Taste characterisation of green tea catechins

Abstract

There has been interest in biological activities of green tea catechins. However, little is known about the taste characteristics of catechins. To assess the taste characteristics of catechins (())-epicatechin (EC), ())-epicatechin gallate (ECg), ())-epigallocatechin (EGC) and ())-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg)), sensory evaluations were performed. The taste intensity increased with increased catechins concentration. Among them, ECg showed the strongest taste. Catechins had tastes that consisted primarily of astringency and bitterness. Therefore, taste palatability decreased with increasing catechin concentrations. In line with taste intensity, taste palatability of ECg was the lowest. Taste sensor analysis and mouse behavioural assays showed same results. EC and ECg were more stable in Ringer's solution than EGC and EGCg. Furthermore, taste cell responses to ECg that had the strong taste and better stability among catechins used were recorded. Some taste cells responded to ECg. This result suggests that ECg might be recognised by taste cells.

Activation of the hTAS2R14 Human Bitter-Taste Receptor by (−)-Epigallocatechin Gallate and (−)-Epicatechin Gallate

“…22) An evaluation of the human sensory response has revealed that the taste intensity of catechins was the strongest for ECg, followed by EGCg, EC, and EGC. 2) In addition, the responses of hTAS2R39 to EC and EGC were similar to those demonstrated in the human sensory study.…”

Improving the sweet aftertaste of green tea infusion with tannase

“…Furthermore, catechins have been found to be a major contributor to the astringency and bitterness of green tea infusions (Scharbert & Hofmann, 2005;Wright, Mphangwe, Nyrenda, & Apostolides, 2000). Increasing catechins concentration enhanced taste intensity, but it also caused a decrease in taste palatability (Narukawa et al, 2010). The taste intensity of gallated catechins are strong when compared with non-gallated catechins, in particular (À)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) shows the strongest taste (Narukawa et al, 2010;Scharbert & Hofmann, 2005).…”

“…Green tea in particular is popular in most Asian areas, especially in China and Japan. The overall taste of a green tea infusion comprises bitterness, astringency, umami (a brothy or savory taste), and sweetness (Tarachiwin, Ute, Kobayashi, & Fukusaki, 2007;Yu, Yeo, Low, & Zhou, 2014), and bitterness and astringency constitute its primary taste (Narukawa, Kimata, Noga, & Watanabe, 2010). However, a sweet aftertaste is often used as a positive term to describe a good tea infusion, which is frequently associated with oolong and green tea infusions.…”

Effect of water quality on the main components in Fuding white tea infusions

“…The strong antioxidant capacity of white tea is connected with its high catechin content (Azman et al 2014). Catechins such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechins (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epicatechin (EC) are the principal bioactive compounds present in tea (Chen et al 2010;Narukawa et al 2010Narukawa et al , 2011. White tea also contains high levels of polyphenols, caffeine, gallic acid and other constituents (Song et al 2015;Hilal and Engelhardt 2007), and EGCG is the most abundant compound in white tea, followed by caffeine (Nunes et al 2015).…”