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Ammonia, owing to its carbon-free attributes, stands as a promising alternative for replacing fossil-based fuels. This study investigates the techno-economic and environmental aspects of gray, blue, and green ammonia production in Indonesia. In this regard, a spreadsheet-based decision support system has been developed to analyze the levelized cost of each mode of ammonia production and their cost sensitivity across various parameters. The results of the analysis show a levelized cost of gray ammonia of $297 (USD) per ton, which is strongly affected by natural gas prices and carbon taxation. Blue ammonia emerges as the most stable production option with a levelized cost of $390 per ton, impacted by natural gas prices and the expenses associated with carbon sequestration. On the other hand, the levelized cost of green ammonia varies between $696 to $1,024 per ton and is predominantly influenced by the choice of electrolyzers, the cost of renewable energy sources, and maintenance and operational expenditures. Furthermore, the study reveals that gray and blue ammonia production result in emissions of 2.73 and 0.28 tons of CO2 equivalent per ton of ammonia, respectively, while in-situ carbon emissions from green ammonia can be considered negligible. Overall, this study underscores the potential of implementing green ammonia production utilizing geothermal or hydropower renewable energy resources as viable solutions for decarbonizing the power, industry, and transport sectors in Indonesia. Several policy recommendations aimed at overcoming existing barriers to the development of green ammonia plants in the country are also provided.

Ammonia, owing to its carbon-free attributes, stands as a promising alternative for replacing fossil-based fuels. This study investigates the techno-economic and environmental aspects of gray, blue, and green ammonia production in Indonesia. In this regard, a spreadsheet-based decision support system has been developed to analyze the levelized cost of each mode of ammonia production and their cost sensitivity across various parameters. The results of the analysis show a levelized cost of gray ammonia of $297 (USD) per ton, which is strongly affected by natural gas prices and carbon taxation. Blue ammonia emerges as the most stable production option with a levelized cost of $390 per ton, impacted by natural gas prices and the expenses associated with carbon sequestration. On the other hand, the levelized cost of green ammonia varies between $696 to $1,024 per ton and is predominantly influenced by the choice of electrolyzers, the cost of renewable energy sources, and maintenance and operational expenditures. Furthermore, the study reveals that gray and blue ammonia production result in emissions of 2.73 and 0.28 tons of CO2 equivalent per ton of ammonia, respectively, while in-situ carbon emissions from green ammonia can be considered negligible. Overall, this study underscores the potential of implementing green ammonia production utilizing geothermal or hydropower renewable energy resources as viable solutions for decarbonizing the power, industry, and transport sectors in Indonesia. Several policy recommendations aimed at overcoming existing barriers to the development of green ammonia plants in the country are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systemic fluoride intake is predominantly derived from drinking water and tea. It's been noted that water and tea containing fluoride, within the boundaries set by the World Health Organization, can lessen the prevalence of dental caries. A review of the literature did not uncover any study that has examined the impact of fluoride in bottled drinking water and tea on enamel of deciduous and permanent teeth. Thus, we assessed the effects of fluoride present in seven different brands of bottled water from distinct geographical regions of Turkey, and a type of tea produced and packaged in Turkey, on the enamel of deciduous and permanent teeth. Materials and methods: Fluoride analysis was performed on drinking water sourced from seven different regions of Turkey and a brand of tea brewed with these waters. The tea was harvested and packaged in Turkey. The analysis was conducted using an ion-selective electrode. In total, 112 tooth enamel samples (56 deciduous molars and 56 permanent molars) were randomly divided into eight distinct groups. These were kept in water for 15 min and tea for 15 min every day for a month. The eighth group was treated with fluoride gel prior to tea and water applications. The amount of fluoride in the tooth enamel structure was evaluated using an SEM EDX device before and after the experiment. Results: Statistically significant differences were found in fluoride content of enamel between water brands and tooth type (deciduous and permanent teeth). Fluoride levels were higher in the enamel of deciduous teeth than in permanent teeth. Conclusion: Regular exposure of enamel samples to black tea and water led to an increase in fluoride levels in the enamel; thus, regular consumption of black tea and fluoride water could help reduce the prevalence of dental caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the global childhood obesity, it is essential to monitor the nutrition value of commercial foods. A cross-sectional study (November 2018 to April 2019) aimed to evaluate the nutritional adequacy of processed/ultra-processed food products targeted at 0–36-month-old children in Portugal and in Brazil. The nutrient profiling model developed by the Pan American Health Organization was used. A total of food 171 products were assessed (123 in Portugal and forty eight in Brazil). From the fifteen available meat- or fish-based meals in Brazil, 60 % exceeded the amount of Na and 100 % exceeded the target for total fat. Given the lack of specification of sugars within carbohydrates in the label of the foods in Brazil, it was not possible to calculate free sugars. In Portugal, from the seventeen fruit and vegetable purees and the six juice/smoothie/tea/drinks available, 82 % and 67 %, respectively, surpassed the level of free sugar, while total and saturated fat was excessive in all yogurt and yogurt-related products (n 21), 40 % of biscuit/wafer/crisps (two out of five) and 13 % meat- or fish-based meals (two out of sixteen). These findings demonstrate the relevance of improving the nutritional profile of some food products targeted to young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Herbal tea drinks, different from classical Camellia beverages, are a wide variety of herbal drinks consumed for therapeutic purposes or health promotion. Herbal tea is widely consumed in Guangxi. However, the documentation on the plants for herbal tea and their related health benefits is still limited. Methods: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in 52 villages and 21 traditional markets in Guangxi from 2016 to 2021. Semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, and structured questionnaires were applied to obtain ethnobotanical information of herbal tea, in which 463 informants had participated. Relative frequency of citation (RFC) and cultural food significance index (CFSI) were used to evaluate the most culturally significant herbal tea plants, and informant consensus factor (ICF) was applied to assess the agreement among informants. Results: This study recorded 155 herbal tea species belonging to 49 families. The most commonly used parts included leaf (27.61%), whole plant (22.09%), branch and leaf (19.02%), and flower (13.50%). The most frequent preparation method of herbal tea was decoction. Herbal tea was very popular in Guangxi, attributing to its therapeutic value, special odor, and good taste. There are 41 health benefits classified into eight categories. Among them, clearing heat was the most medicinal effects. Local people had high consistency in tonic, removing cold and cough, improving blood circulation, and clearing heat away. Based on CFSI values of each species, the most culturally significant herbal tea species were Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey ex A. M. Lu & Zhi Y. Zhang, Plantago asiatica L., Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Pholidota chinensis Lindl., and Morus alba L. Conclusion: Herbal tea is a valuable heritage that carries the local people's traditional knowledge, like health care and religious belief. The recorded herbal tea species in this study possess tremendous potential for local economic development in the future. Further research on efficacy evaluation and product development of herbal tea species is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Recently, a bowl containing charred suspected tea remains unearthed from the early stage of Warring States period tomb in Zoucheng City, Shandong Province, China. To identify the remains is significant for understanding the origin of tea and tea drinking culture. Scientific investigations of the remains were carried out by using calcium phytoliths analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) and Thermally assisted hydrolysis—methylation Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (THM-Py-GC/MS) techniques. Modern tea and modern tea residue were used as reference samples. Through phytoliths analyses, calcium phytoliths identifiable from tea were determined in the archeological remains. The infrared spectra of the archaeological remains was found similar as modern tea residue reference sample. In addition, the biomarker compound of tea—caffeine was determined in the archaeological remains by THM-Py-GC/MS analysis. Furthermore, through GC/MS analysis, some compounds were found both in the archeological remains and the modern tea residue reference samples. Putting the information together, it can be concluded that the archaeological remains in the bowl are tea residue after boiling or brewing by the ancient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectroscopic sensing provides physical and chemical information in a non-destructive and rapid manner. To develop non-destructive estimation methods of tea quality-related metabolites in fresh leaves, we estimated the contents of free amino acids, catechins, and caffeine in fresh tea leaves using visible to short-wave infrared hyperspectral reflectance data and machine learning algorithms. We acquired these data from approximately 200 new leaves with various status and then constructed the regression model in the combination of six spectral patterns with pre-processing and five algorithms. In most phenotypes, the combination of de-trending pre-processing and Cubist algorithms was robustly selected as the best combination in each round over 100 repetitions that were evaluated based on the ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) values. The mean RPD values were ranged from 1.1 to 2.7 and most of them were above the acceptable or accurate threshold (RPD = 1.4 or 2.0, respectively). Data-based sensitivity analysis identified the important hyperspectral regions around 1500 and 2000 nm. Present spectroscopic approaches indicate that most tea quality-related metabolites can be estimated non-destructively, and pre-processing techniques help to improve its accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea, a widely consumed beverage, has long been utilized for promoting human health with a close correlation to hyperglycemia. The Tea Metabolome Database (TMDB), the most complete and comprehensive curated collection of tea compounds data containing 1271 identified small molecule compounds from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), was established previously by our research team. More recently, our studies have found that various tea types possess an antihyperglycemic effect in mice. However, the bioactive ingredients from tea have potential antihyperglycemic activity and their underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we used a molecular docking approach to investigate the potential interactions between a selected 747 constituents contained in tea and 11 key protein targets of clinical antihyperglycemic drugs. According to our results, the main antihyperglycemic targets of tea composition were consistent with those of the drug rosiglitazone. The screening results showed that GCG, ECG3'Me, TMDB-01443, and CG had great target binding capacity. The results indicated that these chemicals of tea might affect hyperglycemia by acting on protein targets of rosiglitazone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kombucha is a valuable traditional natural tea that contains beneficial compounds like organic acids, minerals, different vitamins, proteins, polyphenols, and several anions. Kombucha possesses anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal activity as well as hepatoprotective effects. Considering the unique properties of Kombucha, several investigations have already been conducted on its nutritional properties. In this review, an effort has been devoted to pool recent literature on the biomedical application of Kombucha under the objectives, including the chemical composition of Kombucha and industrial production, and highlight different properties of Kombucha. Finally, we explain its adverse effects and prospect. This review is an active, in-depth, and inclusive report about Kombucha and its health benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doxorubicin is an anthracycline antibiotic that is used for the treatment of various types of cancer. However, its clinical usage is limited due to its potential life-threatening adverse effects, such as cardio- and nephrotoxicities. Nonetheless, simultaneous administration of doxorubicin and antioxidants, such as those found in green tea leaves, could reduce cardiac and renal tissue damage caused by oxidative stress. The methylxanthine fraction isolated from Bancha tea leaves were tested in vitro for its antioxidant activity and in vivo for its organoprotective properties against doxorubicin-induced cardio- and nephrotoxicities in a rat model. The in vivo study was conducted on male Wistar rats divided into 6 groups. Methylxanthines were administered at high (5 mg/kg body weight) and low (1 mg/kg body weight) doses, while doxorubicin was administered at a cumulative dose of 20 mg/kg body weight. Serum creatinine, uric acid, and urea concentrations, as well as serum enzyme levels (creatinine kinase (CK), creatinine kinase MB fraction (CK-MB), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)) and electrolytes (Na+, K+, and Cl-), were analysed. In addition, histological analysis was performed to assess cardiac and renal tissue damage. The concomitant administration of Bancha methylxanthines and doxorubicin showed a dose-dependent reduction in the serum biochemical parameters, indicating a decrease in the cardiac and renal tissue damage caused by the antibiotic. Histological analysis showed that pretreatment with methylxanthines at the dose of 5 mg/kg resulted in an almost normal myocardial structure and a significant decrease in the morphological kidney changes caused by doxorubicin exposure compared with the group that received doxorubicin alone. The putative mechanism is most likely related to a reduction in the oxidative stress caused by doxorubicin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Thunbergia laurifolia (TL) is a commonly used herbal medicine in Thailand and in other Asian countries. TL has been approved as a Thai traditional medicine for detoxifying poisons, and the list of possible adverse effects includes hypoglycemia. TL showed hypoglycemic effect in animals possibly due to antioxidant effect and beta-cell preservation. However, the safety of TL herbal tea and its effects on glucose homeostasis have never been investigated in humans. Methods. Twenty healthy volunteers (10 men and 10 women) drank TL herbal tea 3 times/day for 2 weeks. Ten subjects took TL herbal tea 9 grams daily. After the safety of TL herbal tea was established, 10 more subjects took TL 12 grams daily. Clinical and biochemical tests were assessed at baseline and at 2 weeks. Results. Mean age was 34.9 ± 10.2 years, and mean body mass index was 27.5 ± 5.8 kg/m2. Baseline and posttreatment plasma concentrations were as follows: fasting plasma glucose (89 ± 6 vs. 89 ± 7 mg/dL), fructosamine (213 ± 32 vs. 212 ± 33 μmol/L), fasting insulin (8.8 [IQR: 5.9–18.4] vs. 10.4 [IQR: 7.4–15.2] μU/mL), HOMA-B (101.6 [IQR: 82.3–189.8] vs. 120.4 [IQR: 93.2–153.2]), and HOMA-IR (1.1 [IQR: 0.8–2.3] vs. 1.4 [IQR: 0.9–2.0]), all respectively. There were no significant changes in these parameters, including body weight, blood pressure, lipid profile, and C-reactive protein. No serious adverse events were observed during the study period. Conclusions. TL herbal tea at doses of 9 and 12 grams daily had good tolerability without any significant adverse effects on fasting plasma glucose level or other glucose homeostasis parameters measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and mineral elements and their stoichiometric methods were examined as possible factors that could certify Chinese tea based on its production years. A total of 43 multi-element stable isotope ratios of Xiangzhujing Pu'er tea in five production years were determined through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and elemental analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS) methods. Two unsupervised learning techniques (principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis) and three supervised learning techniques (partial least squares discriminant analysis [PLS-DA], back-propagation artificial neural network [BP-ANN], and linear discriminant analysis [LDA]) were used on the basis of 18 statistically significant multi-elemental stable isotope ratios to build authentication models for Pu'er tea. The clustering abilities of the two unsupervised learning methods were worse than those of the three supervised learning methods. The three supervised models correctly separated the corresponding production years of the samples. The authentication performance was obtained through BP-ANN and LDA, with 100% recognition and prediction abilities, which were better than those of PLS-DA. δD, δ13C, and 154Sm/152Sm were determined as the markers for the accurate authentication of Pu'er tea in different production years. The profiles of multi-element stable isotope ratios obtained via ICP-MS and EA-IRMS with chemometric methods could serve as potential and powerful factors for authenticating Chinese tea in different production years. This study contributed to the generalization of the use of multi-elemental stable isotope ratio fingerprinting as a promising tool for testing the authenticity of tea worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Due to the health concerns of people about caffeine, several techniques have been developed to remove caffeine from tea; however, these techniques include limitations. The objective of the present study was to remove caffeine from dried tea leaves using hot water treatment. Materials and Methods: Hot water treatment was used to decaffeinate green and black tea leaves using two stages of brewing. Caffeine of the tea infusions was extracted using liquid-liquid extraction technique and quantified using high performance liquid chromatography. Furthermore, pH, total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity were assessed using electronic pH meter, Folin-Ciocalteu method and ABTS method, respectively. Sensory evaluation was carried out using 5-point hedonic scale test. Tea infusions were prepared within two stages of brewing at 1, 3 and 5 min as primary and 7 min as total brewing times. Results: After 3 min of primary brewing time, decaffeination rates of Ceylon black, China green and Iranian green teas were assessed as 47.7, 81.55 and 85.99%. Antioxidant activity of these samples included 87.7, 85.99 and 81.55%, while total polyphenol content included 83.03, 44.44 and 37.7%, respectively. In general, pH and total polyphenol content of decaffeinated tea-mint infusions increased significantly. Conclusions: Effects of brewing time on caffeine concentration of the tea infusions were revealed in this study. In conclusion, hot water treatment is a safe method and includes a high efficiency for the decaffeination of green and black teas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea is a source of natural color. Extraction of colored as a byproduct will make tea more remunerative. This study suggested the optimal conditions for natural color extraction from black tea waste. Tea manufacture waste was used in different concentration of solvent ethanol: water (50:50, 30:70, 10:90, and 0:100), time (30, 60, and 90 min) and temperature (20, 50, and 80°C). Factorial experiment with three factors (solvent, time and temperature) was performed in a completely randomized design with three replications. Extracted color was used in jelly compared to commercial color. According to the results, the total color extracted from 50:50 ethanol: water at 80°C was more than the other conditions (p =0.01). In 80°C, time has no significant effect on color extraction in different solvent ratios. Extracted color had antioxidant activity in compared to commercial color. The taste of jelly colored by extracted color was no significant difference in compared with the jelly colored by commercial color (p=0.05). Although the difference in outward appearance was easily detected by panelists, they preferred tea extracted color jelly in compared to commercial colored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rooibos types and forms and how prepared and flavoured influence the total polyphenol content and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Aim: To denote an optimal rooibos cup as having the highest total polyphenol content and TAC, considering the different types, forms, preparation methods and flavourings and amounts (Phase 1), and determine the demographic, lifestyle and rooibos consumption characteristics of adult rooibos consumers, and the association of these characteristics with drinking the optimal cup (Phase 2). Setting: Assays: Oxidative Stress Research Centre, Cape Peninsula University of Technology; Consumer survey: George area, South Africa. Method: Phase 1 entailed determining the total polyphenol content (Folin-Ciocalteau method) and TAC (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay) of the prepared rooibos samples. For Phase 2, a developed, pilot tested questionnaire was used to profile adult rooibos consumers. Results: Phase 1: the following samples delivered higher total polyphenol content and TAC: green (type), green leaves and powdered extract (forms), and sample steeped for 10 min or longer (preparation method). The identified optimal cup was sample steeped for 10 min or longer. Phase 2: a total of 308 respondents completed the questionnaire. Few consumed more than one rooibos cup per day (25.3%; n = 78) and the optimal cup (15.9%; n = 49). These latter respondents comprised those who steeped rooibos in a teapot (not a cup or mug) (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The optimal cup was identified as sample steeped for 10 min or longer. The rooibos consumers did not consume it sufficiently, nor steeped it long enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iced teas (ITs), also known as ready-to-drink teas, have gained much popularity among many nations. The modulatory effect of tea beverages on CYP3A4 increases the possibility of their potential interactions with many coadministered medications. Being a substrate of CYP3A4, sorafenib (SOR), the first-line therapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, shows a great probability to exhibit pharmacokinetic (PK) interaction with ITs. For this purpose, different groups of Wistar rats were given oral doses of SOR (40 mg/kg), along with different types of ITs. The concentration of SOR in rat plasma was determined using UPLC-MS/MS. Chromatographic analysis was performed on a C18 analytical column, Acquity UPLC BEH™ (100 × 1.0 mm, i.d., 1.7 μm particle size), using erlotinib (ERL) as an internal standard. Isocratic elution was performed with a mobile phase consisting of two solvents: solvent A (water with 0.1% formic acid) and solvent B (acetonitrile with 0.1% formic acid), in a ratio of 30 : 70, v/v, respectively. Quantitation was performed using MRM of the transitions from protonated precursor ions [M+H]+ to product ions at m/z 465.12 > 252.02 (SOR) and m/z 394.29 > 278.19 (ERL). The method was fully validated as per the FDA guidance for bioanalytical method validation in the concentration range of 2.5–500 ng/mL. Different PK parameters were calculated for SOR in all rat groups and groups administered with ITs and SOR, compared with groups with simply water and SOR. Experimental data revealed that ITs caused a general reduction in SOR bioavailability; an approximate reduction of 30% was recorded for all types of tested ITs. These data indicate that ITs could affect the PK profile of SOR in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free amino acids are an important indicator of the freshness of yellow tea. This study investigated a novel procedure for predicting the free amino acid (FAA) concentration of yellow tea. It was developed based on the combined spectral and textural features from hyperspectral images. For the purposes of exploration and comparison, hyperspectral images of yellow tea (150 samples) were captured and analyzed. The raw spectra were preprocessed with Savitzky-Golay (SG) smoothing. To reduce the dimension of spectral data, five feature wavelengths were extracted using the successive projections algorithm (SPA). Five textural features (angular second moment, entropy, contrast, correlation, and homogeneity) were extracted as textural variables from the characteristic grayscale images of the five characteristic wavelengths using the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). The FAA content prediction model with different variables was established by a genetic algorithm-support vector regression (GA-SVR) algorithm. The results showed that better prediction results were obtained by combining the feature wavelengths and textural variables. Compared with other data, this prediction result was still very satisfactory in the GA-SVR model, indicating that data fusion was an effective way to enhance hyperspectral imaging ability for the determination of free amino acid values in yellow tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a reliable approach to trace teas' geographical origins despite changes in teas caused by different harvest years. A total of 1447 tea samples collected from various areas in 2014 (660 samples) and 2015 (787 samples) were detected by FT-NIR. Seven classifiers trained on the 2014 dataset all succeeded to trace origins of samples collected in 2014; however, they all failed to predict origins for the 2015 samples due to different data distributions and imbalanced dataset. Three outlier detection based undersampling approaches—one-class SVM (OC-SVM), isolation forest and elliptic envelope—were then proposed; as a result, the highest macro average recall (MAR) for the 2015 dataset was improved from 56.86% to 73.95% (by SVM). A model updating approach was also applied, and the prediction MAR was significantly improved with increase in the updating rate. The best MAR (90.31%) was first achieved by the OC-SVM combined SVM classifier at a 50% rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper investigates the adsorption performance of spent tea leaves (STL) modified with polyethylenimine (PEI) on two anionic dyes, namely Reactive Black 5 (RB5) and Methyl Orange (MO), from simulated wastewater. Modification of STL surface with PEI reduced the STL surface area. Abundant basic groups and high point of zero charge were found for PEI-STL. Adsorption capacities of 71.9 mg/g (RB5) and 62.11 mg/g (MO) on PEI-STL were recorded. The adsorption performance of PEI-STL increased with contact time until 100 min, when it became nearly constant. Increasing pH resulted in lower adsorption performance of PEI-STL on RB5 and MO. A positive correlation between adsorbent dosage and adsorption performance of PEI-STL was also observed. Higher temperature promoted the adsorption performance of RB5 dyes, but reduced the adsorption performance of MO. It is proposed that the dyes adsorption proceeds via electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding between dyes molecules and adsorbent, while the role of pore filling is minimal. This study demonstrates the superior property of PEI-STL in adsorption of RB5 and MO dyes without carbonization and activation. Graphical abstract Image Highlights • Spent tea leaves (STL) was modified with polyethyleneimine (PEI). • Adsorption of methyl orange (MO) and reactive black 5 (RB5) using PEI-STL was studied. • Adsorption capacities of 71.9 mg/g (RB5) and 62.1 mg/g (MO) were recorded. • The adsorption obeys pseudo-second order kinetic model. • The adsorption data were well fitted to Temkin isotherm model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the effect of interfering ion, the content of fluoride ion in tea brew, detected by ion-exchange chromatography, was markedly higher than ion-selective electrode. Ion-exclusion chromatography, a new method for the determination of fluoride ion in tea brew, was proposed and evaluated in this study. Two Metrosep organic acid columns in series resulted in better separation of fluoride ion than single column. The most suitable organic modifier for eluent and its percentage were checked, the optimal conditions of the mobile phase was 0.33 mM sulfuric acid solution containing 10.5% (v/v) acetone, at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. Satisfactory sensitivity and wide linearity range were obtained. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by the analysis of various tea samples in China, the accuracy of the results was proved by recovery tests, and the concordance with the values was obtained by ion-selective electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by combination of direct acting antivirals (DAA), with different mode of action, has made substantial progress in the past few years. However, appearance of resistance and high cost of the therapy is still an obstacle in the achievement of the therapy, more specifically in developing countries. In this context, search for affordable antivirals with new mechanisms of action is still needed. Tea, after water, is the most popular drink worldwide. Polyphenols extracted from green tea have already shown anti-HCV activity as entry inhibitors. Here, three different theaflavins, theaflavin (TF1), theaflavin-3’-monogallate (TF2), and theaflavin-3-3’-digallate (TF3), which are major polyphenols from black tea, were tested against HCV in cell culture. The results showed that all theaflavins inhibit HCV infection in a dose-dependent manner in an early step of infection. Results obtained with HCV pseudotyped virions confirmed their activity on HCV entry and demonstrated their pan-genotypic action. No effect on HCV replication was observed by using HCV replicon. Investigation on the mechanism of action of black tea theaflavins showed that they act directly on the virus particle and are able to inhibit cell-to-cell spread. Combination study with inhibitors most widely used in anti-HCV treatment regimen demonstrated that TF3 exerts additive effect. In conclusion, theaflavins, that are present in high quantity in black tea, are new inhibitors of HCV entry and hold promise for developing in therapeutic arsenal for HCV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of variety, region, and season on the theaflavins content of fermented Congou black tea were determined. Fresh tea leaves from 5 varieties, 3 tea-growing regions, and 3 harvesting seasons were treated by withering, rolling, fermenting, and drying. Contents of theaflavins, polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), and individual catechins in each treatment process were determined. The results showed that the varieties of Yinghong 9 and Hongyan 12 produced high concentrations of theaflavin, as much as 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively. The production capacity of theaflavin in different regions had the trend of Yingde > Changsha > Hangzhou. Fresh leaves plucked in spring season produced the strongest theaflavins. In tea leaves, high ratio of PPO to POD activity and high contents of certain individual catechins lead to high yield of theaflavin production during the whole process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bush tea (Athrixia phylicoides DC.) is a popular medicinal South African indigenous plant and it has been used for many decades as a health beverage and medicine. The objective of the study was to profile metabolites for assessment of quality of bush tea (A. phylicoides DC.) subjected to different pruning levels. Treatments consisted of untreated control, top-branch pruning, middle pruning, and basal pruning arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) using 10 single trees as replications. The liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) was carried out to annotate the bush tea metabolites present in bush tea. Orthogonal partial least square-discriminatory analysis (OPLS-DA) from 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) revealed a separation between the basal, middle, top pruning, and the unpruned bush tea plants. The pruned (top) and unpruned tea plants, exhibited higher levels of metabolites than the basal and middle pruned. Pruning bush tea showed a significant effect on accumulation of secondary metabolites and thus could enhance bush tea quality. The study successfully annotated 28 metabolites (compounds), which elucidated canonical differences in pruning treatment of bush tea, as validated through multivariate analysis. Top pruning (apically pruned) resulted in improved metabolite accumulation than other treatment and can be recommended in bush tea cultivation. Future studies to enhance vegetative enhancement after pruning will be evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Tea saponin (TS) is a relatively inexpensive natural nonionic surfactant extracted from parts of tea plants, which can be modified into an anionic surfactant to achieve better surface activity. In this paper, the synthesis of TS‐based succinic acid sulfonate as an anionic foaming agent is described. TS used as the hydrophobic source was modified by maleic anhydride (MAH) and then reacted with sodium bisulfite. Orthogonal experiment of a 2‐step reaction was designed and performed, resulting in 9 kinds of succinic acid tea‐saponin sulfonate (STS). 4‐Dimethylaminopyridine and tetrabutylammonium bromide were, respectively, used as catalyst for the esterification with MAH and the sulfonation with sodium bisulfite. During the synthesis process, N,N‐dimethylformamide was employed as the solvent and ethyl acetate as the extractant. The molecular structure of STS was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The foaming property of STS was investigated through comparison with different kinds of common surfactants. The results show great prospects of these environmentally friendly anionic surfactants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative estimation of pesticide residues in tea samples was established by employing Liquid Chromatography with tandem mass spectrometer using electron spray ionization (LC-ESI-MS/MS) in multiple reaction modes (MRM). The modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) sample extraction procedure was used in the analysis. In dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE), PSA+GCB (800 mg + 25mg) sorbents and 750 MgSO4 were used, which enhances in clean up capabilities and obtained good recoveries. The developed method was validated by employing LC-MS/MS at the different spiking concentration levels from 5-100 ng.mL-1. The experimental results showed and found that the matrix-matched calibration curve linearity was r2 > 0.99130 for total target analytes in all samples. Better recoveries were obtained between 70% to 120% with the acceptable relative standard deviation (RSD). The limits of detection ranged from 0.03 ng.mL-1 to 1.4 ng/mL-1 and limit of quantifications from 0.1 to2.6 ng.mL-1 for all the samples under investigation. The established method was successfully applied for the estimation of pesticide residues in real tea samples. The experimental results are found to be the presence of anthraquinone pesticide residue in the concentration ranging from 7.2-8.5 ng.mL-1 in three out of ten tea samples under investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensory evaluation is of prime importance in the tea industry. The price of tea is predominantly determined by the tea taster's judgement. Hence, statisticians and sensory analysts have significant interest in improving the reliability of sensory panel evaluations. This study suggests a statistical de-biasing approach to improve the agreement of panels of tea tasters by using the Mandel's bundle of lines model. This paper analyses data from a panel of eight experts who evaluated 72 black tea samples collected from 13 different geographical regions of Sri Lanka over a one year (January 2010 - December 2010) period at monthly intervals. The results showed that in only 20 instances out of 72, the intra-class correlation coefficients were greater than 0.5, but after bias correction, 64 instances out of 72 have intra-class correlations greater than 0.5. Therefore, the Mandel's bundle of lines approach improves consensus among the experts by enforcing better statistical calibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Phoenix Dan Cong tea is an Oolong tea produced in Chaozhou, China. Nowaday, the experimental studies on the benefical effects of the Phoenix Dan Cong tea are rare. Objective: The objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the activity of Phoenix Dan Cong tea aqueous extract (PDCe). Methods: We used a series of evaluation methods in the present study to achieve an in-depth understanding and evaluation of the antioxidant and antitumor activity of PDCe. Results: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) studies have indicated that PDCe is rich in catechins such as gallocatechin (GC), epigallocatechin (EGCG) and epicatechin gallate (ECG), with sparse amounts of theaflavins. We discovered that PDCe scavenges ABTS•+ and DPPH• free radicals in a dose- dependent manner. In addition, PDCe can significantly induce apoptosis of MDA-MB231 cells, mainly through the death-receptor-mediated extrinsic apoptotic pathway. Internalized PDCe can not only downregulate intracellular reactive oxygen species levels but also induce oxidative damage to mitochondria in MDA-MB231 cells. Conclusions: Phoenix Dan Cong tea may act as a substitute for natural antioxidants and as a promising anticancer agent due to its protective effect on human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea leaf color is not only important from an aesthetics standpoint but is also related to tea quality. To investigate the molecular mechanisms that determine tea leaf color, we examined Camellia sinensis cv. 'Anjin Baicha' (an albino tea cultivar) by tandem mass tag isobaric labeling to generate a high-resolution proteome and acetyl-proteome atlas of three leaf developmental stages. We identified a total of 7,637 proteins and quantified 6,256; of these, 3,232 were classified as differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs). We also identified 3,161 lysine acetylation sites in 1,752 proteins and quantified 2,869 in 1,612 proteins. The acetylation levels at 468 sites were significantly altered across the three developmental stages during periodic albinism; the corresponding proteins were associated with a variety of biological processes. Interestingly, a large number of DAPs and acetylated proteins with increased/decreased acetylation were related to photosynthesis and secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways, suggesting that the accumulation or acetylation level of these proteins regulates periodic albinism in 'Anjin Baicha.' Additionally, overlap between succinylome and acetylome among three 'Anjin Baicha' developmental stages were found. These data provide important insight into the mechanisms of leaf coloration in the tea plant. The mass spectrometry data have been deposited to Proteome X change via the PRIDE partner repository with the data set identifier PXD008134. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effects of kaolin (M-99-099) applications on the total phenolic and antioxidant contents of tea leaves ( Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) harvested in three different periods were investigated. For this purpose, four different strategies including standard fertilizer application (T), 3% kaolin+standard fertilizer application (Ka), 6% kaolin+standard fertilizer application (Ka), and control (C) (nothing applied) were used to compare the effects of these strategies on total phenolic content, FRAP values, and DPPH radical scavenging capacities of tea leaves. It has been proven that the kaolin applications, Ka and Ka, increase the phenolic content and antioxidant contents of tea samples. While the kaolin applications have higher values at 1st harvest than those of T and C, they have the lowest values at 3rd harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the most highly consumed beverage in the world in addition to water. The most common way of preparation is by immersing the tea bag in hot or cold water. In Colombia, it is a recent trend and the market is growing continuously. Objectives: The objective of this study is to compare the antioxidant characteristics of four brands of green tea sold in Colombia at room and hot-temperature in relation to the preparation conditions. Methods: Four commercial brands of green tea (Oriental®, Lipton®, Hindú®, Jaibel®) were used in an aqueous extraction at two temperatures: Cold tea extract (25°C) and hot tea extract (80°C). Total polyphenol concentration (TPC) was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method; Total flavonoid content (TFC) was determined by spectrophotometric method and the antioxidant capacity was determined by two methods: DPPH radical capture assay and the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. Finally, a method to quantify the catechins of the tea extracts, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was applied. Results: The TPC vary between: 2.53 - 14.63 mg GAE/ g sample for cold tea extract and 29.34 - 55.06 mg GAE/g sample for hot tea extract. The TFC vary between: 2.67-7.08 mg CE/g per sample for the cold tea extract and 5.43-8.41 mg CE/ g sample for hot tea extract. A similar profile assays: for cold tea extract: 22.36-41.29 mg TE /g sample for DPPH and 22.95-46.25 mg TE/g sample for ORAC. Similarly, for hot tea extract the following ranges were: 38.50-110.01 mg TE/g sample for DPPH and 23.40- 113.60 mg TE/g sample for ORAC. In general, the values obtained in each assay for each brand were as follows: Oriental®> Lipton®> Hindú®> Jaibel®. The chromatographic profiles showed the presence of ten compounds. Conclusions: These results confirm that the aqueous extraction of green tea at 80°C leads to the formation of infusions made up of compounds with higher antioxidant capacity in comparison with extractions at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catechin epimerization is an important factor affecting tea catechin compositions and thereby tea quality. However, a lack of tea germplasms with high non-epicatechins limits relative research. Here, a tea cultivar Y510 with high non-epicatechins was firstly reported and used for catechin and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis. Results showed that the (-)-gallocatechin gallate and (+)-catechin (C) contents in Y510 were at least 136 and 6 times higher than those in Fudingdabaicha and 0306I, but the epicatechins (-)-epigallocatechin and (-)-epicatechin (EC) were significantly lower. Eleven unigenes potentially involved in catechin epimerization were identified by RNA-Seq analysis. Based on a combination of catechin and gene expression analysis, it was hypothesized that two anthocyanidin reductase genes (CsANR1, CsANR2) and an anthocyanidin synthase gene (CsANS) are the key genes affecting catechin epimerization in tea. Non-epicatechin formations were hypothesized to be mainly influenced by the expression ratio of CsANR2 to CsANR1 and the expression of CsANS. Overexpression of CsANS in an Arabidopsis mutant tds4-2 led to a significant increase of EC accumulation in seeds, revealing CsANS is important for catechin epimerization. These results shed new light on breeding tea cultivars with special catechin compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focused on an effective method to discriminate the geographical origin of Wuyi-Rock tea by the stable isotope ratio (SIR) and metallic element profiling (MEP) combined with support vector machine (SVM) analysis. Wuyi-Rock tea (n=99) collected from nine producing areas and non-Wuyi-Rock tea (n=33) from eleven nonproducing areas were analysed for SIR and MEP by established methods. The SVM model based on coupled data produced the best prediction accuracy (0.9773). This prediction shows that instrumental methods combined with a classification model can provide an effective and stable tool for provenance discrimination. Moreover, every feature variable in stable isotope and metallic element data was ranked by its contribution to the model. The results show that δ2H, δ18O, Cs, Cu, Ca, and Rb contents are significant indications for provenance discrimination and not all of the metallic elements improve the prediction accuracy of the SVM model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was established that the components of tea are oxidized on a glassy carbon electrode modified with carbon nanotubes and electropolymerized quercetin in a phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0) as a supporting electrolyte under conditions of differential pulse voltammetry. The oxidation potentials of the individual phenolic antioxidants of tea (gallic acid, rutin, quercetin, catechin, epigallocatechin gallate, and tannin) on the modified electrode were found. A method for the chronoamperometric determination of the antioxidant capacity (AOC) of tea was developed based on the oxidation of tea antioxidants at a potential of 0.20 V. The AOC of tea was evaluated using а difference between the oxidation currents of the analyte and a supporting electrolyte after 50 s of electrolysis in terms of gallic acid. The analytical range of gallic acid was 0.25-750 μM with a detection limit of 0.063 μM. Positive correlations of the AOC with antioxidant activity in a reaction with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and the total phenolic content were found ( r = 0.700 and 0.647 at r = 0.396, respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is applied at natural atmosphere to compare the quantitative analysis performances of the toxic heavy metal element lead (Pb) in Pu'er tea leaves, determined by three calibration methods: the external standard method, the internal standard method, and the multiple linear regression method. The Pb I line at 405.78 nm is chosen as the analytical spectral line to perform the calibration. The linear correlation coefficients ( R ) of the predicted concentrations versus the standard reference concentrations determined by the three methods are 0.97916, 0.98462, and 0.99647, respectively. The multiple linear regression method gives the best performance with respect to average relative errors (ARE = 2.69%), maximum relative errors (MRE = 4.94%), average relative standard deviations (ARSD = 9.69%) and maximum relative standard deviations (MRSD = 24.44%) of the predicted concentrations of Pb in eight samples, compared to the other two methods. It is shown that the multiple linear regression method is more accurate and stable in predicting concentrations of Pb in Pu'er tea leaf samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs are endogenous non-coding small RNAs playing crucial regulatory roles in plants. Tea, a globally popular non-alcoholic drink, is rich in health-enhancing catechins. In this study, 69 conserved and 47 novel miRNAs targeting 644 genes were identified by high-throughout sequencing. Predicted target genes of miRNAs were mainly involved in plant growth, signal transduction, morphogenesis and defense. To further identify targets of tea miRNAs, degradome sequencing and RNA ligase-mediated rapid amplification of 5’cDNA ends (RLM-RACE) were applied. Using degradome sequencing, 26 genes mainly involved in transcription factor, resistance protein and signal transduction protein synthesis were identified as potential miRNA targets, with 5 genes subsequently verified. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) revealed that the expression patterns of novel-miR1, novel-miR2, csn-miR160a, csn-miR162a, csn-miR394 and csn-miR396a were negatively correlated with catechin content. The expression of six miRNAs (csn-miRNA167a, csn-miR2593e, csn-miR4380a, csn-miR3444b, csn-miR5251 and csn-miR7777-5p.1) and their target genes involved in catechin biosynthesis were also analyzed by qRT-PCR. Negative and positive correlations were found between these miRNAs and catechin contents, while positive correlations were found between their target genes and catechin content. This result suggests that these miRNAs may negatively regulate catechin biosynthesis by down-regulating their biosynthesis-related target genes. Taken together, our results indicate that miRNAs are crucial regulators in tea, with the results of 5’-RLM-RACE and expression analyses revealing the important role of miRNAs in catechin anabolism. Our findings should facilitate future research to elucidate the function of miRNAs in catechin biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peppermint leaves are widely used for the symptomatic treatment of digestive disorders. Previous studies have shown significant effects of its natural products on human enzyme activity; however, there is no study available concerning the effects of peppermint tea on metabolizing enzymes in humans. Aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of peppermint tea on CYP1A2, CYP2A6, Xanthine Oxidase (XO), N-acetyltranferase-2 (NAT2) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferases-1A1/1A6 (UGT1A1/1A6) activities in healthy subjects. Four males and five females consumed peppermint tea (2 g of dry leaves/200 mL water, twice daily) for six days. CYP1A2, CYP2A6, XO, NAT2 and UGT1A1/1A6 activities were determined before and at the end of the study period, using the following caffeine and paracetamol metabolic ratios: CYP1A2: 17MX/137MX (saliva) and (AFMU+1MU+1MX)/17MU (urine); CYP2A6: 17MU/(17MU + 17MX), XO: 1MU/(1MU+1MX), NAT2, AFMU/(AFMU+1MU+1MX) and UGT1A1/1A6 glucuronidated/total paracetamol, all determined in urine. NAT2 metabolic ratio was significantly reduced following peppermint consumption (0.15 ± 0.13 vs 0.14 ± 0.13; p < 0.05). CYP1A2 urine and saliva indices were reduced, yet not significantly, following peppermint consumption (urine: 3.17 ± 1.08 vs 2.91 ± 0.76, saliva: 0.56 ± 0.12 vs 0.50 ± 0.12; p > 0.05). Peppermint had no influence on CYP2A6, XO and UGT1A1/1A6 indices. Daily ingestion of peppermint tea may alter pharmacokinetics of clinically administered drugs and promote cancer chemoprevention through NAT2 inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Catechins are the main polyphenol compounds in tea ( Camellia sinensis). To understand the relationship between gene expression and product accumulation, the levels of catechins and relative expressions of key genes in tea leaves of different developmental stages were analyzed. Results: The amounts of catechins differed significantly in leaves of different stages, except for gallocatechin gallate. Close correlations between the expression of synthesis genes and the accumulation of catechins were identified. Correlation analysis showed that the expressions of chalcone synthase 1, chalcone synthase 3, anthocyanidin reductase 1, anthocyanidin reductase 2 and leucoanthocyanidin reductase genes were significantly and positively correlated with total catechin contents, suggesting their expression may largely affect total catechin accumulation. Anthocyanidin synthase was significantly correlated with catechin. While both ANRs and LAR were significantly and positively correlated with the contents of (−)-epigallocatechin gallate and (−)-epicatechin gallate. Conclusion: Our results suggest synergistic changes between the expression of synthetic genes and the accumulation of catechins. Based on our findings, anthocyanidin synthase may regulate earlier steps in the conversion of catechin, while the anthocyanidin reductase and leucoanthocyanidin reductase genes may both play important roles in the biosynthesis of galloylated catechins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The new shoots of the albino tea cultivar ‘Anji Baicha’ are yellow or white at low temperatures and turn green as the environmental temperatures increase during the early spring. ‘Anji Baicha’ metabolite profiles exhibit considerable variability over three color and developmental stages, especially regarding the carotenoid, chlorophyll, and theanine concentrations. Previous studies focused on physiological characteristics, gene expression differences, and variations in metabolite abundances in albino tea plant leaves at specific growth stages. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating metabolite biosynthesis in various color and developmental stages in albino tea leaves have not been fully characterized. Results: We used RNA-sequencing to analyze ‘Anji Baicha’ leaves at the yellow-green, albescent, and re-greening stages. The leaf transcriptomes differed considerably among the three stages. Functional classifications based on Gene Ontology enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses revealed that differentially expressed unigenes were mainly related to metabolic pathways, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms. Chemical analyses revealed higher β-carotene and theanine levels, but lower chlorophyll a levels, in the albescent stage than in the green stage. Furthermore, unigenes involved in carotenoid, chlorophyll, and theanine biosyntheses were identified, and the expression patterns of the differentially expressed unigenes in these biosynthesis pathways were characterized. Through co-expression analyses, we identified the key genes in these pathways. These genes may be responsible for the metabolite biosynthesis differences among the different leaf color and developmental stages of ‘Anji Baicha’ tea plants. Conclusions: Our study presents the results of transcriptomic and biochemical analyses of ‘Anji Baicha’ tea plants at various stages. The distinct transcriptome profiles for each color and developmental stage enabled us to identify changes to biosynthesis pathways and revealed the contributions of such variations to the albino phenotype of tea plants. Furthermore, comparisons of the transcriptomes and related metabolites helped clarify the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the secondary metabolic pathways in different stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of tea polyphenols (TP) against 4 Cronobacter sakazakii strains with different sequence types (ST) isolated from powdered infant formula (PIF). The results showed that in normal saline, 5 mg/mL of TP (pH 3.44) could eliminate approximately 7.0 log cfu/mL of C. sakazakii within 1 h; in rehydrated PIF, after acidification with HCl (pH 3.55), TP showed a stronger antibacterial activity compared with the controls (malic acid, ascorbic acid, and citric acid). Further, some differences were obvious in tolerance to TP between C. sakazakii strains with different ST. The tolerance of C. sakazakii CE1 (ST4) to TP was found to be greater than that of the other 3 C. sakazakii strains (ST1, ST8, and ST64). The results of recovered test and transmission electron microscope analysis revealed that the action of TP against C. sakazakii was an irreversible bactericidal process caused by leakage of cytoplasm. Taken together, these results indicated that TP had an effective bactericidal effect against C. sakazakii, and provided a new idea for preventing and inactivating C. sakazakii in PIF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a popular beverage all over the world and a number of studies have focused on the genetic uniqueness of tea and its cultivars. However, molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena are largely undefined. In this report, based on expression data available from public databases, we performed a series of analyses to identify genes probably relevant to the uniqueness of C. sinensis and two of its cultivars (LJ43 and ZH2). Evolutionary analyses showed that the evolutionary rates of genes involved in the pathways were not significantly different among C. sinensis, C. oleifera, and C. azalea. Interestingly, a number of gene families, including genes involved in the pathways synthesizing iconic secondary metabolites of tea plant, were significantly upregulated, expressed in C. sinensis (LJ43) when compared to C. azalea, and this may partially explain its higher content of flavonoid, theanine, and caffeine. Further investigation showed that nonsynonymous mutations may partially contribute to the differences between the two cultivars of C. sinensis, such as the chlorina and higher contents of amino acids in ZH2. Genes identified as candidates are probably relevant to the uniqueness of C. sinensis and its cultivars should be good candidates for subsequent functional analyses and marker-assisted breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sunrouge is an anthocyanin-rich, new tea cultivar that contains similar levels of catechins as Yabukita, the most popular tea cultivar consumed in Japan. Interestingly, Sunrouge preparations have previously been shown to have more pronounced acetylcholinesterase inhibitory and anticolitis activities than those of Yabukita. In this study, we examined their effects on expressions of self-defensive molecules, including heat shock proteins (HSPs), which are molecular chaperones involved in homeostasis and longevity. Hot water extract from freeze-dried Sunrouge significantly upregulated messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of HSP40, HSP70, and HSP32 (heme oxygenase-1), with grades greater than those shown by Yabukita. Oral administration of freeze-dried preparation of Sunrouge to male ICR mice at a dose of 1% in the basal diet for 1 month resulted in marked upregulations of several HSP mRNA expressions in mucosa from the gastrointestinal tract, especially the upper small intestine. Again, its efficacy was remarkably higher than that of Yabukita. Moreover, exposure of Caenorhabditis elegans to Sunrouge conferred thermoresistant phenotype, and also resulted in a significant life-span elongation. Taken together, our results suggest that Sunrouge is a unique and promising tea cultivar for regulating self-defense systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of heavy metals in bagged and leaf black teas of the same brand and evaluate the percentage transfer of metals to tea infusion to assess the consumer exposure. Ten leaf black teas and 10 bagged black teas of the same brand available in Poland were analyzed for Zn, Mn, Cd, Pb, Ni, Co, Cr, Al, and Fe concentrations both in dry material and their infusion. The bagged teas contained higher amounts of Pb, Mn, Fe, Ni, Al, and Cr compared with leaf teas of the same brand, whereas the infusions of bagged tea contained higher levels of Mn, Ni, Al, and Cr compared with leaf tea infusions. Generally, the most abundant trace metals in both types of tea were Al and Mn. There was a wide variation in percentage transfer of elements from the dry tea materials to the infusions. The solubility of Ni and Mn was the highest, whereas Fe was insoluble and only a small portion of this metal content may leach into infusion. With respect to the acceptable daily intake of metals, the infusions of both bagged and leaf teas analyzed were found to be safe for human consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was undertaken to investigate the food-drug interaction of carbamazepine (CBZ). Common fruit juices [grapefruit juice (GFJ), limejuice (LJ)], known to inhibit the enzyme cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), and some widely consumed beverages [milk (M), black tea (BT)] were involved in this study in the presence of CBZ, as might happen during clinical therapy. The effects of the beverages on the pharmacokinetics and drug-induced toxicity of CBZ was observed after concomitant administration for a period of 28 days. Accordingly, the influence of altered bioavailability of CBZ on its antiepileptic activity was investigated. A significant shift in the Cmax as well as Tmax of CBZ was observed in the presence of LJ and GFJ. This increase in bioavailability significantly enhanced hepatotoxicity and delayed the onset of tremor and piloerection against pentylene tetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizure in experimental animals. However, increased toxicity of CBZ was found to be absent with BT. Thus, from our observation, LJ or GFJ in the presence of CBZ significantly increased the bioavailability of CBZ, which might lead to increased toxicity and antiepileptic activity of the drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted a survey of green and white teas marketed in the northeastern United States for the presence of undeclared wheat. Based on the requirement for concurrence between the RIDASCREEN gliadin (R5) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the Morinaga Institutes of Biological Science (MIoBS) wheat protein ELISA, none of the 20 products included in the survey tested positive for wheat, rye, barley, or gluten. However, eight of the teas generated responses indicative of the presence of gluten with the RIDASCREEN gliadin (R5), AgraQuant gluten G12, and Aller-Tek (Skerritt) sandwich ELISAs. Five of the eight teas generated responses indicative of ≥20 ppm of gluten using the RIDASCREEN and AgraQuant ELISA test kits, and all eight had >20 ppm based on the Aller-Tek ELISA. Extracts prepared using the RIDASCREEN validated protocol and the MIoBS validated sodium dodecyl sulfate plus β-mercaptoethanol (overnight) protocol were analyzed using both test kits. The extracts prepared using the RIDASCREEN protocol tested positive for gluten with both test kits. Western blot analyses of the two sets of extracts using the R5 and MIoBS antibodies to visualize the bands revealed the presence of antigenic proteins in both sets of extracts, although the profiles and band intensities were different and inconsistent with the ELISA results. These results raise questions regarding the screening procedures used to detect gluten and how the observation of a homologous antigenic element is defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pu-erh tea is one sort of unique Chinese post-fermented tea. Fungi play an important role in Pu-erh tea, meanwhile, some harmful fungi may bring potential safety hazards to the production of Pu-erh tea. This paper summarizes recent advances on the Fungi of Pu-erh ripe tea, which concerned about fungal colonization, metabolism and safety of fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]