Polyphenols Green Tea leaves
Here is a new process for making polyphenol powder from green tea leaves. The process, evolved by a team of scientists led by Dr S De of IIT Kharagpur, works in this fashion:
First, water is infused into green tea leaves by soaking them. Then primary separation of polyphenol-rich liquid is done by centrifugation. Then, the polyphenol-rich liquid is further filtered using ultra filtration and then nano filtration membranes.
The end product is a retentate rich in polyphenols. This liquid is further frozen and dried to obtain polyphenols in powdered form.
Polyphenols are compounds that occur in fruits and vegetables, wine, dark chocolate, spices and herbs and tea. There are more than 8,000 polyphenols, which are classified into four groups:
- Flavonoids. These account for around 60% of all polyphenols. Examples include quercetin, kaempferol, catechins, and anthocyanins, which are found in foods like apples, onions, dark chocolate, and red cabbage.
- Phenolic acids. This group accounts for around 30% of all polyphenols. Examples include stilbenes and lignans, which are mostly found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and seeds.
- Polyphenolic amides. This category includes capsaicinoids in chili peppers and avenanthramides in oats.
- Other polyphenols. This group includes resveratrol in red wine, ellagic acid in berries, curcumin in turmeric, and lignans in flax seeds, sesame seeds, and whole grains.
Polyphenols help reduce blood sugar levels because they prevent breakdown of starch into simple sugars, lowering the likelihood of blood sugar spikes after meals. They also aid stimulation of insulin secretion.
Furthermore, these compounds are known to be excellent anti-oxidants and therefore they help prevent degenerative diseases such as cancer. Polyphenols also aid in prevention of blood clot, which is caused by platelet aggregation. Unwanted blood clot inside blood vessels can prove to be a big risk, as they could lead to thrombosis (clogging of blood vessels). Polyphenols also have anti-inflammatory effect. As such, polyphenols are a very useful health product, which could command a big market.
For further details and transfer of technology, contact:
Dean
Sponsored Research & Industrial Consultancy
IIT Kharagpur 721302, INDIA
Email: deansr@hijli.iitkgp.ernet.in
Also read: CFTRI technology for making wine
