditional tea by the Tujia people in China. A. grossedentata has numerous biological activities and is now widely used in the pharmaceutical and food industries. In this study, two new flavonoids (1-2) and seventeen known compounds (3-19) were isolated and identified from the dried stems and leaves of A. grossedentata. These isolated compounds were characterized by various spectroscopic data including mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. All isolates were assessed for their α-glucosidase inhibitory, antioxidant, and hepatoprotective activities, and their structure-activity relationships were further discussed. The results indicated that compound 1 exhibited effective inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase, with an IC50 value of 0.21 μM. In addition, compounds 1-2 demonstrated not only potent antioxidant activities but also superior hepatoprotective properties. The findings of this study could serve as a reference for the development of A. grossedentata-derived products or drugs aimed at realizing their antidiabetic, antioxidant, and hepatoprotective functions.

Effect of Medium Chain Triglycerides on the Digestion and Quality Characteristics of Tea Polyphenols-Fortified Cooked Rice.

Nowadays, medium chain triglycerides (MCT) with special health benefits have been increasingly applied for fortifying food products. Therefore, the present work aimed to investigate the effects of MCT on traditional tea polyphenols-fortified cooked rice (TP-FCR). It was visualized by DSC, CLSM, XRD, FT-IR, and Raman spectroscopy. The higher content of starch-MCT complexes with an increase in the relative crystallinity and the generation of short-range ordered structures contributed to a more ordered and compact molecular arrangement, which can hinder the action of digestive enzymes on starch. SEM demonstrated that MCT transformed the microstructure of TP-FCR into a denser and firmer character, making it an essential component hindering the accessibility of digestive enzymes to starch granules and slowing the release of tea polyphenols in TP-FCR to attenuate starch digestion. Consequently, the addition of MCT reduced the polyphenol-regulated starch digestibility from 74.28% in cooked white rice to 64.43% in TP-FCR, and further down to 50.82%. Besides, MCT also reduced the adhesiveness and improved the whiteness of TP-FCR. The findings suggested that MCT incorporation could be a potential strategy in cooked rice production to achieve high sensory quality and low glycemic cooked rice.

The Analysis of Sustainable Business Model in Traditional Chinese Tea Industry

Since ancient times, China has been a great tea country, the worlds largest tea planting area, and the worlds top tea production. Over the entire Chinese tea industry, there are countless large and small tea factories but few famous tea brands, seriously affecting the industrys sustainable development. Thus, creating a famous tea brand is a huge challenge for Chinese tea. In addition, the world currently cultivates tea in many countries, such as Sri Lanka, India, Turkey, Kenya, etc. China is a large tea producer and is always an important economic crop. With the modern, fast-paced urban life, the new tea consumption style is more suitable for the domestic and international consumer market and meets the needs of the public. This paper explores to convert and upgrade the traditional Chinese tea industrys business model by recognizing and analyzing the globally well-known brand Lipton Tea. Firstly, it is no longer limited to the traditional tea culture, and combining the tea culture with commercial activities to create a fashionable tea culture; secondly, to apply the tea to a wider range of consumer markets rather than limiting it to the tea-drinking market only; and then through the assistance of new media such as e-commerce and We media to promote the product, this series of upgrading from the internal to the external business model can improve the popularity of Chinese tea brands, the rapid development of the tea industry will also give Chinas economic market to bring sustainable development of the new power.

The Application of Cold-Induced Liquid-Liquid Extraction for the Determination of 4-Methylimidazole in Tea and Associated Risk Assessment for Chinese Tea Consumers.

4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI), as a Maillard reaction product, often occurs in heat-processed food. Due to its widespread occurrence and strong carcinogenicity in food and beverages, 4-MEI has received attention from regulatory organizations and consumers. Some studies have reported the occurrence and exposure of 4-MEI in food, but few studies have involved traditional tea beverages, which is related to the limited analytical methods currently being influenced by complex tea matrices. For this issue, this study presents a simple, reliable, and highly sensitive analytical method for the determination of 4-MEI in tea using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. By means of this method, a total of 570 tea samples from typical tea-producing regions in China were monitored for contamination of 4-MEI. The results showed that the average 4-MEI level (136 μg/kg) in oolong tea was significantly higher than that in other types of tea samples. Based on contamination levels and tea consumption data in China, the daily intake doses (0.04-1.16 μg/day) of 4-MEI among tea consumers were obtained. As a result, the health risk of Chinese tea consumers consuming 4-MEI alone through tea consumption is relatively low, but the overall intake level of 4-MEI in other foods cannot be ignored.

한국 차-연대기 문헌 DB 구축 및 웹서비스 구현

A Korean Tea-Historical Literature DB was constructed, collating information related to tea from eight historical texts, including the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. Data were gathered from existing historical literature DB and web services. After processing, verification, and tag input, 53,679 historical literature data entries related to tea were created. This DB construction centralizes previously dispersed reading services into a single web service. Features such as literature title, time, and tag-based search functionality; assignment of attribute tags to data; search linkage through original source links; and a bookmark function were incorporated to enhance user convenience. The outcomes of this research support studies in the related fields, and it is believed that by accumulating and improving accessibility to tea-related literature, contributions can be made to the preservation and education of Korean traditional tea as a food resource and cultural heritage.

Can Confucian Ritual Improve Mediation?

Abstract Mediation often fails because disputants scheme, lie, and become emotionally untethered. Productive mediation requires cooperation, self-possession, and a degree of sincerity among disputants. Improving the capacity of disputants to engage harmoniously to achieve resolution is essential, as discussed in the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the Singapore Mediation Convention). Confucius believed that ritualized mediation most effectively settled public disputes. Confucian rituals transmit norms and expectations, manifest sincerity, promote self-control, and unite disputants for harmonious resolutions, which can significantly improve modern mediation. This has implications for settlement satisfaction, mediator precision, mediation integrity, social harmony, and savings in time, money, and effort that would otherwise be allocated to litigation. Candidate rituals include calming words and actions during mediation when parties become overly competitive or heated, traditional tea ceremonies, feng shui (風水) influenced mediation environments, and traditional music.

Traditional management of ancient Pu'er teagardens in Jingmai Mountains in Yunnan of China, a designated Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems site

BackgroundPu'er Traditional Tea Agroecosystem is one of the projects included in the United Nations' Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) since 2012. Against the background of having rich biodiversity and a long history of tea culture, the ancient tea trees in Pu'er have experienced from wild–transition–cultivation for thousands of years, and the local people's knowledge about the management of ancient teagardens has not been rigorously recorded. For this reason, it is important to study and record the traditional management knowledge of Pu'er ancient teagardens and the influence on the formation of tea trees and communities. This study focuses on the traditional management knowledge of ancient teagardens in Jingmai Mountains, Pu'er, and monoculture teagardens (monoculture and intensively managed planting base for tea cultivation) were used as the control, through the community structure, composition and biodiversity of ancient teagardens to respond to the influence of traditional management, and this work with a view to providing a reference for further research on the stability and sustainable development of tea agroecosystem.MethodsFrom 2021 to 2022, information on traditional management of ancient teagardens was obtained through semi-structured interviews with 93 local people in the Jingmai Mountains area of Pu'er. Informed consent was obtained from each participant before conducting the interview process. The communities, tea trees and biodiversity of Jingmai Mountains ancient teagardens (JMATGs) and monoculture teagardens (MTGs) were examined through field surveys, measurements and biodiversity survey methods. The Shannon-Weiner (H), Pielou (E) and Margalef (M) indices were calculated for the biodiversity of the teagardens within the unit sample, using monoculture teagardens as a control.ResultsThe tea tree morphology, community structure and composition of Pu'er ancient teagardens are significantly different from those of monoculture teagardens, and the biodiversity is significantly higher than that of monoculture teagardens. The local people mainly manage the ancient tea trees mainly using several methods, including weeding (96.8%), pruning (48.4%) and pest control (33.3%). The pest control mainly relies on the removal of diseased branches. JMATGs annual gross output is approximately 6.5 times that of MTGs. The traditional management of ancient teagardens is through setting up forest isolation zones as protected areas, planting tea trees in the understory on the sunny side, keeping tea trees 1.5–7 m apart, as well as consciously protecting forest animals such as spiders, birds and bees, and reasonably rearing livestock in the teagardens.ConclusionsThis study shows that local people have rich traditional knowledge and experience in the management of ancient teagardens in Pu'er, and that this traditional management knowledge has impacted the growth of ancient tea trees, enriched the structure and composition of tea plantation communities and actively protected the biodiversity within ancient teagardens.

Polysaccharides from Fu brick tea ameliorate obesity by modulating gut microbiota and gut microbiota-related short chain fatty acid and amino acid metabolism

Fu brick tea (FBT) is a traditional tea manufactured by solid-state fermentation of tea leaves (Camellia sinensis). Although anti-obesity effects have been reported for FBT, the associated role of FBT polysaccharides (PSs) and the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we found that FBTPSs inhibited obesity, hyperlipidemia, and inflammation; improved intestinal barrier function; and alleviated gut microbiota dysbiosis in high-fat diet-fed rats. Akkermansia muciniphila, Bacteroides, Parasutterella, Desulfovibrio, and Blautia were the core microbes regulated by FBTPSs. FBTPSs regulated the production of gut microbiota-related metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), branched-chain amino acids, and aromatic amino acids throughout the development of obesity, and regulated the SCFA-GPR signaling pathway. FBTPS-treated fecal microbiota transplant ameliorated obesity, alleviated gut microbiota dysbiosis, and improved gut microbiota-associated metabolites, suggesting that the anti-obesity effect of FBTPSs was gut microbiota-dependent. FBTPSs may serve as novel prebiotic agents for the treatment of obesity and dysbiosis of gut microbiota.

Study on inheritance and protection strategies of traditional tea processing techniques and their associated social practices

As the tea plant originated in China, China is considered the cradle of the tea civilization. "Tea", one of the three major drinks in the world alongside cocoa and coffee, is important for people around the world. In 2022, China's application for "traditional tea processing techniques and their associated social practices" was deliberated and approved by the 17th UNESCO Intergovernmental Working Conference and they were added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Effect of an Annona muricata Leaves Extract on Circulating Soluble Adhesion Molecules in Colon Carcinogenesis Model

Background: Annona muricata leaves are used as traditional tea drink that is currently being studied on the developing effort of treating some types of cancers because they are known as anti-cancer. Motivated by that usage, this study aims to analyse the potential of A. muricata leaves extract to be an anti-colon cancer by investigating the extract capability in reducing blood intercellular cell-adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell-adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1).Method: The research was conducted in Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia with an ex­perimental design. A. muricata leaves extract was tested in vivo. In vivo test was conducted to Swiss Webster mice induced with 10 mg/kg azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sodium sulfate 1% (DSS). Statistical analysis used was SPSS.Results: EIFAM reduce the serum level of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. EIFAM significantly reduce serum level of VCAM compare to ESFAM.Conclusion: Ethanol insoluble fraction of Annona muricata leaves water extract of is potential to be an anti-colon cancer proven by the extract capability to reduce ICAM-1 and VCAM-1.

Alterations in the phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of Ligustrum robustum according to continuous wet‐ and dry‐heat treatment

Small-leaved Kuding tea (SLKDT) obtained from Ligustrum robustum is a traditional tea substitute in southern China and has a range of physiological effects. However, the changes in its phytochemical composition after various heat treatments are not reported yet. Thus, the phytochemical composition and antioxidant activities of fresh leaves of SLKDT (LrF1) and SLKDT after high-temperature wet-heat treatment (LrF2) and wet- and dry-heat treatments (LrF3) were assessed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities and lipid peroxidation inhibition activity of LrF1 and LrF3 were investigated. The results indicated that the phytochemical composition of LrF1, LrF2, and LrF3 was significantly different. Overall, 258 and 83 differential constituents, respectively, were obtained in LrF1 versus LrF2 and LrF2 versus LrF3. The differential constituents mainly included amino acids and their derivatives, nucleosides, flavonoids, terpenoids, simple phenylpropanoids, and coumarins. After heat treatment, SLKDT exhibited obvious changes in sensory characteristics and physiological properties, which may be related to the changes in the levels of amino acids, linalool, beta-geraniol, myricetin, naringin, fraxetin, and isoacteoside. Moreover, the antioxidant activities significantly changed after heat treatment of SLKDT. Overall, our study demonstrated that heat treatment can alter the phytochemical composition of SLKDT, thus affecting its sensory properties and physiological properties. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study preliminarily assessed the changes in the composition of small-leaved Kuding tea (SLKDT) after various heat treatments and revealed that the composition of SLKDT tea can be adjusted by various heat and temperature treatments.

Pteris laeta Wall. and Its New Phytochemical, Pterosinsade A, Promote Hippocampal Neurogenesis via Activating the Wnt Signaling Pathway.

Pteris laeta Wall., as a traditional tea, is popular in Southwest China, but its role in preventing cognitive impairment is unclear. In this study, Pteris laeta Wall. extracts (PW) and its active compounds were evaluated for preventive effects on Alzheimer's disease (AD) in vivo and in vitro. The results showed that PW diminished oxidative stress damage and apoptosis of Aβ-induced HT22 cells and also rescued cognitive deficits, and ameliorated pathological injury and inflammatory response in APP/PS1 mice. Besides, a new pterosin sesquiterpene, named pterosinsade A (PA), and nine known compounds were discovered from the EtOAc extract that possessed the best neuroprotective activity. PA reduced apoptosis of APP-overexpressing neural stem cells and promoted their proliferation and neuronal differentiation. Meanwhile, PW and PA promoted hippocampal neurogenesis, which proved to be associated with activating the Wnt signaling pathway. These findings suggest that PW and PA are candidates for AD prevention.

Trends of caffeine intake from food and beverage among Chinese adults: 2004-2018.

Caffeine is a kind of psychostimulant that naturally exist in foods. The benefits and risks of caffeine depend on the dose. Moreover, the intake of caffeine from dietary sources in China has seldom been assessed. We calculated the dietary caffeine intake of Chinese adult consumers from 2004 to 2018 and analyzed its consumption trends by using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey and the National Food and Beverage Consumption Survey. Caffeine contents in different dietary items were determined by HPLC. Monte Carlo simulations were applied to estimate caffeine intake. Mann-Kendall trend test and linear regression were used to analyze the trend of caffeine consumption. Among 79,173 individuals, 3972 (5%) of the adult Chinese population consumed caffeine between 2004 and 2018. The average caffeine intake was 123mg/day for male consumers and 116mg/day for female consumers. The median and P75 caffeine intake raised over the 14 years. Traditional tea leaves, coffee and sodas are the main sources of caffeine intake. Our findings indicate that most Chinese adults consumed caffeine within the safe level (400mg/day), but the caffeine consumption has shown an increasing trend in recent 14 years.

Health risks posed by microplastics in tea bags: microplastic pollution - a truly global problem.

Health risks posed by microplastics in tea bags: microplastic pollution - a truly global problem.

The volatile flavor and the antioxidant properties of a novel chrysanthemum rice wine during natural aging.

Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Fubaiju, a traditional tea in southern China with high nutritional and health functions was used in this study. Optimized production conditions of a novel chrysanthemum rice wine (FRW) were obtained by the Box-Behnken design response surface experiment. FRW with best sensory quality was developed with 0.68% chrysanthemum, 0.79% Jiuqu and 0.81:1 liquid-to-solid ratio. Compared with rice wine (RW) control, the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, as well as antioxidant activity of the FRW increased significantly. GC-MS analysis showed that more flavor compounds including alcohols, aldehydes, acids, and esters were detected in FRW. During the aging process, it was found that the antioxidant substances, the antioxidant activity and the flavor substances decreased, with the wine body tending to be homogenized. After 6months of storage, overall sensory quality of FRW was more harmonious, with special nectar taste, which dramatically improved the flavor characteristics and functionality compared with traditional RW.

Value of nostalgia to agricultural heritage: Consumer’s nostalgia proneness and purchase intention toward traditional tea

Globally Important Agricultural Cultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) were recommended by the United Nations to promote the development of agricultural heritage, as agricultural sustainability is garnering more and more attention, and therefore agricultural heritage is revived. Consumer preferences for agricultural heritage products, which are a vital driver of sustainable agriculture, have been neglected in previous studies. Given the recent focus on consumer nostalgia in marketing, this study uses traditional tea as an anchor to investigate the relationship between consumer nostalgia proneness and purchase intention to contribute to the preference for agricultural heritage products. We used a high-order structure to investigate the mechanism, the results revealed that nostalgia proneness positively influences purchase intention, with perceived value as a mediating factor in this study. We extend the theory of perceived value to include the analysis of consumers’ agricultural heritage products preferences, improve the application of nostalgia proneness, and provide management suggestions based on the findings.

Risk Assessment and Application of Tea Frost Hazard in Hangzhou City Based on the Random Forest Algorithm

Using traditional tea frost hazard risk assessment results as sample data, the four indicators of minimum temperature, altitude, tea planting area, and tea yield were selected to consider the risk of hazard-causing factors, the exposure of hazard-bearing bodies, and the vulnerability of hazard-bearing bodies. The random forest algorithm was used to construct the frost hazard risk assessment model of Hangzhou tea, and hazard risk assessment was carried out on tea with different cold resistances in Hangzhou. The model’s accuracy reached 93% after training, and the interpretation reached more than 0.937. According to the risk assessment results of tea with different cold resistance, the high-risk areas of weak cold resistance tea were the most, followed by medium cold resistance and the least strong cold resistance. Compared with the traditional method, the prediction result of the random forest model has a deviation of only 1.57%. Using the random forest model to replace the artificial setting of the weight factor in the traditional method has the advantages of simple operation, high time efficiency, and high result accuracy. The prediction results have been verified by the existing hazard data. The model conforms to the actual situation and has certain guiding for local agricultural production and early warning of hazards.