Comparative characterisation of green tea and black tea cream: physicochemical and phytochemical nature

Abstract

Tea cream is prevalent in various types of tea, yet a comparison of the mechanism of creaming in different teas remains uncertain. Here, we compared physicochemical characteristics, phytochemical composition, and simulated digestive profiles of green tea and black tea cream, looking to exploit their concentration and structure based mechanisms and in vitro bioaccessibility. Green tea cream particles were roughly one order of magnitude larger than those of black tea in size. Moreover, creaming concentrations of catechins, proteins and methylxanthines of green tea were dramatically higher than black tea. As major creaming components, gallated catechins, theaflavins, thearubigins, theabrownines, proteins and methylxanthines also exhibited high creaming affinities. Green tea cream particles, which were completely destroyed by simulated digestion, had few impacts on digestive recoveries of catechins and methylxanthines. In comparison, black tea cream particles were more stable under mimicking digestion, and clarification remarkably decreased the in vitro bioaccessibility of catechins and methylxanthines.

Keywords: Black tea; Green tea; Physical chemistry; Phytochemistry; Tea cream.