Catechine

are a phytamine which belongs to the group of polyphenols and to the sub-group of flavonoids. They are also sometimes called tea-polyphenols.

 

Catechines are high in number in green tea which contains four types of catechines: epicatechine, epicatechine-gallat, epigallocatechine and epigallocetechine-gallat. Catechines have many health benefits for humans, they act accumulatively and probably synergistic.

 

Catechines are solvable in water and oil, and can, therefore, surpass barriers in the human being and also influence the brain functions. Green and black tea are won from the dried leaves of the plant camellia sinensis.

 

With respect to green tea, which counts as especially healthy, the leaves are smoked and dried carefully after plucking and before they are rolled. With respect to black tea, the leaves are immediately rolled or cut after plucking. Hereby, the cell fluid leaves the leaf and the enzymatic fermentation starts which yields the typical red colour and taste. Additionally, the catechines also yield the equally antioxidative theaflavines and thearubigines. However, they have a lower influence compared to those of the green tea. Oolong-Tea lies in between these two tea varieties and is partially fermented. The healthiness of green tea is probably due to its high content of catechines (27%). Oolong tea also contains a relatively high amount of these tea-polyphenoles (23%), but black tea is made up of only 4% of catechines.

Content of Catechines in mg per 100 g

Bitter chocolate 53.3 mg
milk chocolate 15.9 mg

Content of Catechines

in 150 ml of green tea (ca. 1 cup) *
Epicatechine 0.7 - 1.3 mg
Epicatechine-Gallat 4.3 - 8.6 mg
Epigallocatechine 0.5 - 1 mg
Epigallocatechine-Gallat 10 - 25 mg

* The content can vary by tea variety, cultivation area, etc...

 

 


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