#Theine effects free

#Theine effects free

These effects have been attributed to compounds such as alkaloids (caffeine, theobromine), polyphenols (catechins), flavonoids and free amino acids (L-theanine) 3,3. antioxidant 6, anti-inflammatory 6, anticarcinogenic 3 and antihypertensive activities 17,4. Several beneficial health effects have been ascribed to tea, e.g. Depending on the type of productive processes and harvest time is possible to obtain green (non-fermented), black (fermented), red (oolong, semi-fermented) and white teas (bud, non-fermented) 15,2. Tea infusions produced with leaves of Camellia sinensis or Thea sinensis leaves 15,14,17,1 have become in one of the most consumed beverages in the world. Keywords: Optimization, L-theanine, chromatography, tea, Chile. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that most teas marketed in Chile do not have an adequate L-theanine content to be considered as functional beverage regarding this amino acid. Considering the effective dose reported, only one brand (black tea) presented an adequate L-theanine content to produce the desired effect (two serving cups). The L-theanine content in teas marketed in Chile ranged from 4.21 to 24.83 (2.21 to 12.42 mg g -1), with a mean value of 10.06 mg in 200 mL (5.03 mg g -1). Chromatographic separation was carried out using a mixture of water and phosphoric acid (99.9: 0.1% v/v) as mobile phase and C 18 Purospher Hibar-STAR (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column. A high performance liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection (HPLC/UV) was optimized and validated to quantify L-theanine content in tea infusions. The objective of this work was to evaluate the functionality of teas marketed in Chile regarding its L-theanine content. Thus, tea infusions could only be considered as functional beverage with respect to L-theanine if an adequate number of tea cups posses the necessary content to produce the desire effect. L-theanine is found almost exclusively in tea plants, and its final concentration in commercial tea products mainly depends on the type of raw materials and productive process. * e-mail: ( γ-glutamyl-L-ethylamide) is a free amino acid classified as functional ingredient because it has shown relevant pharmacological effects such as improving the brain ability to concentrate, learn and memorize. Barrio Universitario s/n, Concepcion, Chile. Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Concepcion. Laboratory of Advanced Research on Foods and Drugs. EVALUATION OF TEA FUNCTIONALITY: DETERMINATION OF L-THEANINE CONTENT IN GREEN AND BLACK TEAS BY LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY