Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Surface coated – fluid encapsulated – laminated solid... – Dry flake – dry granular – or dry particulate material
Patent
1997-09-04
1999-11-30
Weier, Anthony J.
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Surface coated, fluid encapsulated, laminated solid...
Dry flake, dry granular, or dry particulate material
426384, 426597, 426443, 426518, A23L 1216, A23C 106, A23F 300, A23B 403
Patent
active
059938676
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention concerns a process for the production of a preparation which contains the polyphenols of green tea (Thea chinensis) in readily available, non-oxidised form, which is characterised in that one cools fresh green tea leaves until the activity of the contained phenol oxidases has decreased to at most 1% of the value at normal temperature and simultaneously or immediately thereafter the water effective as reaction medium is removed and products produced according to this process.
It is known that unfermented (green) tea, besides the action as enjoyable material, also displays pharmacological properties which are suitable for the prevention of diseases in that, on the one hand, the anti-oxidative capacity of the human or animal organism is increased and, furthermore, the vascular system, especially the capillary system, is protected.
The anti-oxidative properties of unfermented tea can be attributed to the ability of the polyphenols contained in the leaves of Thea chinensis, especially the gallocatechins, to inactivate free radicals. Summaries referring to this are to be found in Lit. 1 of the accompanying bibliography.
The frequently demonstrated inactivating action of unfermented tea with regard to carcinogenic and precarcinogenic substances (Lit. 2) stands in close connection with the binding of free radicals. An anti-bacterial and bactericidal effect of unfermented tea has also been demonstrated (Lit. 3). Finally, a lowering of the plasma cholesterol has also been shown in animal experiments (Lit. 4).
Hitherto, for the utilisation of the polyphenols of tea leaves, various extraction processes have been employed in order to extract as quantitatively as possible the water-soluble components and to produce a water-soluble extract, whereby, as starting materials, not only fermented but also unfermented tea (Lit.5) found use.
The oxidation of value-determining components of tea leaves begins shortly after harvesting by means of phenol oxidases. Furthermore, also after inactivation of the phenol oxidases by heating, an oxidation of the polyphenols takes place. Finally, the fermentation of the tea has the result that the oxidation can be utilised in a controlled manner for the formation of certain aroma materials.
Therefore, the task forming the basis of the invention is to keep intact as far as possible qualitatively as well as quantitatively the total palette of the component materials of fresh green tea leaves but, at the same time, to make them readily accessible for the user. In particular, it is an object of the invention to bring the contained component materials qualitatively and quantitatively intact into a form which offers the user the possibility of taking these component materials of the tea leaves either in the form of an infusion or to take the tea leaves themselves as such in dry form.
According to the invention, this task is solved in that one first minimises the activity of the phenol oxidases of the fresh green tea leaves by cooling and simultaneously or immediately thereafter prevents the enzymatic reaction of the polyphenols by phenol oxidases by removal of the water reaction medium. For this purpose, especially the fresh green tea leaves are cooled until the activity of the phenol oxidases contained therein has decreased to at most 1% of the activity of the fresh green tea leaves at ambient temperature and simultaneously or immediately thereafter the water effective as reaction medium is removed.
Cooling and water removal are preferably carried out simultaneously by by lyophilisation (freeze drying). The freeze-dried, unfermented tea leaves are thereafter finely pondered in non-oxidising atmosphere and subsequently packed, again with oxygen exclusion. Nitrogen and/or noble gas atmosphere is preferably used as non-oxidising atmosphere. However, other atmosphere compositions can also be used provided that they exert no oxidising action on the polyphenols.
The freeze-dried, unfermented tea leaves produced according to the process of the invention in finely powdered form can
REFERENCES:
patent: H1620 (1996-12-01), Dolan et al.
Database Abstract. An: 89(07):V0027 FSTA for DE 3719991. Inventor: Gehrig, 1988.
D1--Nomura, Takeo, et al. "Antitumor Agents from Tea Leaves of MHC Restriction," Source: JP63267726 A Published Nov. 4, 1988.
D2--"Tea Granule Preparation Freeze Puversie Tea Leaf Below Degree Coating Granule Tea Powder Obtain Water Soluble Coating Gelatin" Source: JP58198246 A Published Nov. 18, 1983.
D3--"Instant Powder Tea Control Age Comprise Dust Late Pick Green Tea Extract Pick Leaf Natural Antioxidant Vitamin E" Source: JP3228646 A Published Oct. 9, 1991.
D4--"Powder Green Tea Encapsulate Water Soluble Material Gelatin" Source: JP870324316 Published Dec. 21, 1987.
D5--"Production of Powdered Green Tea" Source: JP870000325 Published Jan. 5, 1987.
D6--"Powdered Tea Product" Source: CN930112865 Published Dec. 25, 1993.
D8--"Deoxidise Contain Polyphenol Oxidase Polyphenol Powder Vegetable Tissue Potato Tuber Tobacco Leaf Tea Leaf" Source: JP780023209 Published Mar. 1, 1978.
D9--"Tea Preparation Medicine Properties Comprise Pulverise Dry Leaf Form Sort Tea Flour" Source: JP900066026 Published Mar. 16, 1990.
Freeze Dry Foods, GmbH
Weier Anthony J.
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