February 25/Agriculture Business Week -- According to a study from Kunming, China, "Camellia crassicolumna var. multiplex (Chang et Tan) Ming belonging to Camellia sect. Thea (Theaceae), is endemic to the southeastern area of Yunnan province, China, where the leaves have been commonly used for making tea and beverages consumed widely."
"HPLC analysis showed that there was no caffeine or theophylline contained in the leaves; however, thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis suggested the abundant existence of phenolic compounds. Further detailed chemical investigation of the green tea produced from the leaves of the plant led to the identification of 18 phenolic compounds, including four flavanols (1-4), six flavonol glycosides (5-10), three hydrolyzable tannins (11-13), two chlorogenic acid derivatives (114, 15) and three simple phenolic compounds (16-18). The isolated compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant activities by 1,1'diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and tyrosinase inhibitory assays. Most of them exhibited significant DPPH radical scavenging activities, whereas flavanols and hydrolyzable tannins showed stronger inhibitory activities on tyrosinase," wrote Q. Liu and colleagues.