Army Public School

Session 2018-19

Investigatory Project
Comparing water soluble polyphenol
content in various samples of tea
Utkarsh Singh
1118A
 Bonafide Certificate

This is to certify that Utkarsh Singh (1118A) of class 11-A has

done filled this record of his own work done under my
supervision and guidance. This is to certify that he has done
his work sincerely for the study, “To compare the water-
soluble content polyphenol (Catechin) of different samples of
tea” in the chemistry laboratory of Army Public School,
Bangalore.

(Mr. Priyan Ravi)

Chemistry Teacher
 Acknowledgement

With immense pleasure, I extend my heedful thanks to those

whose help went a long way in the completion of this very
project. I am very thankful my principal Mrs. Veena Sahani
for her cooperation. I also express my gratitude to Mr. Priyan
Ravi, Chemistry Teacher without whose valuable guidance it
would have been impossible to complete my project work. I
want to thank the whole staff of the Chemistry Department
for their timely help. We also thank my principal Mrs. Veena
Sahani for her cooperation.

Utkarsh Singh
(1118A)
 CONTENT

1. Objective
2. Scope of the project
3. Introduction
4. Theory
5. Procedure
6. Observation
7. Result Analysis
8. Conclusion
9. Reference
 OBJECTIVE

To compare the water-soluble content Polyphenol

(Catechin) in different samples of tea.

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

This process can be used to detect whether which

brand of tea is better for consumption. The more the
polyphenol content in a tea the better will be the
flavour.
 INTRODUCTION

Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring

hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia
Sinensis, an evergreen shrub (bush) native to East Asia. After
water, it is the most widely consumed drink in the world.
There are many different types of tea some,
like Darjeeling and Chinese greens, have a cooling, slightly
bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have vastly
different profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral or grassy
notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans primarily due
to its caffeine content.

Tea originated in Southwest China during the Shang

dynasty, where it was used as a medicinal drink. An early
credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rdcentury AD,
in a medical text written by Hua Tuo. It was popularized as a
recreational drink during the Chinese Tang Dynasty and tea
drinking spread to other East Asian countries. Portuguese
priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the
16th century. During the 17th century, drinking tea became
fashionable among Britons, who started large-scale
production and commercialization of the plant in India.
Combined, China and India supplied 62% of the world's tea
in 2016.

Camellia Sinensis is an evergreen plant that grows mainly

in tropical and subtropical climates. Some varieties can also
tolerate marine climates and are cultivated as far north
as Cornwall in England, Perthshire in
Scotland, Washington state in the United
States, and Vancouver Island in Canada. In the Southern
Hemisphere, tea is grown as far south as Hobart on the
Australian island of Tasmania and Waikato in New Zealand.
Tea plants are propagated from seed and cuttings; about 4
to 12 years are needed for a plant to bear seeds and about
three years before a new plant is ready for harvesting. In
addition to a zone 8 climate or warmer, tea plants require at
least 127 cm (50 in) of rainfall a year and prefer acidic
soils. Many high-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations
of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. Though at these
heights the plants grow more slowly, they acquire a better
flavour.
 THEORY

Tea is made from young leaves and buds of tea plant. Tea
leaves are rich in caffeine (an alkaloid). Besides caffeine, tea
leaves contain tannic acid and colouring matter, such as
polyphenolic compounds. The relative amounts of these
substances are different in different varieties of tea leaves, i.e.
why, their taste and flavour are different. The brownish colour
of tea is due to the presence of polyphenolic compounds
and some inorganic ions like Mn2+, Fe3+ etc. Some simple
experiments can be carried out to study the components that
are responsible for the variation in tea flavour in various
brands of tea.

Tea contains up to 30% of the water-soluble polyphenols

(catechin). These are largely responsible for the flavour of the
tea. To estimate the extent of these compounds in a given
sample, the tea leaves are immersed in hot water for equal
time and the loss in weight of tea leaves is determined.
Contents of Tea 1. Tannic Acid 2. Polyphenol 3. Caffeine
1. Tannic acid: Tannic acid is a specific commercial form of
tannin, a type of polyphenol. Its weak acidity (pKa
around 10) is due to the numerous phenol groups in the
structure. The chemical formula for commercial tannic
acid is often given as C76H52O46, which corresponds
with deca galloyl glucose, but in fact it is a mixture of
poly galloyl glucoses or poly galloyl quinic acid esters
with the number of galloyl moieties per molecule
ranging from 2 up to 12 depending on the plant source
used to extract the tannic acid.

2. Polyphenol: The phenol content in tea refers to the

phenols and polyphenols, natural plant compounds
which are found in tea. These chemical compounds
affect the flavour and mouth feel and are speculated to
provide potential health benefits. Polyphenols in tea
include catechins, theaflavins, tannins, and flavonoids.

3. Caffeine: It is a bitter, white crystalline purine,

methylxanthine alkaloid, and thus closely related
chemically to the adenine and guanine contained in
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). It is found in the seeds,
 nuts, or leaves of a small number of plants native to
South America.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

beakers, conical flasks, funnels, heating arrangement and tea

bags of different brand of tea.

Procedure:
1. Weigh exactly 3 g of each of the different samples of tea
and place them in tea bags.
2. Take three or four conical flasks and put 100 ml of hot
water into each of them.
3. Put tea bags of different samples of tea in the different
conical flasks. After 10 minutes, remove the tea bags and dry
them by placing them in an oven.

4. When the tea bags become dry, reweigh them.

5. Note the flavour of the tea solution obtained.

OBSERVATIONS
s. no Brand Initial Final Loss of % of water-
name of weight weight weight soluble
the tea component
1. Red Label 5.00 3.50 1.50 30.0%
2. Taj Mahal 5.00 3.22 1.78 35.6%
3. Tetley 5.00 2.98 2.02 40.4%
4. Typhoo 5.00 3.13 1.87 37.4%

RESULT

The tea having better flavour has more polyphenol

content. This is tea made from the Tetley tea leaves.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Comprehensive chemistry practical guide

2. Wikipedia