Background: Camellia sinensis L.(CS) is a perennial evergreen species of plant whose leaves are used to produce tea. In this plant species, the parts used are the leaves, sub-branch parts are thrown out.
Methods and Results: Ethanol extract of sub-branch parts was used for isolation of major compounds by column chromatography. Structures were identified as caffeine (1), (-)-epicatechin (2) and (-)-epicatechin gallate (3) by interpretation of spectroscopic analysis, including 1H- and 13C-NMR. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used to compare the quantitative level of marker compounds in various extraction solvents of sub-branch parts of CS. The content of caffeine, (-)-epicatechin, and (-)- epicatechin gallate in 30% ethanol extract showed higher value with 3.28 ± 0.57 ㎎/g, 5.53 ± 0.88 ㎎/g, and 1.29 ± 0.24 ㎎/g, respectively.
Conclusions: These results indicated that not only leaves parts but also sub-branch, could be a good source for the functional material and pharmaceutical industry.