Tea seeds resulting from the cultivation of tea in many parts of the world, often regarded as waste, have been found to contain oil of exceptional quality that can be harnessed for use as an oleo-chemical or chemical ...Tea seeds resulting from the cultivation of tea in many parts of the world, often regarded as waste, have been found to contain oil of exceptional quality that can be harnessed for use as an oleo-chemical or chemical intermediate. A comparative study was carried out to examine the free fatty acid profiles of crude oils chemically extracted by Soxhlet extraction from tea seeds collected from different cultivars of Kenyan tea. All the tea seeds of the studied tea cultivars yielded oil, though to different extents (p > 0.05) after the 8-hour extraction. The oils were golden yellow in color. The contents of oleic, linoleic and stearic acids in all the crude test oils have no significant difference (p > 0.05) from each other. However, statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the linolenic and palmitic acids contents were evident. Based on the current findings, the test tea oils were predominantly constituted of unsaturated fatty acids, oleic acid being the major unsaturated fatty acid, other fatty acids being present in different but smaller proportions.展开更多
The tea plant absorbs dissolved nutrients from soils for its normal growth and development, though to different extents. Nutrients play vital roles in various metabolic processes, their deficiency or excess being dele...The tea plant absorbs dissolved nutrients from soils for its normal growth and development, though to different extents. Nutrients play vital roles in various metabolic processes, their deficiency or excess being deleterious to living organisms. A study was carried out to quantitatively assess the inorganic nutrient content (K, P, Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu) of twelve black tea samples sourced from Murang’a, Meru and Kisii tea growing agro-ecological areas in Kenya. K and P were quantified using a flame photometer and a UV-Vis spectrophotometer respectively whereas Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu were quantified using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The general accumulation pattern of the inorganic nutrients in the tea samples was established to be;K (1.6% ± 0.05%-2.1% ± 0.01%) > P (0.30% ± 0.01%-0.37% ± 0.04%) > Ca (0.16% ± 0.01%-0.62% ± 0.03%) > Mn (0.07% ± 0.009%-0.13% ± 0.004%) > Fe (136 ± 8-320 ± 5 μg/g) > Zn (27 ± 1-39 ± 7 μg/g) > Cu (10 ± 3-16 ± 1 μg/g). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the inorganic nutrient contents of the black tea from the different tea factories as well as agro-ecological areas. These data demonstrate the tea plant’s ability to accumulate the studied nutrients, further underlining tea consumption as a potential dietary source of the nutritionally essential inorganic nutrients.展开更多
文摘Tea seeds resulting from the cultivation of tea in many parts of the world, often regarded as waste, have been found to contain oil of exceptional quality that can be harnessed for use as an oleo-chemical or chemical intermediate. A comparative study was carried out to examine the free fatty acid profiles of crude oils chemically extracted by Soxhlet extraction from tea seeds collected from different cultivars of Kenyan tea. All the tea seeds of the studied tea cultivars yielded oil, though to different extents (p > 0.05) after the 8-hour extraction. The oils were golden yellow in color. The contents of oleic, linoleic and stearic acids in all the crude test oils have no significant difference (p > 0.05) from each other. However, statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the linolenic and palmitic acids contents were evident. Based on the current findings, the test tea oils were predominantly constituted of unsaturated fatty acids, oleic acid being the major unsaturated fatty acid, other fatty acids being present in different but smaller proportions.
文摘The tea plant absorbs dissolved nutrients from soils for its normal growth and development, though to different extents. Nutrients play vital roles in various metabolic processes, their deficiency or excess being deleterious to living organisms. A study was carried out to quantitatively assess the inorganic nutrient content (K, P, Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu) of twelve black tea samples sourced from Murang’a, Meru and Kisii tea growing agro-ecological areas in Kenya. K and P were quantified using a flame photometer and a UV-Vis spectrophotometer respectively whereas Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu were quantified using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The general accumulation pattern of the inorganic nutrients in the tea samples was established to be;K (1.6% ± 0.05%-2.1% ± 0.01%) > P (0.30% ± 0.01%-0.37% ± 0.04%) > Ca (0.16% ± 0.01%-0.62% ± 0.03%) > Mn (0.07% ± 0.009%-0.13% ± 0.004%) > Fe (136 ± 8-320 ± 5 μg/g) > Zn (27 ± 1-39 ± 7 μg/g) > Cu (10 ± 3-16 ± 1 μg/g). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the inorganic nutrient contents of the black tea from the different tea factories as well as agro-ecological areas. These data demonstrate the tea plant’s ability to accumulate the studied nutrients, further underlining tea consumption as a potential dietary source of the nutritionally essential inorganic nutrients.
