EVALUATION OF IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF GREEN TEA (CAMELIA SINENSIS) INFUSIONS WITH LEAVES COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT HEIGHTS OF DARJEELING HILL, WEST BENGAL
Karabi Chakraborty and Sauryya Bhattacharyya*
ABSTRACT
Tea (Camelia sinensis) is the most consumed beverage and is also
known for its medicinal value. The leaves are processed industrially for
commercial usage or processed traditionally for preparation of infusions
in different cultures of different countries. The present study was
undertaken to find out whether the antioxidant activity and the content of
tea bioactives change after processing by a local traditional process.
Fresh tea leaves were collected from six different altitudes of Darjeeling
hill, viz. 6900, 5800, 4500, 3600, 2500 and 500 feet. The assays performed included ABTS and
DPPH radical decolorization assays and contents of total polyphenols, tannins, total flavonoid
and ascorbic acid. It was observed that ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging abilities as well as
ascorbic acid content were reduced in the leaves collected from higher altitudes, suggesting
probable depletion of the antioxidant bioactives on exposure to extreme climatic conditions as
well as elevated UV radiations. This was substantiated by the fact that total phenolic contents
and flavonoid contents were higher in the higher altitude leaves. Tannin contents were almost
unchanged. The study indicated that the medicinal value of the tea infusions remained almost
unchanged irrespective of altitude.
Keywords: Tea, Antioxidant, flavonoids, polyphenols, tannins.
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