The small tea growers (STGs) constitute a significant part of the tea industries in several tea producing countries in the world. STGs constitute 70 percent of the tea cultivation by area and 60 percent of the total tea production by volume. However, low profitability, limited marketing options, inefficient supply chain, and dependency on the large tea estates for processing has emerged as a serious threat to the sustainability of the STGs. Mostly, the STG’s role in the tea supply chain is confined merely to the cultivation of the tea leaves. In India too, the STGs are confronted with similar challenges. India is the second-largest tea producer in the world with about 50 percent of the total tea production coming from the STGs. Notably, considering the economic and environmental benefits, some of the STGs have taken to organic cultivation of tea. Further, some of them who adopted organic cultivation also took to processing and marketing of made tea like hand-made green tea, black tea, and other specialty products by themselves. This study seeks to understand and analyze the role of organic cultivation in providing market linkages and the development of value chain(s) for the STGs. The study was conducted in the state of Assam, which is recognized worldwide for the presence of one of the oldest and the largest tea industries. It used a qualitative value chain approach to analyze the current situation of the STGs involved in the production of organic tea. The study mostly relied on primary data collected from the various actors of the emerging tea value chain through a semi-structured interview schedule, in-depth interviews, and focused group discussions. The processing and marketing of tea by the organic STGs in Assam has indeed led to the development of tea value chain(s) for the STGs. Adoption of sustainable agriculture systems like organic cultivation has opened up new opportunities for the STGs to earn from tea processing and marketing by themselves. Although such developments are in a very initial stage, understandings from the present scenario add to the literature on the development of value chain and market linkages for the smallholders in the tea sector with implications for other agricultural sectors as well. Encouraging the STGs to produce orthodox tea products, especially green and black tea varieties, in larger quantity by mobilizing them for collective actions is likely to locate them in the global tea value chain. The study suggests such suitable policy measures to bring about transformations in the tea sub-sector. Appropriate institutional changes to develop sustainable tea value chain(s) controlled by the STGs would be the key to impart overall sustainability to the industry. Such developments are likely to help the tea industry in Assam and other tea producing regions to meet the changing consumer aspirations and sustain global competition.

In this study, to develop balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorum) leaves, which are not used as tea, a method of making green tea was referred to, and several physiological activities were analyzed using the balloon flower leaf tea with different times of roasting and rubbing. The highest total polyphenol and tannin contents were 33.02 mg GAE/g and 5.03 mg/g at two times of roasting and one time of rubbing, respectively. In the case of the total flavonoids, the RO3 + RU2, subjected to three times of roasting and two times of rubbing, showed the highest value, whereas there was no significant difference between the control and the other samples. Except for the green tea as a control, the RO2 + RU1 samples reported the highest antioxidant activity whereas it decreased with increasing number of times of roasting and rubbing. The color, lightness, and yellowness tended to decrease slightly as the number of increasing roasting and rubbing among the samples with no significant difference. All of these things together, to develop tea using the balloon flower leaves would be suitable with two times of roasting and one time of rubbing.

The physicochemical and antioxidant properties of cookies prepared using powders of barley sprout (BS), lemon balm (LB), and green tea (GT) were studied. The same dough density was maintained in all the sample groups. The experimental group to which the natural ingredients containing antioxidants were added did not show any significant change in the appearance of cookies compared to the control. LB and GT cookies showed significantly lower hardness compared to the control (p<0.05). Control showed the lowest antioxidant effect when assessed with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl. (DPPH) and this gradually increased in the order of BS, LB, and GT. The antioxidant activity of GT was 7 times higher as compared to the control (p<0.05). The antioxidant activity assessed using 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) also showed results similar to that seen with DPPH. GT showed a significantly higher total phenol content, about 2-3 times higher compared to the control (p<0.05). GT had significantly higher total flavonoid content than that of the control (p<0.05). Thus, the addition of natural antioxidant ingredients such as sprout barley, lemon balm and specifically green tea, in the preparation of cookies, resulted in excellent antioxidant activity with similar physicochemical quality characteristics. The study suggests that it is possible to develop cookies that are competitive in terms of nutritional and physiologically active functions.

본 연구에서는 전처리방법별로 잎새버섯차를 제조하여 차의 pH, 색도 등의 품질과 아미노산 및 항산화활성을 분석하여 비교하였다. 건조, 증숙, 보온처리 버섯차를 제조 하여 추출액의 품질을 조사한 결과 건조와 증숙처리 차의 당도, 고형분, 질소함량 차이는 없었고 보온처리 차의 값이 다른 처리에 비해 높았다. 버섯차의 색도는 보온처리에서 가장 진하고 어두웠으며 보온처리 차가 462.9 mg/L 로 총 아미노산 함량이 1.8배 이상 높아 보온처리에 의한 차의 추출성분 변화가 있음을 확인할 수 있었다. 보온처리 버섯차의 총 폴리페놀 함량은 14.6 mg/g, 총 플라보노 이드 함량은 2.2 mg/g으로 증가하였고 페놀성 화합물의 증가로 DPPH와 ABTS 라디칼 소거활성도 증가하였다. 또한 맛의 기호도도 7.0으로 소폭 증가하여 보온처리는 잎새버섯의 영양성분과 항산화활성의 추출을 용이하도록 하고 관능적 품질도 향상시킬 수 있는 것으로 판단되었다.

A liquid-phase exfoliation of few-layer graphene in tea is considered as one of the alternative approaches for the preparation of environment-friendly graphene. However, the removal of chemically adsorbed tea-polyphenols from graphene is known to be difficult and the application of centrifugation or filtration alone for the purification of graphene against tea-polyphenols is regarded to be almost technically impossible. Notably, a strategy for facile deoxygenation of tea-graphene must be established for a green and economical production of graphene to be realized. In this work, a simple purification method of graphene through the application of merely a household bleach ( Clorox®) after the pre-exfoliation in black tea has been proposed. It has been found that the carbon–oxygen (C/O) value for graphene increases from 2.7 to 8.1 while the values of C–OH, C–O–C and C=O region in the C1s spectrum of graphene decrease significantly after being purified in bleach for 5 h. The stretching and shift of C–OH, C=O and C–O–C at 3468 cm−1, 1637 cm−1 and 1008 cm−1 from IR spectrum of purified graphene seems to be in agreement with the produced data from the XPS and Raman spectroscopy. Despite the enhanced ID/IG of Raman from the hybridization of sp2 by hydroxylation, the deoxygenation of tea-graphene does not negatively affect the electrical performance since the sheet resistance was impressively reduced to 193 Ω from 2.1 kΩ. It is believed that this photo-Fenton-inspired purification strategy would assist in the washing issue of polyphenol-stabilized graphene for various future electronic applications.

School of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Objective: To trace the origin and development of medicinal tea formulas, explores the medicinal value of tea in the formulas to provide traditional Chinese medicine practitioners with the idea of using tea in the formulas. Methods: This thesis combed through the medicinal tea formulas in the medical books of the past dynasties and explored the main indication, usage and preparation of the medicinal tea formulas. Results: Tea had the record with the medicinal effects in many herbal literatures. Doctors often used tea with other Chinese herbs together in the formulas. Conclusion: This kind of formula combining tea and Chinese herbs was called as “medicinal tea formula”. Medicinal tea formula had been standardized and formed during the Song Dynasty in China. A comprehensive overview of the medicinal tea formulas from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty can provide a reference for the treatment of many indications and improve the value of the medicinal tea formulas.

차나무의 기내배양 과정 중 증식배양 단계에서 LED 광질 조건에 따른 기내배양묘의 생육 특성과 광합성에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. 광질은 적색광(R), 청색광(B), 혼합광(R+B+W)을 사용하여 처리하였고, 형광등(F)을 대조구로 하였다. 초장 생육은 적색광에서 가장 좋았으며, 특히 뿌리 생육에 있어서 혼합광은 길이와 표면적 증대에 효과적인 것으로 나타났다. 또한 T/R율, 엽록소 함량은 혼합광 처리에서 증가하는 것으로 나타났다. 엽록소 형광반응 이미지 촬영 결과 모든 처리구에서 광질에 따른 Fv/Fm의 값은 현저한 차이가 없었다. 그러나 배양묘의 NPQ는 청색광 처리에서 가장 많이 증가하여, 다른 광질과 유의적인 차이를 보였으며, 광합성 효율을 억제시키는 것으로 나타났다. 이상의 결과로 차나무 기내 배양은 배양목적에 따라 광질을 선택하는 것은 매우 중요하며, 차나무 기내배양 시 건실한 식물 생산을 위해서는 혼합광 처리가 유리할 것으로 판단된다. 본 연구결과는 차나무 대량증식 및 우량묘 생산 등에 기초자료로 활용할 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.

This study compares and analyzes inorganic components of four different Pu-erh tea species consumed in Korea. The criteria for the inorganic components was based on the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) recommendations. Out of the 19 general items: potassium, manganese, silicon and fluorine were detected in amounts exceeding the maximum allowable concentration by 5~23, 57~91, 1.6~1.8 and 9~18 times respectively. Out of the 15 potentially harmful elements: aluminum and nickel were exceeded the Maximum allowable concentration by 9~14 times and 0.8~1.2 times respectively. To reduce the concentration of inorganic elements in excess of the maximum allowable concentration, the extraction time of tea should be less than 1 minute in addition to limiting the amount. The amount of Pu-erh tea for extraction was about 0.1 g manganese, about 0.3 g potassium, about 0.5 g fluoride and about 2 g silicon. Therefore, the maximum amount of tea for extraction should be 0.1 g in regards to the safety of Pu-erh tea. Based on the recommended maximum daily intake of inorganic ingredients by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, it is desirable that the number of extractions be less than three.

우엉을 9번 찌고 9번 말려서 차를 제조한 다음 M사의 우엉차와 성분 및 기능성을 비교 분석하였다. 개발한 우엉차는 칼로리 346.48kcal, 탄수화물 72.75g/100g, 단백질 11.98g/100g, 회분 5.01g/100g이었다. 무기물 함량은 칼륨 1,476.21 mg/100g, 칼슘 255.96 mg/100g, 마그네슘 311.41mg/100g 이었다. 유리당 총량은 31.93 mg/100g이었고 그중 fructose 26.27mg/100g , glucose 4.39 mg/100g, sucrose 1.27 mg/100g이었다. 포화지방산은 40.73 mg/100g, 불포화지방산은 59.28 ㎎ /100g이고 그 중 linoleic acid 41.28 mg/100g, palmitic acid 33.11 mg/100g, oleic acid 10.07 mg/100g , linolenic acid 7.92 ㎎/100g이었다. DPPH 라디컬 소거력은 개발한 차 33.9%, 비교용 M사 차 2.3%, 지표물질 37.2%였다. ABTS 라디컬 소거력은 개발한 차 90.7%, M사차 85.9%, 지표물질 47.6%였다. SOD 유사활성은 개발한 차 11.3%, 비교용차 50.5%였다. 플라보노이드 함량은 개발한 차 2.6 fold, M사차 2.9 fold, 지표물질 1.7 fold였다. 폴리페놀 함량은 개발한 차 33.8 fold, M사차 38.9 fold, 지표물질 13.4 fold였다. 기호도는 1회 우린 것과 5회 우린 것을 비교하였다. 1회 우린 것을 기준으로 할 때 5회 우린 것의 기호도 중 색은 개발한 차 65.9%, M사차 12.8%, 향기는 개발한 차 78.0%, M사차 33.3%, 맛은 개발한 차 71.4%, M사차 20.7%, 나타났다. 이같이 비교용 M사차는 우릴수록 추출 성분이 감소하여 5회 후에 종합적인 기호도는 21.4%로 감소한 반면 개발한 차는 감소폭이 적어서 72.1%를 나타냈다. 이같이 개발한 우엉차는 비교용 M사차 및 지표물질보다 항산화 작용이 강하고 유효 물질 함량도 더 많고, 기호성도 높으므로 질병 예방 및 개선 효과가 클 것으로 생각한다.

돼지감자를 9번 찌고 9번 말려서 차를 제조한 다음 M사의 돼지감자차와 성분 및 기능성을 비교 분석하였다. 개발한 돼지감자차는 칼로리 342.27kcal, 탄수화물 73.87g/100g, 유리당 32.66mg/100g, 회분 6.80g/100g, 단백질 8.21g/100g이었고 무기물 총량은 2,785.67mg/100g, 칼륨 2,563.93mg/g, 칼슘 97.52mg/g, 마그네슘 88.78mg/g 등이었다. 돼지감자차의 유리당 총량은 32.66mg/100g이고 그중 fructose 17.40mg/100g, sucrose 9.03mg/100g, glucose 6.05mg/100g이었다. 돼지감자차의 포화지방산은 30.34mg/100g, 4 불포화지방산은 69.66㎎/100g이었고 그 중 linoleic acid 47.00mg/100g, palmitic acid 25.31mg/100g, linolenic acid 8.61㎎/100g이었다. DPPH 라디컬 소거력은 개발한 차 34.2%, 비교용 M사차 5.2%, 지표물질 44.0%였다. ABTS 라디컬 소거력은 개발한 차 93.0%, M사차 61.9%, 지표물질 47.6%였다. SOD 유사활성은 개발한 차 2.7%, M사차 1.6%였다. 플라 보노이드 함량은 개발한 차 2.8 fold, M사차 2.0 fold, 지표물질 1.7 fold 였다. 폴리페놀 함량은 개발한 차 38.2 fold, M사차 8.92 fold, 지표물질 14.0 fold였다. α-Glucosidase 저해율은 개발한 차 9.83%, M사차 8.92%였다. 기호도는 1회 우린 것과 5회 우린 것을 비교하였다. 1회 우린 것을 기준으로 할 때 5회 우린 것의 기호도 중 색은 개발한 차 83.7%, 비교용 차 50.0%, 향기는 개발한 차 78.0%, 비교용 차 42.5%, 맛은 개발한 차 66.7%, 비교용 차 37.5%, 종합적인 기호도는 개발한 차 73.3%, 비교용 차 47.5%로 나타났다. 이같이 비교용 M사차는 우릴수록 추출 성분이 감소하여 5회 후에 종합적인 기호도는 46.3%로 감소한 반면 개발한 차는 감소폭이 적어서 73.3%를 나타냈다. 이같이 개발한 돼지감자차는 비교용 M사차 및 지표물질보다 항산화 작용이 강하고 유효 물질 함량도 더 많고, 기호성도 높으므로 질병 예방 및 개선 효과가 클 것으로 생각한다.

본 연구는 마지에서 마유 추출시 천연 항산화제인 건조 녹차잎을 다양한 농도로 첨가하여 추출공정 및 저장기간동안 지방산패 특성을 관찰하고자 하였다. 마유의 품질특성을 식품공전에 고시되어 있지 않지만 산가, 과산화물과, TBA가, 요오드화가 등의 품질특성관찰을 통해 다른 종류의 식용유지의 규격과 비교하여 보았다. 또한 천연 항산화 제인 녹차잎 첨가로 인해 추출 및 저장시 지방산패를 어느 정도 방지할 수 있는지 확인 가능하였다. 지방산조성 분석 을 통해 마유의 포화지방산 및 불포화지방산 조성 변화도 관찰하였다. 따라서 본 연구를 통하여 최근 이용도가 높아 지는 마유의 기준 규격마련을 위한 기초자료로 사용 가능할 것으로 판단된다.

The physiologically advantageous aspects of green tea have been identified recently and green tea has been a favorite drink of many people. Due to the increased awareness of green tea’s positive effects on human health, the demand for foods containing green tea has increased. This has led to the development of diverse green tea-related beverages; thereby many companies in Korea have put a wide variety of manufactured green tea beverages on the market. However, the components within green tea beverages have not been examined in Korea yet. In this study, we investigated the contents of the physiologically functional materials found in green tea, such as catechin, catechin gallate, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatecin gallate, gallocatechin gallate and caffeine. Fifty-six green tea products purchased from the local grocery stores and cafes were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. As a result, all tested products contained catechin and caffeine, although the amount of each component was largely different. The total amount of catechin derivatives in the manufactured green tea beverages purchased from cafes was 263.17 mg/L, while they were 61.99 mg/L in the beverages purchased from the local grocery stores. And, to the almost samples the amount of caffeine was proportional to the amount of catechin.