Green Tea Polyphenol as Food Additive and Supplemental Factor for Disease Prevention

Abstract

Green tea polyphenol (catechin, GTP) is an important factor concerning green tea flavor. GTP is produced from green tea extract by using hot water. GTP has strong antioxidative activity and effectively suppresses the production of lipid peroxides. The utilization of GTP as food additives by using the antioxidative activity of tea polyphenol for conserving the quality of food, is growing. Furthermore, the metabolism of GTP absorbed through intestines has been studied and the role of GTP as an effective free-radical scavenger is proved in-vivo experiments and is noticed as a biofunctional factor to prevent the induction of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.