Synthesis and characterization of a (+)-catechin and L-(+)-ascorbic acid cocrystal as a new functional ingredient for tea drinks

Abstract

Tea (Camellia Sinensis) is one of the most popular drink, consumed as infusion or bottled ready to drink beverages. Although tea leaves contain many antioxidants compounds, after processing they can drastically decrease, sometimes up to a full degradation, as in the case of catechin, a very healthy flavan-3-ol. In this context, the synthesis of a cocrystal between (þ)-catechin and L-(þ)-ascorbic acid, was proved to be a useful strategy to make a new ingredient able to ameliorate the antioxidant profile of both infusions and bottled teas. The obtained cocrystal showed a threefold higher solubility than (þ)catechin and its formation was elucidated unambiguously by FT-IR, thermal (DSC) and diffraction (PXRD) analyses. Antioxidant characteristics of the samples were evaluated by colorimetric assays. As expected, infusions showed much better antioxidant features than ready-to-use lemon and peach teas. The same trend was confirmed after the addition of the cocrystal at two concentration levels. In particular, supplementation at concentration of 2 mg mL À1 improved the bottled tea antioxidant values to the level showed by the not-added infusion tea.

Valorisation of olive oil pomace extracts for a functional pear beverage formulation

“…Total antioxidant activity (TAC) and total phenolic equivalents (TPE) (Folin–Ciocalteu procedure) of extracts, conjugates, juice and enriched beverages were determined by following literature protocols with some changes (Spizzirri et al. , 2019). Detailed procedure is reported in the Supporting Information section.…”

Nanotechnologies: An Innovative Tool to Release Natural Extracts with Antimicrobial Properties

“…The search for new therapeutically active compounds has spurred researchers over the years to investigate natural compounds [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. In particular, food and plant wastes represent interesting sources of biologically active molecules [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ] and have been proposed as indigenous remedies [ 25 , 26 ]. Specifically, secondary metabolites from plants represent valuable bioactive ingredients [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] with remarkable antibacterial properties [ 31 , 32 ], useful in the treatment of several diseases.…”

Improving Fenton-like system with Catechin, an environmental-friendly polyphenol: Effects and mechanism

“…Due to the two chiral carbons, there were four isomers, including (+)-catechin, (-)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin and (+)-epicatechin. However, (+)-catechin (Scheme 1) was the major catechins present in green tea [15,16] and was chosen as the research target in this study. As stated in previous studies [17], the catechol group on its B ring provides possible chemical reactivity both in chelation and reduction, whereas the process was not clear.…”