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Green tea basically contains beverages that are beneficial for human beings health wise. The major components of green tea are basically catechin derivatives although other compound such as the phenolic acids and flavonols are usually present in smaller quantities. The biological activities arising from these compounds are usually associated with lower risks of chronic diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular diseases. The chemical composition of the tea leaves usually depends on the age, soil or climatic conditions and the type of clone of the tea. In most cases, flavanols usually contribute to about 70% of the total quantity of polyphenols when the polyphenols only range between 25-35%. The tea leaves usually contain a greater percentage of theanine as the main amino acid constituent. Both the polysaccharides and the monosaccharaides gives tea its sweet taste. On the other hand, few traces of bases such as the hypoxanthine and xanthine can also be found in tea leaves (Khan, & Mukhtar, 2007).
Tea consumption begun about 2000 years ago with its origin being traced in China. As at today, people have made tea consumption a habit worldwide and are one of the most used beverages. Due to its increased consumption globally, its health effects has attracted the attention of many scientists. In the early years, tea was taken to cure some diseases; however, today tea is regarded as toxic substance to the human body (McKay, & Blumberg, 2002).
Researchers have also found out that tea and its products have a wide range of bioactivity with a number of therapeutic efficiency in a number of experiments carried out with the aim of controlling diseases. A study carried out has shown that green tea could lead to inflammations caused by the Typanosoma brucei specie of mice. The study showed that tea was more efficient as compared to the dexamethasone which was used to treat inflammatory diseases (Nagao, Hase, & Tokimitsu, 2007). Other studies also show that tea has a very great positive impact in the control of cancer especially those of the stomach, lungs and the esophagus. The polyphenols of green tea are usually used as chemopreventive agents to promote the activity and effectiveness of insulin and other antibacterial effects. Compounds such as amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates and polyphenols among others in green tea can be used to control cardiovascular disease and other cerebral ischemic damage. Other green tea catechins such as Epigallocatechin have anti-HIV effects especially when they are bound to CD4 receptors (Crespy, & Williamson, 2004).
Tea as an antioxidant helps in the prevention of some chronic diseases such as cancer. It embraces this role by acting as a scavenger of the free radicles since it has the phenolic hydroxyl groups which attach to other structures. This give the green tea greater demand compared to the black tea because of its ability to act as an antioxidant, antibacterial and an antiviral (Cabrera, Artacho, & Giménez, 2006)
Literature Review
A number of chemical components are present in green tea hence the quality and taste of tea. Some of these chemicals include the caffeine, amino acids, catechins among other components. It’s the catechin that is responsible for the bitter taste of tea. Caffeine also gives tea its bitter taste though not at the same levels as the catechins. In contrary, theanine gives tea its sweet taste to overcome the taste caused by catechin (Zaveri, 2006). (It’s therefore very important to balance the two components for the good sweetness and taste of tea. This therefore calls for more research to balance the levels of catechin and theanine in tea. The tea leaves also contain bases such as methylxanthines that contain caffeine and theobromine even though the later base forms the least percentage of the bases (Chacko et al., 2010)
Figure 1: Chemical structures of methylxanthines
Fresh tea leaves will be plucked from the tea plantation in the school field station planted in 2016. The tea plucking from the plantation has will have samples from the entire commercial and putative planted for study and research purposes in two replicates.
The young and tender shoots and the buds will be harvested and processed for green tea by boiling the leaves under high temperatures of 100 degrees centigrade for about sixty seconds.
The tea will then bedried in fluidized drier at very high temperatures of about 140 degrees centigrade for about half an hour in the laboratory. The tea leaves will then be crushed and dried under open air for about two hours and finally milled, packed and stored in the school store. It’s at this stage that the concentrations of both the catechin and theanine will be determined and a balance obtained to ensure the good and sweet taste of tea and prevent influenza infection (Williamson & Manach, 2005).
Figure 2: Modern steaming vessel used in green tea manufacture.
Maintaining the balance between catechin and theanine in tea for its taste and prevent influenza influenza infection.
Catechins give tea its bitter taste while theanine on the other hand gives tea its sweet taste. This calls for a balance between the two compounds to give tea its good normal taste. However, a combination of this is a good remedy of influenza infection control.
- There is an effect on concentrations of catechins and theanine on green tea taste.
- There is effect on concentrations of catechins and theanines on influenza infection.
The study will be carried out in the school field station where the green tea leaves samples will be sampled and picked. Other chemical treatments will be carried out in the school laboratory where the temperatures will be monitored and the products dried.
- Plot will be divided into four sections.
- Pick random samples from ten tea stems on the four divided blocks.
- The picked sample should be a representative sample
- Put the different picked samples in different tea baskets and mix the leaves in all the baskets.
- Take them to the laboratory for treatment.
Direct observation and recording will be the main method used. Measurements are the most accurate methods because of the many variables involved. Stopwatches and thermometers will be used for time and temperature measurement respectively.
The quantitative data will be interpreted, manipulated and presented after the design of the experiments and collection of data. Descriptive statistics will be used to examine if the data obtained is useful and relevant. Here, statistics obtained from different columns can be compared. On the other hand, inferential statistics will be adopted after the data is explored using descriptive techniques and make general conclusions.
The Coca – Cola Company.
- The study is very expensive since a number of resources are needed
- A representative sample may not be obtained during the tea picking process
- The process may greatly be affected by weather conditions especially when field drying the tea leaves
The importance of the catechins and theanines in the taste of tea and control of infectious influenza disease control is not known by a number of people. Bridging the research gap will therefore save many lives and improve tea consumption.
The tea sub-sector is currently known for its foreign exchange. Monitoring and balancing the concentrations of both catechines and thianines will determine whether there will be increased number of tea users or not. Levels of these components should be monitored and maintained at a balance to help in the prevention of influenza disease. Researchers and tea research foundations should therefore achieve this to improve the revenue generated from tea production.
References:
Cabrera, C., Artacho, R., & Giménez, R. (2006). Beneficial effects of green tea—a review. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 25(2), 79-99.
Chacko, S. M., Thambi, P. T., Kuttan, R., & Nishigaki, I. (2010). Beneficial effects of green tea: a literature review. Chinese medicine, 5(1), 13.
Crespy, V., & Williamson, G. (2004). A review of the health effects of green tea catechins in in vivo animal models. The Journal of nutrition, 134(12), 3431S-3440S.
Khan, N., & Mukhtar, H. (2007). Tea polyphenols for health promotion. Life sciences, 81(7), 519-533.
McKay, D. L., & Blumberg, J. B. (2002). The role of tea in human health: an update. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 21(1), 1-13.
Nagao, T., Hase, T., & Tokimitsu, I. (2007). A green tea extract high in catechins reduces body fat and cardiovascular risks in humans. Obesity, 15(6), 1473-1483.
Williamson, G., & Manach, C. (2005). Bioavailability and bioefficacy of polyphenols in humans. II. Review of 93 intervention studies. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 81(1), 243S-255S.
Zaveri, N. T. (2006). Green tea and its polyphenolic catechins: medicinal uses in cancer and noncancer applications. Life sciences, 78(18), 2073-2080.
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