Journal of Tea Science Research. 2015, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1-12
6
Figure 2 Diversified commercial products of tea in China
2.1 Tea Polyphenols
Light yellow powder with high catechins and it could
be used in foods additives with functions of antioxidation,
antibacterial and removing free radicals. It is popular
in China. Demand for the tea polyphenols has been
gaining due to its super antioxidant property and easy
availability of its products in the market at reasonable
rates. Green tea polyphenols dominated the overall
market due to its high extractable polyphenol content
over other tea polyphenols. Large amount of green tea
polyphenols from Japan and China are exported to
Europe and North America. Grand View Research of
San Francisco, USA reported that the global market
for tea polyphenols was USD 209.3 million in 2012
and is expected to reach USD 367.7 million by 2020,
growing at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2013 to 2020. In
terms of volumes, market demand pegged at about
9,200 tons by 2020. (Refer:
. Grandviewre-
search.com Tea Polyphenols Market Analysis by
Product and Segment Forecasts to 2020).
2.2 Theanine
It is a unique amino acid which enhances the taste of
tea infusion and it has many favourable physiological
effects on human. Theanine could be used in food and
beverage industries as a new type of functional food
ingredient. The products of theanine standardized as >
20% or > 40% have in the list of industrial production;
pure theanine can be produced at pilot plant scale.
2.3 Tea Polysaccharide
It is a kind of bioactive extract from green tea with
higher molecular weight (i.e. 40,000 to 100,000)
which reduces blood sugars and blood lipid concentration,
prevents blood agglutination and blood embolus.
Polysaccharides extracted from the lower grade green
tea might be employed as ingredients in healthy and
functional food to alleviate the oxidative stress (Chen
et al., 2013)
2.4 Micro Tea Powder (MTP)
It is made from fresh green, oolong, black tea leaves.
It contains no chemical additives. Through quick
crushing process, the colour and characteristics of the
finished product (200~300 mesh) is preserved. The
product can directly use in beverage as well as natural
ingredients in food (ice-cream, chewing gum, jam,
jelly, biscuit etc.), tooth paste and cosmetics.
2.5 Tea Saponin
It is a glycoside compound extracted from tea seeds.
Liquid and powder forms of saponin are available in
the market. It is an excellent non-ionic active natural
surfactants and easily soluble in water. After
formulation, it can be widely used in pesticide, textile,
daily chemical and architectural fields and so on as
natural surfactants. Tea saponin products developed in
China as well as Japan and are attracting attention for
their gentle cleansing action along with their natural
pureness. It is widely used in medicine industry. In
agriculture, saponin is used to increase solubility and
effect of pesticides, dispelling insects and promoting
crop growth, can kill cutworm and nematodes. In
aquaculture, it is used for cleaning of harmful fishes
before prawn breeding, prevent prawn black gill
disease and accelerate prawn exuviations, and growth.
In architectural field, it is used for foam stabilizer and
foam concentrate manufacture, promoting suspension
of aluminium powder and improving cellular structure
of concrete (Refer:
/).
2.6 Tea Seed Oil
This product has been developed in China and
presently not exported to any other country.
Tea seed
oil is an edible, pale amber-green fixed oil with a
sweet, herba
and considered to be particularly
healthy for cooking because of its high boiling point
and its high content of unsaturated fatty acids
(Dufrêne, 2014). Tea seed oil is known as a
by-product in Iran and it was modified by enzymatic
