Zinc-enriched tea compositions

Abstract

The present invention relates to tea compositions. In particular, the present invention relates to tea compositions fortified with zinc. Accordingly, the present invention provides a tea composition comprising: a) a zinc compound; b) a first polysaccharide selected from maltodextrin; c) a second polysaccharide selected from gum arabic; and d) a leaf tea product.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to tea compositions, and in particular to tea compositions that are fortified with zinc. [Background technology]

[0002] Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world. It is believed that drinking tea refreshes the mind. The polyphenols contained in tea are also believed to be beneficial to health. There are many different types of tea available on the market, such as black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and white tea. Black tea is generally produced through a process that includes withering, maceration, fermentation, and roasting / drying. On the other hand, the production process of green tea does not include fermentation. Therefore, the characteristic profile of green tea is different from that of black tea.

[0003] Most people in Asian countries drink tea at least twice a day, if not more, so tea can be one way to deliver nutrients and essential elements.

[0004] Zinc is currently gaining great importance in the food industry. Zinc is believed to have immune-boosting properties. Regular intake of zinc is believed to have a long-term effect on the human body's immune system. Currently, with the spread of COVID-19, people are very keen to strengthen their immune responsiveness, which is an inherent part of their own health. Therefore, zinc has become increasingly popular.

[0005] Zinc supplements are available over the counter.

[0006] We have discovered that including zinc directly in the form of a tea composition presents particular challenges in providing the appropriate amount of zinc in each cup of freshly brewed tea and controlling the release of zinc. If not done properly, different amounts of zinc can be provided in each cup of freshly brewed tea. One cup may contain more than 100% of the RDA of zinc, while another cup may contain virtually none, which is undesirable.

[0007] The most suitable way to address this issue is to coat the tea leaf product with zinc. However, there are problems associated with the coating process, such as the formation of lumps in most cases. Furthermore, the additives used in the coating process result in an unnatural appearance of the final tea product.

[0008] Therefore, there remains a need for a zinc-containing tea composition that is substantially clump-free and has a natural tea appearance. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tea composition containing zinc.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a tea composition containing zinc that is substantially lump-free.

[0011] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a zinc-containing tea composition that has the appearance of a standard tea product. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The inventors have surprisingly found that combining two polysaccharides in selected ratios results in a zinc-enriched tea composition that is completely free of unnatural appearance, thereby satisfying one or more of the above-mentioned objectives.

[0013] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for producing a medicament for the treatment of a medicament comprising: a) zinc compounds; b) a first polysaccharide selected from maltodextrin; c) a second polysaccharide selected from gum arabic; and d) Tea leaf products The present invention provides a tea composition comprising:

[0014] This and other aspects, features, and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description. For the avoidance of doubt, any feature of one aspect of the present invention may be utilized in any other aspect of the present invention. The word "comprises" is intended to mean "comprises," but not necessarily "consisting of" or "consisting of." That is, the listed steps or options need not be exhaustive. It should be noted that the examples provided in the following description are intended to clarify the invention, but are not intended to limit the invention to those examples themselves. Similarly, unless otherwise indicated, all percentages are weight / weight %.

[0015] Except in the examples and comparative examples, or where expressly indicated, all numbers in this specification expressing amounts of materials or reaction conditions, physical properties and / or uses of materials should be understood as modified by the word "about." Numerical ranges expressed in the format "from x to y" are understood to include x and y. When multiple preferred ranges for a particular characteristic are described in the format "from x to y," it is understood that all ranges combining the various endpoints are also contemplated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The disclosure of the invention found herein should be considered to cover all embodiments found in the claims as being multiply dependent on one another, regardless of whether the claims may be written without multiple dependency or redundancy.

[0017] Where a feature is disclosed with respect to a particular aspect of the invention (e.g., the tea compositions of the invention), that disclosure is deemed to apply to any other aspect of the invention (e.g., the methods of the invention), as appropriate.

[0018] The present invention provides the following: a) zinc compounds; b) a first polysaccharide selected from maltodextrin; c) a second polysaccharide selected from gum arabic; and d) Tea leaf products The present invention provides a tea composition comprising:

[0019] The present invention relates to a zinc-enriched tea composition. Any zinc compound with high water solubility is suitable for this purpose. Another preferred criterion for selecting the zinc compound of the present invention is the amount of zinc present in the zinc compound. Preferred zinc compounds are selected from zinc sulfate, zinc citrate, zinc gluconate, zinc glycinate, zinc EDTA, and mixtures thereof. Most preferred zinc compounds are selected from zinc sulfate, zinc citrate, and zinc glycinate.

[0020] The amount of zinc compound is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 4 mass %, more preferably 1 to 3 mass %, and most preferably 1.5 to 2 mass % of the composition.

[0021] The tea compositions of the present invention also include two polysaccharides.

[0022] The first polysaccharide is maltodextrin.

[0023] Maltodextrin is a well-known food additive. It is a tasteless substance. It is usually produced by hydrolysis of vegetable starch. The starch is preferably corn or wheat. It is generally known to improve the appetizing mouthfeel.

[0024] The amount of maltodextrin used in the tea composition of the present invention is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 5% by mass of the composition, more preferably 1 to 4% by mass, even more preferably 2 to 4% by mass, and most preferably 2 to 3% by mass.

[0025] The tea composition of the present invention also includes a second polysaccharide. The second polysaccharide is gum arabic. Gum arabic is also commonly known as gum acacia. Gum arabic is an edible water-soluble gum that is widely used in the food industry as a stabilizer and / or thickener.

[0026] The amount of gum arabic in the tea composition of the present invention is preferably in the range of 0.05 to 6 mass%, more preferably 0.1 to 4 mass%, even more preferably 0.1 to 3 mass%, and most preferably 0.5 to 2 mass%.

[0027] The tea composition of the present invention comprises a leaf tea product, by which is preferably meant a tea product obtained after the tea manufacturing process and containing less than 10%, preferably less than 7%, most preferably less than 5% moisture by weight of the leaf tea product.

[0028] The tea leaf product may preferably be selected from a black tea product, a green tea product, an oolong tea product, a white tea product, or a blend thereof.

[0029] Black tea generally refers to fermented tea produced by processing fresh tea leaves. Fresh tea leaves refer to tea leaves, buds, and / or stems that have not been dried to a moisture content of less than 30% by weight, typically in the range of 60-90%. Black tea has characteristics that distinguish it from green tea. Black tea is more astringent and less bitter than green tea. Black tea liqueurs also have a significantly higher redness than green tea liqueurs. Black tea also contains higher concentrations of theaflavins.

[0030] In black tea processing, fermentation refers to the oxidative and hydrolytic process that tea undergoes when certain endogenous enzymes and substrates are brought together, for example, by mechanical disruption of the cells by maceration of the leaves. During this process, the colorless catechins contained in the leaves are converted into a complex mixture of yellow, orange to dark brown polyphenolic substances.

[0031] Green tea refers to tea that is substantially unfermented. Green tea has characteristics that distinguish it from black tea. Green tea liqueur, unlike black tea liqueur, is light in color. Green tea is also rich in catechins, but contains little or no theaflavins.

[0032] Oolong tea refers to semi-fermented tea.

[0033] The preferred leaf tea products for purposes of the present invention are either black tea or green tea, most preferably black tea.

[0034] The amount of tea leaf product in the composition is preferably in the range of 85 to 98.5 mass %, more preferably 87 to 98.5 mass %, even more preferably 90 to 98.5 mass %, and most preferably 92 to 98.5 mass % of the composition.

[0035] The composition according to the invention may comprise further nutrients, which may be selected from vitamin C, iron, etc.

[0036] The present invention will now be described by the following non-limiting examples, which are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. [Example]

[0037] Preparation of various zinc-fortified tea products A variety of zinc-fortified tea products were prepared using the process described below.

[0038] Example A: A coating solution was prepared by dissolving 2 g of zinc sulfate heptahydrate in 43 g of distilled water (50 °C). 98 g of black tea leaves (obtained from Kenya) were placed in a bowl, and the coating solution was sprinkled on the black tea and thoroughly mixed using a Hobart blender. The mixture was then spread on a ceramic plate and dried in a hot air oven at 80 °C. The dried tea was then used for further analysis.

[0039] Example B: A coating solution was prepared by dissolving 2 g of zinc sulfate heptahydrate and 4 g of gum arabic in 43 g of distilled water (50°C). 94 g of black tea leaves (obtained from Kenya) were placed in a bowl, and the coating solution was sprinkled on the black tea and mixed thoroughly using a Hobart blender. The mixture was then spread on a ceramic plate and dried in a hot air oven at 80°C. The dried tea was then used for further analysis.

[0040] Example C: A coating solution was prepared by dissolving 2 g of zinc sulfate heptahydrate and 4 g of maltodextrin in 43 g of distilled water (50°C). 94 g of black tea leaves (obtained from Kenya) were placed in a bowl, and the coating solution was sprinkled on the black tea and mixed thoroughly using a Hobart blender. The mixture was then spread on a ceramic plate and dried in a hot air oven at 80°C. The dried tea was then used for further analysis.

[0041] Example D: A coating solution was prepared by dissolving 2 g of zinc sulfate heptahydrate, 4 g of gum arabic, and 6 g of maltodextrin in 43 g of distilled water (50°C). 88 g of black tea (obtained from Kenya) was placed in a bowl, and the coating solution was sprinkled on the black tea and thoroughly mixed using a Hobart blender. The mixture was then spread on a ceramic plate and dried in a hot air oven at 80°C. The dried tea was then used for further analysis.

[0042] Example E: A coating solution was prepared by dissolving 2 g of zinc sulfate heptahydrate, 8 g of gum arabic, and 3 g of maltodextrin in 43 g of distilled water (50°C). 87 g of black tea (obtained from Kenya) was placed in a bowl, and the coating solution was sprinkled on the black tea and mixed thoroughly using a Hobart blender. The mixture was then spread on a ceramic plate and dried in a hot air oven at 80°C. The dried tea was then used for further analysis.

[0043] Example 1: A coating solution was prepared by dissolving 2 g of zinc sulfate heptahydrate, 1 g of gum arabic, and 3 g of maltodextrin in 43 g of distilled water (50°C). 94 g of black tea leaves (obtained from Kenya) were placed in a bowl, and the coating solution was sprinkled on the black tea and thoroughly mixed using a Hobart blender. The mixture was then spread on a ceramic plate and dried in a hot air oven at 80°C. The dried tea was then used for further analysis.

[0044] In the above examples, zinc sulfate heptahydrate (catalog number: 1088830500) and gum arabic (catalog number: 1042281000) were obtained from Merck®, and maltodextrin (catalog number: 419699-100G) was obtained from Sigma Aldrich.

[0045] After preparing the tea products listed above, use the following protocol to determine the C of each product. * The values were measured.

[0046] C *The measurements were performed using a HunterLab UltraScan Vis (HunterLab Associates Laboratories, Inc., Virginia), which operates based on the dual-beam spectrophotometer measurement principle. A pulsed xenon lamp was used as the light source. The light source used was D65, and measurements were performed at an observer angle of 10°. Measurements were performed using a quartz cuvette with a 10 mm optical path length. The cuvette was filled to the brim with the tea leaf composition prepared above in the color measurement device. The device was calibrated using a standard white tile (HunterLab Duffuse / 8°, mode: RSIN / RSEX, port: 1 inch, area: large) according to the instructions in the instruction manual. The TTRAN mode was used to measure infusion samples.

[0047] C * The value represents the saturation value, which is the appearance (light or dark) of the tea product.

[0048] These C * The values were compared to a standard black leaf tea product, which for this purpose was the same black leaf tea product (obtained from Kenya) used in the examples above.

[0049] The results are summarized in Table 1 below. [Table 1]

[0050] From the above examples, it is clear that the tea product within the scope of the present invention (Example 1) produces a fortified tea product that looks similar to a regular black tea product. However, the examples outside the scope of the present invention (Examples A-E) produce tea products that look unnatural compared to regular black tea products. The tea products also form clumps.

Claims

1. a) zinc compounds; b) a first polysaccharide selected from maltodextrin; c) a second polysaccharide selected from gum arabic; and d) Tea leaf products 1. A tea composition comprising:

2. 2. The tea composition of claim 1, wherein the amount of zinc compound is in the range of 0.5 to 4% by weight of the tea composition.

3. 3. The tea composition of claim 1 or 2, wherein the zinc compound is selected from zinc sulfate, zinc citrate, zinc gluconate, zinc glycinate, zinc EDTA, and mixtures thereof.

4. The tea composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the zinc compounds are zinc sulfate, zinc citrate, and zinc glycinate.

5. 2. The tea composition of claim 1, wherein the amount of maltodextrin is in the range of 0.5 to 5% by weight of the tea composition.

6. 2. The tea composition of claim 1, wherein the amount of gum arabic is in the range of 0.05 to 6% by weight.

7. 10. The tea composition of claim 1, wherein the leaf tea product is selected from a black tea product, a green tea product, an oolong tea product, a white tea product, or a blend thereof.

8. 8. The tea composition of claim 7, wherein the tea leaf product is a black tea product.

9. A tea composition according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the amount of tea leaf product in the tea composition is in the range 85 to 98.5% by mass of the tea composition.

10. A tea composition according to any preceding claim which may contain further nutrients.

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