JP4327707B2 - Method for producing non-polymer catechins composition - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to non-polymer catechins purified by reducing the non-polymer catechin gallate ratio, increasing the concentration of the non-polymer catechin gallate ratio, reducing the amount of caffeine, and reducing gallic acid. The present invention relates to a method for producing a composition.

  As an effect of catechin, an α-amylase activity inhibitory action and the like have been reported (for example, see Patent Document 1). In order to express such a physiological effect, it is necessary to drink 4 to 5 cups of tea per day for an adult. Therefore, in order to ingest a large amount of catechin more easily, a high concentration of catechin is added to the beverage. The technology to do was desired.

As one of the methods, a method of adding catechin to a beverage in a dissolved state using a water-soluble composition such as a concentrate of green tea extract is used. However, depending on the type of beverage for which catechin is blended at a high concentration, for example, when catechin is added to a black tea extract or carbonated beverage, the remaining flavor derived from caffeine and green tea greatly impairs the commercial value of the beverage. I know that.
Therefore, in order to solve this problem, a method of adding a highly purified non-polymer catechin composition is used. However, any of the conventional purification methods can be applied to the non-polymer catechins before and after purification of the water-soluble composition. There has been a serious problem that the maintenance of the composition has not been considered, and the physiological effect verified with the water-soluble composition before purification cannot be guaranteed after the composition change by purification. In addition, there is a problem that further treatment such as chloroform treatment is necessary for reducing caffeine.
In particular, the issue of maintaining the composition is urgent for health functional foods, which are one of the foods approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The conventional technology of refining is not applicable to the development of health functional food products where speed is important.

  Against this background, among the conventional purification methods, many attempts have been made to adsorb the water-soluble composition extracted from green tea leaves using water, once adsorbed to the adsorbent, and then elution and recovery with a solvent or the like. (For example, see Patent Documents 2 to 6). However, Patent Document 2 is a method of purification using a hydroxypropylated dextran gel or a hydrophilic vinyl polymer gel. However, since the concentration of the organic solvent used for elution is always as high as 20% or more, There was a problem that the amount of caffeine increased. Further, Patent Document 3 is a method of purification using styrene-divinylbenzene or methacrylic acid ester, but since the concentration of the organic solvent used for elution is about 60% in the end, it is separately treated with chloroform after column treatment. It was necessary to carry out a decaffeination treatment. Similarly, in Patent Documents 4, 5 and 6, the same purified state was obtained because an organic solvent having a concentration of 30%, 40% or more, or 50% or more was used.

On the other hand, it has been known for a long time that tannase treatment can be performed on a fermented tea extract such as black tea to suppress suspension during low-temperature cooling, that is, formation of a tea cream. Further, the method of obtaining a mixture of catechins and gallic acid by subjecting the gallate catechin to tannase treatment and making part or all of the gallic acid found in Patent Document 7 is a gallate that causes bitterness. Catechins can be reduced. However, it is not always an effective means because acidity / egg taste is generated by gallic acid produced as a by-product.
JP-A-3-133828 JP-A-1-175978 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-311474 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-67771 JP-A-4-182479 JP-A-6-9607 JP 2003-33157 A

  The object of the present invention is to reduce the non-polymer catechin gallate body ratio, increase the concentration of the non-polymer catechin gallo body ratio in the non-polymer catechins, reduce the amount of caffeine, and further by-produce gallic acid. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a highly purified non-polymer catechin composition by reducing the amount.

  As a result of examining the purification treatment of non-polymer catechins in a water-soluble composition extracted from green tea leaves using water, the present inventors applied tannase treatment to convert the non-polymer catechin gallate into a non-free non-polymer catechin gallate body. The first step of decomposing polymer catechins and gallic acid to reduce the non-polymer catechin gallate rate, and further passing the water-soluble composition after tannase treatment through a specific synthetic adsorbent, The second step of eluting adsorbed non-polymer catechins with an aqueous ethanol solution reduces the non-polymer catechin gallate content, increases the concentration of non-polymer catechin gallate, and reduces the caffeine content. Furthermore, it has been found that a non-polymer catechin composition having reduced gallic acid by-product can be obtained in high yield.

In the present invention, a water-soluble composition extracted from green tea leaves using water is subjected to tannase treatment, and then a column filled with a polystyrene-based or modified polystyrene-based synthetic adsorbent is set to 0 as a flow rate of the synthetic adsorbent. .5 to 20 [v / v] is adsorbed, washed with 1 to 10 [v / v] water as a flow ratio of the synthetic adsorbent, and then 10 to 40 vol% ethanol aqueous solution is added to the synthetic adsorbent. Non-polymer having a weight ratio of caffeine and non-polymer catechins in the resulting composition of less than 1/10, which is eluted by passing 0.5 to 20 [v / v] by volume per filling volume A method for producing a catechin composition is provided.
The present invention also provides a water-permeable composition extracted from green tea leaves using water and then tannase treatment, and then a column filled with a polystyrene-based or modified polystyrene-based synthetic adsorbent and a liquid passage ratio for the synthetic adsorbent. 0.5 to 20 [v / v] is adsorbed and washed with water of 1 to 10 [v / v] as a flow rate of the synthetic adsorbent, and then 10 to 40 vol% of an aqueous ethanol solution is synthesized and adsorbed. (A) The recovery rate of non-polymer catechins in the resulting composition is 70% by weight or more, and (B) non The concentration decrease of the non-polymer catechin gallate ratio in the polymer catechins is 10% by weight or more, and the concentration increase of the non-polymer catechin gallate ratio in the (C) non-polymer catechins is 1% by weight or more. Provided is a method for producing a combined catechin composition. It is intended.

  According to the present invention, the ratio of non-polymer catechin gallate body is reduced before and after the treatment, the concentration of non-polymer gallo body ratio in non-polymer catechins is increased, the caffeine content is low, and the tannase treatment is further performed. Thus, a non-polymer catechin composition in which gallic acid by-produced as a by-product is significantly reduced can be obtained with high purity and high yield.

  In the present invention, the non-polymer catechins include non-epide catechins such as catechin, gallocatechin, catechin gallate and gallocatechin gallate and epi-catechins such as epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate. It is a general term.

  In the present invention, the non-polymer catechin gallate body is a general term including catechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate and the like. Further, the non-polymer catechin gallo form is a general term including gallocatechin, gallocatechin gallate, epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate and the like.

  Examples of the green tea leaves used in the present invention include tea leaves made from tea leaves obtained from the genus Camellia, such as C. sinensis, C. assamica and Yabuki species, or hybrids thereof. Any tea leaves made from the tea can be used as long as they are non-fermented tea. For example, steamed tea leaves from which raw materials can be easily procured are preferable, and examples thereof include ordinary sencha, deep-steamed sencha, gyokuro, kabusecha, tama green tea, and bancha.

  The water-soluble composition used in the present invention is produced under normal green tea extraction conditions. The temperature at the time of extraction from green tea leaves may be 70 ° C. to boiling water, more preferably 80 ° C. to boiling water from the viewpoint of increasing the extraction efficiency of non-polymer catechins. The amount of water when extracting from green tea leaves is preferably 5 to 60 times by weight, particularly 5 to 40 times by weight, relative to the green tea leaves. The extraction time from green tea leaves is preferably 1 to 60 minutes, more preferably 1 to 40 minutes, and further preferably 1 to 30 minutes. If the extraction time is too short, elution of the non-polymer catechins is insufficient, and if it is too long, the heat-denaturing isomerization reaction of the non-polymer catechins proceeds.

  The Brix of the water-soluble composition used in the present invention is 2 to 25, preferably 2 to 10, more preferably 2 to 5, thereby increasing the recovery rate of non-polymer catechins and improving decaffeination efficiency. Improved.

  Instead of the water-soluble composition used in the present invention, JP-A-59-219384, JP-A-4-20589, JP-A-5-260907, JP-A-5-306279, Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-114355. Concentrated products of green tea extract prepared by the method exemplified in detail in Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-020415 may be used. Examples of commercially available products include “Polyphenone”, Mitsui Norin Co., Ltd., “Theafranc”, ITO EN Co., Ltd., and “Sunphenon”, Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd. In addition, it can also be used in column purified products and chemically synthesized products. The form of the concentrate of the tea extract here includes various forms such as a solid, an aqueous solution, and a slurry, but in the treatment of the present invention, it is adjusted in advance to an aqueous solution state.

  The tannase treatment, that is, the enzyme reaction, performed in the present invention is preferably performed by tannin acylhydrase EC 3.1.1.20 described in JP-A-2003-33157. Examples of commercially available products include “Tannase” manufactured by Kikkoman Corporation and tannase “Sankyo” and Sankyo Corporation.

The tannase used in the present invention preferably has a commercially available enzyme activity of 500 to 5,000 U / g, and if it is 500 U / g or less, sufficient activity cannot be obtained. If it is greater than or equal to g, the enzyme reaction rate is too fast, making it difficult to control the reaction system.
As a specific method of tannase treatment, tannase is preferably added in a range of 0.5 to 10% by weight with respect to the non-polymer catechins in the water-soluble composition. In order to complete the tannase treatment within 2 hours, which is the optimal enzyme reaction time, including the enzyme deactivation step, the tannase concentration is preferably 0.5 to 5% by weight, more preferably 2 to 4% by weight. . If the concentration is less than 0.5% by weight, the enzyme activity is weak, so the effect of reducing the non-polymer catechin gallate body ratio is weak, and if the concentration is more than 10% by weight, the enzyme activity is too strong. It becomes difficult to stop the enzyme reaction at the catechin gallate body ratio.
The temperature of the tannase treatment is preferably 15 to 40 ° C., more preferably 20 to 30 ° C. at which an optimal enzyme activity is obtained.

When terminating the tannase reaction, it is necessary to deactivate the enzyme activity. The deactivation is performed at about 80 to 90 ° C., which is a temperature at which non-epimerization of non-polymer catechins in the water-soluble composition does not occur, for several tens of seconds or more. The enzyme deactivation temperature is preferably 70 to 90 ° C., and it is difficult to sufficiently deactivate the enzyme at 70 ° C. or less, so that the reaction proceeds and the enzyme is within the predetermined non-polymer catechin gallate ratio. The reaction cannot be stopped. Further, if the retention time is about 10 seconds or less after reaching the predetermined deactivation temperature, it is difficult to deactivate the enzyme activity sufficiently. Unepimerization of the combined catechins may occur, which is not preferable.
The deactivation method of the enzyme reaction can be stopped by heating in a batch system or a continuous system such as a plate heat exchanger. In addition, after completion of the tannase treatment, the water-soluble composition can be cleaned by an operation such as centrifugation.

Examples of the synthetic adsorbent used in the present invention include those based on styrene-divinylbenzene and modified styrene-divinylbenzene . Examples of synthetic adsorbents based on styrene-divinylbenzene include Mitsubishi Chemical's trade names Diaion HP-20, HP-21, Sepabeads SP70, SP700, SP825, SP-825, and Organo (supplier: ROHM, USA) And Amberlite XAD4, XAD16HP, XAD1180, XAD2000, and Duolite S874, S876 (supplied by Rohm & Haas, USA). Examples of modified styrene-divinylbenzene-based synthetic adsorbents that have a bromine atom substituted into the nucleus to enhance the adsorptive power include trade name products SP205, SP206, and SP207 manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation.
Among the synthetic adsorbents, a modified polystyrene synthetic adsorbent is particularly preferable. This is preferable because the adsorption capacity is higher than that of the polystyrene-based synthetic adsorbent and the specific gravity is high, so that an upflow liquid can be passed in the purification process.
Specifically, the synthetic adsorbent used in the present invention is preferably a modified polystyrene type synthetic adsorbent such as SP207 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation ).

In the present invention, the water-soluble composition after the tannase treatment is passed through a column packed with a synthetic adsorbent. In advance, SV (space velocity) = 1 to 10 [h ⁻¹ ] and liquid passage through the synthetic adsorbent is performed. It is preferable to remove the raw material monomer of the synthetic adsorbent, impurities in the raw material monomer, etc. by washing with 95 vol% aqueous ethanol solution under conditions of 2 to 10 [v / v] as a multiple. Then, after washing with water under conditions of SV = 1 to 10 [h ⁻¹ ] and a passage ratio of 1 to 10 [v / v] as a passage ratio with respect to the synthetic adsorbent, ethanol is removed and a liquid content of the synthetic adsorbent is obtained. The adsorption ability of non-polymer catechins is improved by the method of substituting with water.

The conditions for passing the water-soluble composition after the tannase treatment through the column filled with the synthetic adsorbent are as follows: SV (space velocity) = 0.5 to 10 [h ⁻¹ ]; It is preferable to pass the liquid at a rate of 0.5 to 20 [v / v]. Adsorption of non-polymer catechins may be insufficient when the flow rate is 10 [h ^-1 ] or more and the flow rate is 20 [v / v] or more.
Further, although performing water washing after adsorbing the aqueous composition after tannase treatment synthetic adsorbent, SV = in liquid permeation rate of 0.5 to 10 [h ^-1], liquid passing multiple to the synthetic adsorbent 1 to 10 [v / v] to remove gallic acid and impurities attached to the synthetic adsorbent. Non-polymer catechins may be eluted when washed with water at a flow rate of 10 [h ^-1 ] or more and a washing amount of 10 [v / v] or more. The amount of washing is 1 [v / v] or less. And removal of gallic acid is insufficient.

As a condition for elution with an aqueous ethanol solution after adsorbing and washing the water-soluble composition after the tannase treatment to the column, a 10 to 40 vol% aqueous ethanol solution is passed through the synthetic adsorbent in a volume of 0.5 to 20 times. It is preferable in that it allows efficient elution and purification of non-polymer catechins. When the concentration of the aqueous ethanol solution to be eluted is 10 to 40 vol%, it is preferable in that the ratio of caffeine and non-polymer catechins can be reduced, and particularly preferably 10 to 30 vol%.
Here, when elution is performed with an ethanol aqueous solution of less than 10 vol%, the ratio of caffeine and non-polymer catechins decreases, but the passing rate of the synthetic adsorbent exceeds 20 times, requiring a large amount of eluate. And the recovery rate of non-polymer catechins will become low. On the other hand, when eluting with an aqueous ethanol solution of 95 vol% or more, the separation of caffeine and non-polymer catechins becomes worse, and the distillation operation when recovering ethanol becomes complicated.

  The synthetic adsorbent used in the present invention can be reused by using a predetermined method after the purification treatment. Specifically, an aqueous alkali solution such as sodium hydroxide is passed through and washed to desorb all water-soluble components remaining on the synthetic adsorbent.

  In the non-polymer catechin composition obtained by the present invention, the recovery rate of the non-polymer catechin from the water-soluble composition is 70% by weight or more, and the decrease in the concentration of the gallate body in the non-polymer catechin is 10%. %, The increase in the concentration of gallo-form in non-polymer catechins is 1% by weight or more, and the weight ratio of caffeine to non-polymer catechins is less than 1/10. In addition, the ratio of gallic acid in the non-polymer catechins composition eluted from the synthetic adsorbent obtained by the present invention to gallic acid produced by tannase treatment is less than 1/10, and flavors such as acidity and taste In addition, it is possible to significantly reduce undesirable gallic acid.

  The non-polymer catechin composition obtained in the present invention can be used as it is. Further, ethanol may be removed by a method such as vacuum concentration or thin film concentration. When used for blending into a normal beverage, it is preferable to completely remove ethanol. Further, when a powder is desirable as the product form of the non-polymer catechin composition, it can be pulverized by a method such as spray drying or freeze drying.

  The non-polymer catechin composition obtained in the present invention can be blended in a packaged beverage. Containers to be used are provided in ordinary forms such as molded containers (so-called PET bottles) mainly composed of polyethylene terephthalate, metal cans, paper containers combined with metal foil or plastic film, bottles, etc., as with general beverages. be able to. The term “packaged beverage” as used herein means a beverage that can be drunk without dilution.

  Moreover, said container-packed drink is manufactured on the sterilization conditions prescribed | regulated to the food hygiene law, for example, when it can heat-sterilize after filling a container like a metal can. For PET bottles and paper containers that cannot be sterilized by retort, sterilize under the same conditions as above, for example, after sterilizing at high temperature and short time with a plate heat exchanger, etc. The method is adopted. Moreover, you may mix | blend another component with the filled container under aseptic conditions.

(Measurement method of catechin, caffeine and gallic acid)
The sample solution was filtered through a filter (0.45 μm), and a packed column for octadecyl group-introduced liquid chromatograph L-column TM ODS (4.6 mmφ × 250 mm) using a high performance liquid chromatograph (model SCL-10AVP) manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation. : Manufactured by the Chemical Substance Evaluation Research Organization), and the gradient method was performed at a column temperature of 35 ° C. The mobile phase A solution was a distilled aqueous solution containing 0.1 mol / L of acetic acid, the B solution was an acetonitrile solution containing 0.1 mol / L of acetic acid, the sample injection amount was 20 μL, and the UV detector wavelength was 280 nm. .

(Measurement method of tannase activity)
Reagent A: pH 5.5 citrate buffer solution 50 mmol: 10.5 g of citric acid is dissolved in 800 mL of distilled water, adjusted to pH 5.5 with 1N NaOH solution, and diluted to 1000 mL.
Reagent B: 0.35 wt% aqueous substrate solution (tannic acid): 175 mg of tannic acid is dissolved in 50 mL citrate buffer solution (reagent A).
Reagent C: 90 vol% ethanol solution.
Measuring method 1. Collect 1.0 mL of the substrate solution (reagent B) in a test tube and keep at 30 ° C. for 5 minutes.
2. Add 0.25 mL of sample solution and incubate at 30 ° C. for 15 minutes. In the blank solution, a citrate buffer solution (reagent A) is added instead of the sample solution.
3. Add 5.0 mL of ethanol solution (reagent C) to the sample solution and blank solution to stop the enzyme reaction.
4. Measure absorbance at 310 nm [sample: A _s , blank: A ₀ ].
The activity is calculated by the following formula.
Activity per volume (U / mL) = (A _s −A ₀ ) × 20.3 × 1.0 (mL) × 1.04 × df / (0.71 × 0.25 (mL) × 15 (min )) = ΔA × 7.93 × df
Activity per weight (U / g) = (U / mL) × 1 / C
20.3: mmol of tannic acid contained in 1.0 mL of the substrate solution (reagent B).
0.71: Change in absorbance after complete hydrolysis of 20.3 μmol of tannic acid under analytical conditions, 1.04: conversion factor, df: dilution factor, C: in sample (g / mL) Tannase concentration.

Flavor evaluation after sterilization The non-polymer catechin composition obtained in each example was diluted with deionized water so that the catechin content was 0.175% [w / v], and 40 mL of the catechin content was reduced to 50 mL withstand pressure. Placed in a glass container. Thereto was added 0.1% by weight of sodium ascorbate, the pH was adjusted to 6.4 with a 5% aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution, nitrogen substitution was performed, and the mixture was sterilized by heating at 121 ° C. for 10 minutes in an autoclave. Then, it was confirmed by the evaluation panelists whether or not the taste and odor derived from green tea were felt.

Precipitation Evaluation Method An evaluation sample contained in a pressure-resistant glass container was placed in a 55 ° C. constant temperature bath, and the occurrence of turbidity was confirmed. The state of the contents was observed on an illuminator, and the time when starch was observed was defined as the starch production date.

Example 1
1,200 g of green tea produced by the steaming method was extracted with 24,000 g of deionized water at 95 ° C. for 10 minutes, cooled and squeezed, and then filtered through a wire mesh to obtain 18,810 g of pH 5.57 extract. The concentration of non-polymer catechins in the extract was 711.9 mg / 100 mL, and 133.9 g of non-polymer catechins were contained. The gallate body ratio was 70.2% and the gallo body ratio was 70.0%. It was. The caffeine concentration was 88.3 mg / 100 mL, 16.6 g of caffeine was contained, and the ratio of caffeine / non-polymer catechins was 0.124 (−). The gallic acid concentration was 0.47 mg / 100 mL and contained 0.89 g of gallic acid.
The total amount of the obtained water-soluble composition was put into a stainless steel container, and under a stirring condition of 21 ° C. and 150 rpm, 4.0 g of Kikkoman tannase KTFH (Industrial Grade, 500 U / g or more) in 16 g of ion-exchanged water (non-polymer) A solution in which 3.0% of the catechins were dissolved was added, and the enzyme reaction was terminated when the pH dropped to 4.98 after 40 minutes. Subsequently, the solution was passed through a SUS holding tube immersed in a 95 ° C. bath at 1.2 L / min. The recovered solution was maintained at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes to completely deactivate the enzyme activity, then cooled to 25 ° C. and centrifuged. After separation, water pushing was performed to obtain tannase treatment liquid 22, 160 g.
The non-polymer catechins of the water-soluble composition obtained after the tannase treatment were 127.1 g, the gallate body ratio was 60.6%, and the non-polymer gallo body ratio in the non-polymer catechins was 71.2%. The decrease in non-polymer catechins due to the enzymatic reaction was negligible, but the gallate body ratio was greatly reduced. Furthermore, even when remeasured after 5 hours, these numerical values were hardly changed, and it was confirmed that the enzyme activity was completely inactivated. Further, the amount of caffeine was 16.0 g, showing almost no change, and gallic acid increased to 8.1 g.
Then, 192 mL of a synthetic adsorbent Sepabead SP-207 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) packed in a stainless steel column (inner diameter: 72.3 mm × height: 1,600 mm, volume: 5,745 mL) was previously set to SV = 6.9. 95% ^{(h -1) (v / v} ) was washed with ethanol 25,960ML, then washed with water 25,960ML at SV = 6.9 (h ^-1). Thereafter, the total amount of tannase treatment liquid obtained (4.3 times volume vs. synthetic adsorbent) was passed at SV = 4.6 (h ⁻¹ ), and the passing liquid was discarded. The passing liquid contained 0.7 g of non-polymer catechins and 4.8 g of gallic acid, and most of the non-polymer catechins were adsorbed on the synthetic adsorbent.
It was then washed with 20,760 mL (4 volumes vs. synthetic adsorbent) of water at SV = 6.9 (h ⁻¹ ). The washing solution contained 0.7 g of non-polymer catechins and 3.1 g of gallic acid, and there was almost no elution of non-polymer catechins.
After washing with water, 25% and 960 mL of 20% (v / v) ethanol water was passed at SV = 4.6 (h ⁻¹ ) (5 times volume vs. synthetic adsorbent). After removing 3,000 mL of residual water in the column, the eluate 22, 158 g was recovered, concentrated under reduced pressure to remove ethanol, and then spray-dried to obtain 140.9 g of non-polymer catechin composition powder. Obtained. This powder contains 98.6 g of non-polymer catechins, the recovery rate of non-polymer catechins from the extract is 73.6%, and the gallate content of the non-polymer catechins composition is 51. The percentage of gallium in the non-polymer catechins was 76.9%. The amount of caffeine was 3.79 g, the ratio of caffeine / non-polymer catechins was 0.038 (−), and the amount of gallic acid was 0.14 g.

Example 2
The tannase treatment was completed in 30 minutes, and the same operation as in Example 1 was carried out except that 40% (v / v) ethanol water was eluted with 6,490 mL (1.25 times volume vs. synthetic adsorbent).

Reference example 1
Except for elution with 15,576 mL of 95% (v / v) ethanol water (3 times volume vs. synthetic adsorbent), the same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

Example 3
Example 1 except that Sepabeads SP-70 (Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) was used as the synthetic adsorbent.
The same operation was performed.

Comparative Example 1
The tannase treatment was performed in the same manner as in Example 1, and the liquid was not passed through and eluted from the synthetic adsorbent.

Comparative Example 2
The procedure was the same as in Example 1 except that tannase treatment was not performed.

Comparative Example 3
Instead of passing the 20% (v / v) ethanol water of Example 1, 5% (v / v) ethanol water was passed through 103,840 mL (20 times volume to the synthetic adsorbent) in exactly the same manner. went.

  Table 1 shows the analysis and evaluation results.

In any of Examples 1 to 3 , the recovery rate of the non-polymer catechins before and after the treatment is high, the non-polymer catechin gallate rate is decreased, the non-polymer catechin gallo-body rate is increased, and almost no gallic acid is contained. A non-polymer catechin composition having a reduced caffeine concentration could be obtained. In addition, in the flavor evaluation after sterilization using a packaged beverage as a model system, no off-flavor and off-flavor derived from green tea was felt, and no starch was produced after storage at 55 ° C.

Claims (5)

A water-soluble composition extracted from green tea leaves using water is subjected to tannase treatment, and a column filled with a polystyrene-based or modified polystyrene-based synthetic adsorbent is 0.5 to 20 as a flow rate of the synthetic adsorbent. [v / v] is adsorbed, washed with water of 1 to 10 [v / v] as a passage ratio of the synthetic adsorbent, and then 10 to 40 vol% of an aqueous ethanol solution is filled per volume of the synthetic adsorbent. A non-polymer catechin composition in which the weight ratio of caffeine and non-polymer catechin in the obtained composition is 0.5 to 20 [v / v] and is eluted , and the weight ratio is less than 1/10 . Manufacturing method. A water-soluble composition extracted from green tea leaves using water is subjected to tannase treatment, and a column filled with a polystyrene-based or modified polystyrene-based synthetic adsorbent is 0.5 to 20 as a flow rate of the synthetic adsorbent. [v / v] is adsorbed, washed with water of 1 to 10 [v / v] as a passage ratio of the synthetic adsorbent, and then 10 to 40 vol% of an aqueous ethanol solution is filled per volume of the synthetic adsorbent. 0.5 to 20 [v / v] is passed through and eluted, (A) The recovery rate of non-polymer catechins in the resulting composition is 70% by weight or more, (B) in non-polymer catechins A non-polymer catechin composition having a non-polymer catechin gallate content concentration decrease of 10% by weight or more, and (C) a non-polymer catechin gallo product concentration increase of 1% by weight or more in the non-polymer catechins. Production method. The method for producing a non-polymer catechin composition according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the weight ratio of gallic acid in the resulting composition to gallic acid in the water-soluble composition after tannase treatment is less than 1/10. The nonpolymer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein tannase having an enzyme activity of 500 to 5,000 U / g is used and 0.5 to 10 wt% is added to the nonpolymer catechins. A method for producing a catechin composition. The method for producing a non-polymer catechin composition according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the green tea leaf is a green tea leaf produced by a steaming method.